Lansing Sun

Amid an era of uncertainty in public education due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are two seats to be filled on the Michigan Board of Education.

Republicans Tami Carlone and Michelle Frederick, along with Democrats Ellen Cogen Lipton and Jason Strayhorn, are among the 11 candidates seeking to be elected to the board Nov. 3. If elected, their functions will include establishing policy, setting standards and overseeing the state superintendent, who in turn oversees the Michigan Department of Education.

Both Carlone and Frederick have expressed concern about the state’s test scores, Chalkbeat Detroit reported. Frederick cites a 36% proficiency rate in mathematics and 32% in reading. Carlone said the two main things the Board needs to provide are proven excellent standards and improved state tests.

“We must get back to using proven effective educational methods in our classrooms, and the State Board of Education needs to give our districts the proper tools they need to do that,” Carlone said, according to Chalkbeat Detroit.

To ensure results, Carlone said people must be held accountable for their jobs, and all spending must have a direct and positive impact on the classroom. Specifically, she said paying many unnecessary administrators doesn't make sense when teachers and classrooms are suffering. In terms of providing education during the pandemic, Frederick believes that control belongs in the hands of local school districts. She also believes that the type of education provided (remote, in-person or hybrid) during the pandemic should be a local decision as well.

Carlone believes metrics should be used in determining how districts choose to educate during the pandemic. She also believes the state should look at how counties have approached the pandemic and evaluate the different results.

Carlone brings a CPA background, as well as process improvement expertise. She said she is running because she has a proven skill set and a passion to return truth and excellence to the Michigan schools. Both Carlone and Frederick have been involved in a number of education groups, which include Stop Common Core in Michigan, in addition to serving as a founding member of Michigan Parents Involved in Education.

Frederick says accountability and transparency are needed, and the burden of Michigan education results fall on the shoulders of the politicians, bureaucrats and special interest groups.

“After researching and studying education policy, I came to the realization that it was not just my children who suffered, but all of Michigan's students experienced the same decline at the same time, and I plan to correct this downward spiral by adopting evidenced-based, proven education standards,” she said, according to Chalkbeat Detroit.

Carlone agrees that Michigan students are not to blame.

“I feel terrible for them, and that is why I fight for them. Each child deserves to have a truthful and excellent education provided to them. So, yes, Michigan’s academic results are poor in national rankings, and us adults need to get it right as the students are counting on us,” she told Chalkbeat Detroit.