At-large candidate: Kathy Ulrich

Ideally, I wish all 4-year-olds were in free preschool. The funding mechanism could become part of the state funding formula. Realistically, however, we need to maintain the voluntary program until the state is on more solid ground financially.

Iowa's preschool program, even in its present incarnation, is far better than the governor's voucher plan, which would have effectively cut out middle class families and a total of 60 percent of Iowa families.

The Iowa Policy Project cites research that preschool attendance benefits all students. Multiple advantages are lower dropout rates and fewer juvenile arrests and special education placements. Additionally, children showed improvement in reading and math performance, social competence, higher education attendance, and improved odds of successful adult employment outcomes. Preschool improves a child's “readiness” to learn in a fast-paced and changing world.

If we want to promote first-class education and world-class learners, we need to expand preschool to all.

We wait with anticipation for Gov. Branstad's blueprint for education. I would like to see his plan provide solid professional development opportunities for teachers providing them with time needed for collaboration to design, revise and promote solid instruction based on the whole child. I would like to see teacher quality funding remain as well.

I support solid alternatives to traditional delivery systems that promote and infuse technology into the mix. My hope is that the governor and Education Director Jason Glass collaborate with teachers and administrators and the 32 teacher education program directors in the state before making decisions that affect our classrooms.

One idea being bandied about is pay for performance, including a system whereby teachers are offered raises based on how well their students do on test scores. For a variety of reasons, I am not in favor of a pay-for-performance formula linked to high-stakes testing. Among those reasons are not all of our disciplines are tested, education experts have still not developed a test that alleviates disparities due to poverty, race or ethnicity, and the tests we currently use are not yet aligned with our state core curriculum.

I also want to address the importance of providing opportunities in the postsecondary world for all students. Unlike Glass, I don't believe that all students should take the ACT. Not all students will attend a four-year college. However, I would like to see more attention and resources given to our career academies in partnership with Kirkwood Community College and to provide even more offerings to serve the needs of all students.

I would also hope that we could offer more and better transition and postsecondary options for our students with special needs so that they can prosper and lead happy and personally fulfilling lives.

I will do my best to ensure our students are always put first.

Kathy Ulrich is a Cedar Rapids native and a 31-year teaching veteran. She retired this spring after teaching 25 years in the Cedar Rapids Community Schools, the last 10 years in special education. Comments: kmtdulrich@gmail.com