[Vision2020] FW: State Superintendent of Public Instruction Race

[keely emerinemix]

>From Janet Orndorff, former president of the Idaho School Boards 
Association.  Few people in Idaho know more about education and the 
legislature than Janet, and her reasons for voting against Tom Luna are 
sound.

Vote for Jana Jones!

keely


From: Jforndorff at aol.com
To: Jforndorff at aol.com
Subject: State Superintendent of Public Instruction Race
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2006 17:46:58 EST


Hi to all,
The letter below was written for the Twin Falls newspaper and I  thought
others might benefit from the facts outlined in the piece.  I  am sending 
the same
information in two different ways, attached as a word  document and included
in the text of this message.  Hopefully, this will  make it easier for you 
to
use the information in whatever manner you  choose.  Please forward it to 
your
friends if you think it would be helpful  to them.
Thanks,
Janet
As  Past Presidents of the Idaho School Boards Association (ISBA), we would
like to  add some background on the State Superintendent of Education race.
Tom  Luna cites three areas of qualification:
1.  Nampa  School Board:   Mr. Luna chose not to attend any  state or
national conferences which are critical in helping trustees increase  
student
achievement.  The first time  he appeared at an ISBA Conference was when he 
was
campaigning for the State  Superintendent’s position.
2.  Idaho Standards  Commission:  Those standards were  rejected by the US
Department of Education and had to be redone.
3.  “No Child  Left Behind” job:  Idaho Statesman, 11/1/06, “Luna was 
seen
by some rural school  groups as little more than a figurehead.  He ‘was 
not
that well-informed … I did not pursue a major involvement  with him,’ 
said Bob
Mooneyham, executive director of the National Rural  Education 
Association.”
Would  a Republican receive more legislative support?  It didn’t work for 
Dr.
Anne Fox.  (Please note that Dr. Fox was elected  based on her innovative 
and
outsider approach to the position in spite of poor  previous performance.)
Would  an outsider be better at “fixing”  Idaho’s schools?  The facts 
don’t
support this  mindset.  State Superintendent  Marilyn Howard successfully
implemented the Idaho Reading Initiative.  As a result, the 2005 National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reported Idaho was one of only 
three
states to show  significant progress in reading at the fourth grade level.  
In
addition, at the fourth grade level,  only four states scored significantly
higher than Idaho in math.  Students at the eighth grade level scored  
higher than
the national average in every category.  This was achieved in spite of  
Idaho’
s drop in per pupil expenditures to  50th out of 51 (U.S. Census Bureau, 
March
2006).
Tom  Luna holds an on-line Bachelor’s degree in Weights and Measurements
which he  received just in time to run for State Superintendent in 2002.  
Dr. Jana
Jones earned a Master’s Degree  in Special Education and a Doctorate in
Educational Leadership.
Dr.  Jones has decades of experience and multiple success stories about
improving  instruction for Idaho’s  students.  One example is at  Dalton 
Elementary
  School.  Struggling students are assigned to a team of teachers, 
counselors
and  other educators who constantly monitor progress.  Students increase 
their
skills faster  with this program so fewer of those students are added to the
special education  program (costing taxpayers less money).
Please  vote for the person who understands how to make a better future for
Idaho’s children.   Dr. Jana Jones.
Claire  Major, Gooding
Armand Eckert, Buhl
Scott  Tverdy, Castleford                                              Janet
Orndorff,  Boise

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