Serving and Surviving-What’s Needed in November

By Emily Albee

Serving and surviving as a public school teacher in Maine for 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic created innumerable challenges to overcome and problems to solve. Society was drastically reminded of the vital roles schools and educators play providing students equitable access to academic and emotional support, food, internet, and overall life stability. Despite the national divisiveness about education, vitriol spewed at school board meetings, and calls for curriculum censorship, educators continued to rise above the challenges and keep education as their number one priority for students. Additionally, our legislative and executive leadership in Maine rose above the noise and distractions to secure vital policy victories for public education in Maine. There may be issues that still divide legislators but historically, we have never seen politicians in Augusta come together like this to support our public schools especially during an extremely tumultuous period. These policy victories required bipartisan compromise, leadership, and the practical commitment to education.

Continued bipartisan teamwork is required from our legislative and executive branches to maintain support for public education in Maine. A necessary component of that teamwork is for educators to engage community members to participate in voting and choose candidates that are best for students and educators. It is vital to research existing candidates and get a sense of their voting report card and how they have or have not supported education policy in Augusta. We must continue to support our elected “education friendly” policy makers and to help non-education friendly policy makers find the exit door of the state house. The same goals must be adhered to as we choose a Governor that will support education in Maine. The checks and balances of state executive and legislative branches will only function as a team with common goals and perspectives about education funding, inclusive and equitable curriculum, and protection of all Maine students. Additionally, our local school board races are just as important for members to engage with knowing about candidates and their stances on issues. Seeing education friendly school board members across our state fighting for our students and educators impacts local decisions that ensure if districts are participating in inclusive and equitable education experiences for all students.

These are simple action steps for educators to get involved in the coming local and state voting races. Educators know what is best for students and sometimes it is required to educate community members about policy points and the needs of our schools.

-How many school board seats are up for the fall election? Do we have qualified, education friendly candidates challenging uncontested seats?

-Work with local associations to come up with a common questionnaire to send to all school board candidates and local legislative candidates to get their thoughts about education policy issues and stances. Distribute the responses among the community so they are informed as they head to the voting booth.

-Hold a meet the candidate night for local school board races to allow community members to ask questions of the candidates.

-Invite local legislative candidates to spend a day with educators at school and allow student voice to be included on how these individuals will or will not support public education in Maine.

It is vital for Maine educators to continue to engage in choosing candidates at the local, state, and national level that create and support policy that is best for our students. Voting individuals into or out of public office is the foundation of a participatory democracy as voters say yes or no to the policy makers who will stand up for Maine students and educators. As we welcome our students back to the classroom, let’s hit the ground running understanding the compositions of our local school boards and legislative districts. We want successful and knowledgeable voter participation in our November 2022 elections to say yes to candidates that will work to protect and promote education policy that benefits all students and educators in Maine.