Rose Fernandez Vows to Help Great Teachers Succeed
Meanwhile, Madison-Based Interest Group Spends More Than Half Million Dollars to Support the Status Quo
[Mukwonago, Wisconsin] Rose Fernandez, the nonpartisan candidate for State Superintendent with bipartisan support, said Tuesday that a Madison-based special interest group's misleading television ads will not work. She enters the final week of the campaign with momentum, and the broadest coalition of supporters, behind her.
"I take a back seat to no one when it comes to supporting great teachers," said Fernandez. "However their union, WEAC, is predictably spending more than a half million dollars in compulsory union dues to support their hand-picked, establishment candidate. It is no surprise that their ads not only distort my photograph, they distort my record and position on issues. The teachers who support me know I won't hold the actions of their misguided union against them."
WEAC will spend more money in this campaign than either candidate. Their current statewide ad misleads voters regarding Fernandez' agenda and even uses a PhotoShopped picture of Fernandez in a juvenile attempt to demonize her.
"The special interest power brokers at WEAC are troubled because I have a lot of support from their individual members," said Fernandez. "I didn't finish a mere four points behind my opponent in February despite being outspent 10:1 without a lot of support from teachers, administrators and school board members. The Madison-based special interest groups fear the fresh perspective and reforms I would bring to the status quo that they established, maintain and find so comfortable.
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Fernandez said WEAC is on a spending spree to defeat her because she is a threat to their centralized power and influence.
THE FERNANDEZ TEACHER INNOVATION AGENDA
Decentralize DPI-Teacher Interaction
Reach out to individual teachers for input on issues and participation in working groups and study committees rather than relying on union leadership to provide input and select participants.
Teachers' Residency Program
Provide greater peer-mentoring for new educators during their first 3 years teaching in Wisconsin public schools.
Merit Pay Based on Performance and Competency
Empower district administrators and school principals to negotiate contracts so that funds, allocated under the QEO, could be disbursed so that raises would be given to teachers based on publicly-scrutinized standards. The standards would rely on a wide variety of benchmarks, not exclusively student performance on standardized tests
College Loan Forgiveness Initiative
Provide an incentive to get fresh, motivated teachers to work where they are most needed. Wisconsin college graduates who teach in under-performing and disadvantaged school districts would receive grants that could only be used toward their student loans. This would not only help alleviate Wisconsin's Brain Drain exodus of college graduates, it would help turn around troubled school districts.
Genuine Alternative Certification
Adopt an improved, genuine alternative teacher certification process for subject areas where there is a shortage of teachers. The certification would allow teachers to enter our classrooms from other professions without having to take time-consuming specialized education courses if they have a four-year undergraduate degree from a recognized college or university, pass an exam demonstrating that they have essential knowledge or skills, take a streamlined alternative certification program and pass a background check
Fernandez said that as State Superintendent, she will work with any person or group that puts the students' interests first.
"WEAC will still have a seat at the table during our work to improve Wisconsin's public schools," said Fernandez. "However, they will no longer be sitting at the head of the table. That's why they are spending so much to defeat me and, once again, get their hand-picked insider elected."
