(INDIANAPOLIS) – At the Indiana Democratic State Party Convention , Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz proudly accepted the Democratic nomination for a second four-year term as Superintendent of Public Instruction
“We’ve focused on an education agenda not a political agenda,” said Ritz. “Putting supports around our students, providing resources to schools and increasing student learning opportunities have been our focus.
“Our children need a Superintendent who understands that we need to get rid of ISTEP once and for all and give us a common-sense test that actually helps our students learn instead of the pass-fail system we have today, freeing up valuable time for more learning.”
Last week, Ritz announced her “Imagine 2020” plan. This four year plan includes:
· Making high quality pre-K available in every school district
· Putting an end to labeling our schools A, B, C, D, F
· Providing more time for learning and less time for testing
· Working towards achieving a 91% graduation rate for all students
· Respecting our teachers and treating them as professionals
Ritz told the story of what originally inspired her to run. She said, “A third grade student walked in to the library and I asked her what book she wanted to check out that day. She said, ‘Mrs. Ritz, I don’t need to check out a book because, I just passed my iRead-3 test.’ These kids think the purpose of reading is to pass a test. That’s when I decided to run for Superintendent.”
