California Teachers’ Candidate Wins Superintendent Position

With elections still fresh in the minds of voters, there are some noteworthy wins that took place in our country. One such win occurred in California for the Superintendent of Public Instruction position. This office is the highest level educator in the state and provides direction to the school districts of California and serves on state governing boards. One of the candidates vying for this position in the election was Larry Aceves who is a former teacher, county superintendent and principal.
The other candidate was veteran state assemblyman and former teacher Tom Torlakson who was supported by the California Federation of Teachers. Torlakson was the victor in Tuesday’s election gaining almost 55 percent of the votes, which is great news for California public school teachers. Torlakson is known widely for being a fan of the book The Death and Life of the Great American School System which criticizes charter schools and business-driven school reforms, as well as the No Child Left Behind program.
Initially, state Senator Gloria Romero was also in the race as the higher profile candidate that was backed by the charter school industry. Romero was booted from the race after the primary, but has since secured a job with Democrats for Education Reform.
For the California teachers that supported Torlakson, his election is great news. It will be interesting to see what type of results and influence he can bring to the position to turn around education in the state of California.
Via The Washington Post