We need to build bridges between Olympia and our school districts.
Successful school improvement happens in classrooms between good teachers and their students.

What would Rich Semler improve - and how?

State officials must work as a team to improve education. As state superintendent I will work with and provide consistent and sound leadership to those responsible for funding, policy and oversight of our schools.

Local educators know the answers to many of our education challenges. State officials need to listen carefully to their concerns. Remote state leaders continue to erode the role of locally elected school boards by imposing requirements without understanding the implications to our schools and children. As state superintendent I will reestablish a working relationship with local school districts to ensure that local concerns are recognized and local input is honored.

We need clear thinking, strategic planning, sound management of employees and resources and, above all, accountability in our state education office. High staff turnover, overspending and fuzzy bookkeeping cannot be tolerated in the highest education office of this state. To this day, nobody in our state office, including the state superintendent, can tell us how much has been spent on the WASL. As state superintendent I will use my experience as a successful district manager to rebuild the people's confidence in the state education office.

I believe that the Legislature is on the right track in its study to define funding for basic education. The state must fulfill its constitutional duty to amply fund an appropriate education for every child in every school and fully fund all legislative mandates. As state superintendent I will be a fresh, clear, positive voice to the Legislature and will work with legislators to ensure adequate and appropriate funding that serves the needs of Washington's children, teachers and parents.

I believe high, clear, measurable standards are critical. To establish these measurable standards and to promote accountability, we must have an efficient, low cost assessment system that provides useful and timely information for our students, teachers and parents. As state superintendent I will ensure that teachers cease from focusing on teaching to a test and instead return to teaching subjects that are an important part of a good education.

Tax dollars spent must yield education results. After an estimated $1 billion spent over the past decade on the WASL, we are now told that WASL is not intended to help teachers and parents guide and improve student learning. As state superintendent I will introduce a less costly, more effective assessment system that will provide timely and useful student information to teachers and parents.

Continued lack of leadership at the state level in setting limits, investigating and penalizing inappropriate behavior by teachers and others in positions of trust has compromised the safety of our students. As state superintendent I will make student safety a priority, not an afterthought.

There are many problems in our state education office. Fixing the problems will be challenging but not insurmountable. Rich Semler offers the experience, courage, and determination needed to truly improve education in Washington State.

In the midst of chaos, Washington has many dedicated and capable teachers working hard to improve student learning. Parents, teachers and even students embrace standards and accountability. They simply want tools, clarity, and support from the state education office. Rich Semler will ensure that students, teachers and parents are provided the tools, clarity and support they need to succeed.

Dr. Rich Semler
Candidate for Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction

"I believe elected officials should lead by example and hold themselves to the same high standards we expect of students, staff and our local school officials. I am asking you to elect me as the state's top education leader because I believe we have lost sight of this guiding principle. More importantly, we have lost sight of the faces of our children, our teachers and our parents."

"When officials distance themselves from the faces of those they serve, the voices they should be hearing are lost."

"We need a state superintendent who wilI rebuild the lost connection between leadership and local need. I will rebuild the bridges between Olympia and our children, teachers and communities. I will give them the tools, clarity and support they need to succeed."