The current Superintendent of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Jill Underly, faces two challengers on February 18th.
She is being challenged by Sauk Prairie School District Superintendent Jeff Wright, and Brittany Kinser, a former special education teacher, school principal and education consultant. The top two vote getters in the Primary will advance to the General Election on April 1st.
As a public service, Dairyland Sentinel sent the following email this morning to the three candidates’ campaign committees. We will publish responses as they are received, as described below.
Good morning. This was sent to the campaign email on file with the Campaign Finance System.
Please forward this email to whomever handles communication and requests for public comments.
Below is a series of 12 straightforward questions for your candidate regarding the campaign for DPI Superintendent and their plans for the next four years at the Department of Public Instruction.
As a public service, we will publish your responses verbatim. The only edits we would consider would be for slander/libel issues, and even then we will let you know, before publication, exactly how your responses will be presented.
You may include links to any pertinent studies or reports to which your answers refer, and you may also provide a link to your campaign site where readers can go for further information, if they so desire.
We plan on publishing candidate responses within a day of receipt as stand alone posts on DairylandSentinel.com.
We also reserve the right to publish all or parts of the responses in a comprehensive post alongside those of the other candidates, if they respond.
To our knowledge, no other entity is providing an opportunity for candidates for DPI Superintendent to communicate in such an unfiltered manner. We hope you take us up on this offer.
Thank you for your consideration
-Dairyland Sentinel
Dairyland Sentinel – DPI Candidate Questions
- Why are you running?
- What in your personal and professional background qualifies you to lead DPI?
- What are your top three issues/areas on which you will focus if you were to be elected on April 1?
- Do you believe Wisconsin schools prepare Wisconsin students for life after high school?
- Explain your position regarding recent changes to cut scores and performance terminology used with the Wisconsin Forward Exam.
- If you are concerned about educational disparities among different student demographics in Wisconsin, what do you propose to help bridge these gaps?
- Do you support, oppose, or prefer changes to the following:
- The Open Enrollment law
- The School Choice programs
- Wisconsin’s Charter School laws
- This is your chance to describe how you think Wisconsin voters should view your past political activities (as a candidate, donor, supporter or voter). Will they help or hinder your ability to lead the Department and work with lawmakers, the governor, and local school districts?
- With evolving educational technology, what is your vision for integrating digital tools into classrooms; and, do you support the expansion of Wisconsin’s online charter schools, sometimes referred to as ‘virtual schools?‘
- How do you intend to engage with communities, parents, and stakeholders to ensure their voices are heard in educational policy decisions?
- Presently, DPI promotes the notion that there is some information students share with teachers and other school professionals that should not be shared with parents (for example, current gender identity, preferred pronouns, etc). Do you agree with this policy?
- Teacher retention and recruitment have been significant challenges; what policies or initiatives would you introduce to improve the teaching profession in Wisconsin?
