Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

Our children are our future.
​
Yet, they're often forced to endure overheated classrooms, decaying buildings, and a lack of extracurricular activities. Rather than developing creativity and critical thinking skills, they are subjected to hours of standardized testing. Their hardworking teachers take on second and third jobs because Hawai'i's teacher salaries rank last in the nation.
​
I will work to build the schools our keiki deserve by ensuring that every child is provided with a rich curriculum that includes arts and cultural content. To recruit and retain excellent educators, I will support legislation that increases funding for public education. I will fight to reduce standardized testing in our schools and reallocate resources from testing to special education, vocational learning, and Native Hawaiian cultural programs. I will also partner with community leaders to develop schools that support students' overall safety and well-being, and expand after-school programs that develop the whole child and teach our keiki to become engaged citizens.

Source