Two candidates from Topeka are contesting the race for the 4th District Kansas Board of Education seat that became open with Carolyn L. Wims-Campbell’s decision not to seek another four-year term. The candidates are Democrat Ann Mah and Republican Sue Mollenkamp.

The 4th District comprises all or part of Douglas, Franklin, Jefferson, Osage, Shawnee and Wabaunsee counties compose the 4th State Board District. That portion of Douglas County in the 2nd State Senate District, which Marci Francisco currently represents.

Questions:

• What could you do as a member of the state board to advance teacher excellence in the state’s public schools?

• Do you agree with recent efforts to reduce testing hours for school assessments?

• What role can the state board or its member play in assuring the state’s public K-12 schools are adequately funded?

• What in your background qualifies you to serve on the state board?

Ann Mah, Democrat

Ann Mah

Teacher excellence

We need to be sure that we put a quality, licensed teacher in front of every child. We need to keep strong licensure and training requirements, and provide opportunities for mentoring and advanced professional development. Beginning teachers should be given opportunities to work with master teachers and coached as needed. We could also provide more incentives for teachers to earn advanced degrees and national certification.

There are many professionals who are not licensed who would make excellent teachers, but we must be sure they are trained in the pedagogy required to know how to teach. Teachers in today’s public schools are asked to use a wide range of teaching styles and methods. Teachers have to accommodate teaching styles to the learning styles of their students. That is not intuitive. It must be learned.

Reduced emphasis on assessment testing

Yes. Thanks to the new ESSA federal law and elimination of No Child Left Behind, the state has more flexibility to focus on tests that provide useful information and not just a prescribed battery of tests.

Adequate funding

The state board needs to play a leading role in clearly defining what is in the Rose Capacities, which have been adopted by the legislature as what is expected in K12 education. Once we have laid out clearly what we want our children to learn and know in K12 schools, we can better calculate the true cost to educate them. Then the Board needs to go to the legislature and fight for adequate and equitable funding. The legislature also needs to recognize and better incorporate the expertise of the State Board members and the Kansas Department of Education professionals rather than excluding them from the process. I would fight for that as well.

Qualifications

• I, my husband, and our children attended public schools.

• Bachelor of science in education; Master of science in curriculum

• Taught high school science 5 ½ years at Chase County and Emporia High Schools

• Served as the public representative on a team that rewrote the K12 reading and writing standards in the 1990s

• Served on the Kansas Department of Education QPA advisory council

• Served on the Kansas Department of Education Teacher of the Year committee

• Served on the Kansas Advisory Council on Career and Technical Education

• Served as a KACCTE team leader to create the “Government” career path of study for high school students wanting to explore a career in public service.

• Served on the Kansas House education and higher education committees. I Championed the bill that created the Technical Education Authority so more students could get technical certificates in high school and have a smoother transition from high school to work or college.

• Served 15 years on the AdvancEd (formerly North Central Association) Kansas state committee, doing K12 accreditation for public and private schools.

• Served on the North Central Association national committee on technical education, accrediting technical schools and colleges in the 19-state region.

Priorities

My top priorities are helping work out a new funding formula and making sure we provide a quality teacher for every child.

Sue Mollenkamp, Republican

Teacher excellence

Sue Mollenkamp

Developing and maintaining an avenue for clear communication with administrators and teachers within District 4 is high on my priority list. Through regular communication I hope to encourage teachers and gain an understanding of the difficulties they face so I am able to keep their concerns in mind as I weigh decisions at the state level. Without this communication with the local level, attempts to encourage excellence from the state level could miss the mark and be ineffective. Professional development is also an area I will want to explore and support.

Less assessment testing

Yes. Assessment is necessary to provide accountability in the learning process, but it should be built into the process and not distract from it. Progress-based assessments which allow parents, teachers, and administrators a window into the instructional level of the student are preferred. Students should also be given access to the results so they have the opportunity to shoulder responsibility for their own learning process.

Adequate funding

Our constitution clearly assigns the task of appropriating school finances to the legislature; State Board members have no decision-making power in this arena. Board members can, however, influence the determination of these decisions by offering their views to legislators in a spirit of collaboration as the legislature works to develop a new funding mechanism during the coming legislative session. Board members can also play an important role in seeing that implementation of the funding mechanism is working smoothly, and they can provide supportive help to local districts as the districts seek to handle the funds well. In this way, Board members can have a significant effect on the well-being of our school funding system.

Qualifications

My position as committee assistant to the House Education Committee during the past four legislative sessions has equipped me with an understanding of the issues currently facing the public education system in our state. It has also allowed me to establish working relationships with those who provide leadership in addressing these issues.

Added to this, 25 years of experience as a home educator has given me an understanding of the learning process and of the effort required from those who facilitate it. Years of setting annual goals for each student and then purchasing or writing curriculum for use in reaching those goals have provided me with administrative perspective. Repeatedly planning lessons, implementing them and providing accountability to assure that learning has taken place has given me an understanding of the challenges facing our teachers. Because I bore the responsibility for facilitating learning in all subjects, it was necessary for me to be continuously learning in all areas of study in order to provide the needed instruction. This background gives me an understanding of the learning process across all subjects and at all grade levels, and this provides me with a broad foundation from which to draw as issues are considered by the State Board.

Priorities

As the Board moves forward with its vision of making Kansas a world leader in the success of each student, the biggest challenge may be the development of a flexible structure, which can allow individual students in unique districts to reach their full potential. It is easy to become focused on the structure itself and to expect those it serves to conform to a mold that will allow the system to work as efficiently as possible. When this happens, some students may continue to thrive, but others will not. Those who do not are those who “fall through the cracks.” The cracks of our structure need to be examined, and we need to identify ways to close them so these students can begin thriving and find new reason to hope.