News Byte: Vetting Presidential Candidates on K-12 Education

Robert Feirsen, Ed.D., assistant professor and chair of Education in NYIT College of Arts and Sciences, offers insight to educators on ways to evaluate 2020 presidential candidates and where they stand on issues relating to pre-K-12 education. In an op-ed in Education Week, Feirson, a former teacher, principal, and superintendent of schools on Long Island, explains how to separate rhetoric from meaningful policy.

“In the 2009 edition of Educational Governance and Administration, professors Thomas J. Sergiovanni, Paul Kelleher, Martha M. McCarthy, and Frances C. Fowler conclude that four values—equity, efficiency, choice, and excellence—have dominated the history of education in the United States, a trend that shows no sign of abating. Each value has at times risen to dominance above the others, spawning reactions to rebalance the equation and, thus, initiating the cycle once again,” he writes. “To these four valuable lenses, I propose adding one more consideration—thoughtfulness—for assessing the potential nominees.”

Read the full op-ed.