As I approach my first day in office next week, I’m excited about getting to work for our state’s children.

During this time, I think it’s worth it to continue to have a conversation about the big issues our state’s education system faces.

For the record, as I’ve said in the past, I’m against forced consolidation of schools:

In recent weeks, local media outlets have offered previews of the reform agenda that I will move forward when I take office next week. This evening, Oklahoma City CBS affiliate KWTV featured our efforts in a 10 p.m. report:

News 9′s story this evening was generated in part by a comprehensive round-up bylined by The Oklahoman’s education reporter Megan Rolland on Christmas Eve. In that story, I shared my vision for accepting the challenges we face as an opportunity to rethink, restructure and reform our state’s system of education.

The Oklahoman followed that report with a supportive editorial a few days later. The Oklahoman wrote:

Barresi is challenging schools, teachers and parents to step up their game. Preparation doesn’t begin in high school. It begins much earlier — at home. That’s where the gaps start, too.

Late last week, we learned that the Owasso and Bixby school boards reversed an earlier decision and decided to comply with Oklahoma’s new special needs Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship Program, implementing the program in their districts:

I’m pleased to hear that the Owasso and Bixby school boards have seen the wisdom of obeying the law.

I look forward to working with the law’s authors, State Representative Jason Nelson and State Senator Patrick Anderson, and other members of the Legislature to assure that this program is focused on providing children and their families with options regarding their education.

While I’m glad this situation has been resolved for parents and children in these two districts, I urge all other districts still refusing to comply with the law to reverse their decisions.

Follow the lead of Owasso and Bixby, and do the right thing.

There’s also an important lesson to be learned here: Just because superintendents and school boards do not agree with a particular state law, that does not empower them to disobey it.

As your new State Superintendent, I will not stand idly by while any school official defies state law or while superintendents violate the oaths they took.

This month’s issue of The Atlantic magazine features a fascinating and troubling story about how far behind America’s schoolchildren have fallen compared to other nations. Instead of focusing on comparisons only within the United States, The Atlantic used research by Stanford economist Eric Hanushek that compares individual states in the union to other countries around the world.

The results are startling. When it comes to math proficiency, for example, Oklahoma ranks far down on the list near a cluster of developing nations like Uruguay, Bulgaria, Chile, Romania, and Azerbaijan.

The article makes it clear that research is increasingly proving that the inputs-based approach to American education has been an abysmal failure:

“… we still fixate on inputs—such as how much money we are pouring into the system or how small our class sizes are—and wind up with little to show for it. Since the early 1970s, we’ve doubled the amount of money we spend per pupil nationwide, but our high-schoolers’ reading and math scores have barely budged.”

Further:

“Per student, we now spend more than all but three other countries—Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Norway—on elementary and secondary education. And the list of countries that spend the most, notably, has little in common with the outcomes that Hanushek and his colleagues put into rank order.”

Hanushek’s research has also demolished a variety of excuses about why America’s kids rank so far behind — excuses like unfair testing or diversity.

As your new State Superintendent, I’m committed to the ideal that every child can learn, and I reject the excuses some have used over the years to maintain a broken status quo.

This is a wake-up call for our state. Oklahoma must recognize that it is now in a race for excellence not only with states like Texas or Florida, but with nations like Taiwan and Finland — and those nations are already far ahead of us.

After 16 months of campaigning, the election is finally over and the votes counted, and I am honored to have been elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Thank you so much for your vote and your support. The success of this campaign is due to Oklahomans from all walks of life who voted Tuesday to end to the status quo and reform education.

I especially want to thank all those who volunteered on the campaign, taking time out of busy schedules to help us put out signs, hand out literature, march in parades, and spread the message. Without your help, this victory would not have been possible.

Tuesday’s election was just the first step, and I will continue to need your support in the battles ahead. I hope you will stay engaged in the process and continue to stand up for Oklahoma’s children.

We have won an important victory this week, but now the real work begins.

God bless you all,

Janet

On Oct. 12, USA Today wrote about the “reverse Grapes of Wrath” now occurring as Californians move to Oklahoma. The reasons cited for the migration included our state’s low cost of living, low unemployment rate, and relatively strong state economy.

But the article also noted, “For all its efforts, Oklahoma still has work to do. In a ranking of state business climates this year, CNBC put Oklahoma at No. 1 for lowest cost of living but 25th overall, 41st for quality of life and 40th for education. Few Oklahomans would challenge the verdict on their schools.”

For Oklahoma to prosper, we must improve our schools.

But this race isn’t simply about improving an economy. At the most fundamental level, it’s about changing lives and helping individuals achieve their dreams, especially parents’ dreams for their children.

When I first helped found Independence Charter Middle School, students’ parents had to do volunteer work. One day I received a call from a mother who said, “All I have to do is log 50 hours of work to get my daughter into this school? Lady, I’ll clean toilets.” That was the moment I realized just how desperate many parents are to obtain a quality education for their children.

Sadly, I have heard similar tales over the past 16 months as I have campaigned across Oklahoma.

Families should not have to “escape” to good schools. It is clear that the status quo is not acceptable. Every school must provide every child a quality education.

It’s time to stop making excuses and start making progress.

If I am elected, we will do better, but I can’t do it alone. I need your vote on Tuesday, and I need you to tell your friends and family about my candidacy.

On Tuesday, you have the power to chart a new course in Oklahoma education that puts students ahead of bureaucrats, frees teachers to excel, and empowers parents.

I humbly ask for your vote and thank you for your support.