We asked candidates running for the Madison Board of Education the same six questions to understand their vision for education in Madison. The answers we received show differences in scope, detail, and logic for what education is, was, and could be.
Candidates responded to our questions over the phone or through email. We avoid using framing devices and providing context in our profiles to emphasizes the voices of the candidates.
The election for Madison Board school board takes place Tuesday, Feb. 19.
These are the six questions we asked the candidates to understand their vision for education:
- How do you see your candidacy as addressing issues around school culture, which we define as the core set of beliefs and values that guide a school’s routines, procedures and teaching practices?
- How do you see your candidacy addressing issues around school programming, which we define as the diversity and number of in-school and out-of-school options available to students to help them reach their college and career goals?
- How do you see your candidacy as addressing issues around academic achievement, which we define as the highest potential level of knowledge and skills all students are capable of reaching in an educational setting?
- How do you see your candidacy as addressing issues around school choice, which we define as the education options available to students and their families to ensure they are enrolled in a learning institution that meets their academic needs
- How do you see your candidacy as addressing issues around school safety, which we define as the need for all students to feel physically and psychologically secure from threats to their well-being and health?
Click through the grid below to explore where candidates stand on these questions.
Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education President Gloria Reyes announced Tuesday that the board will reopen the Madison schools superintendent search next month. The decision was made in a closed board meeting Monday night.
“Our intent is to see if there are any candidates we feel will be a good fit for us,” Reyes said in an online media briefing.
When it comes to one hot-button issue in the Madison School Board race, Christina Gomez Schmidt is in favor of maintaining the status quo.
“I support the SRO’s in our schools,” Gomez Schmidt said, referring to school resource officers, the Madison police officers whose contract has been controversial over the past several years. “I see their role as to build relationships with students and staff so that they can de-escalate conflict.”
