This Fall, Californians have a choice between two very different candidates for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The incumbent Tom Torlakson represents the status quo while Marshall Tuck has a bold plan to help both teachers and students in California. We’re excited about Marshall Tuck’s candidacy and recently had a chance to ask him about his platform, the Vergara decision, and Common Core. 

EC:  The office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction is a mystery to most voters.  Can you explain why this office is important and how you would use it to change student outcomes in California?

MT: One thing I’ve learned over the last year of campaigning is that many people aren’t even aware that California has an elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction – let alone what that person does, or can do, for our schools. So I always like to start with the basics. The State Superintendent is the top education official in the state and is responsible for running the California Department of Education. The State Superintendent’s job is to both manage the state education bureaucracy and advocate for policies that help students. Given that California schools currently rank 45th in the nation in reading and math, and over 2.5 million students in California can’t read and write at grade level, it is essential for California to have a State Superintendent who not only sets a clear vision for better schools, but also serves as a truly independent voice for children and parents.

As State Superintendent, I will use the authority and influence of the office to push for fundamental changes in our schools. Initially, I will focus on the following: dropping the State Superintendent’s appeal of the Vergara lawsuit to influence the appellate court’s ruling in the case; asking the State Board of Education to grant traditional school districts with many of the same waivers from the California Education Code that charter schools currently have so that all public schools have more flexibility to innovate; leveraging the State Superintendent’s direct authority to allow traditional schools to use technology much more extensively; and creating a community for educators, schools and school districts to share best practices efficiently and learn from each other at a much faster pace.

EC:  Can you help voters understand the top 3 differences between you and your opponent?

1. The state of public education in California: I believe that California schools need major change.  My opponent does not. I think California’s students can and must do better than 45th in the nation in math and reading. My opponent believes our schools are on the right track, and defends the Sacramento status quo.
2. Experience to turnaround CA’s public schools: I’ve spent the last 12 years of my career opening new charter schools and turning around failing public schools in the most challenging neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Most recently, I served as the founding CEO of the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s groundbreaking collaboration with the Los Angeles Unified School District to operate 17 struggling public schools. The Partnership schools increased four-year graduation rates by over 60%. Prior to launching the Partnership, I served as President of Green Dot Public Schools, a leading charter school operator based in Los Angeles, expanding the organization from one school to ten. By contrast, my opponent has been a politician for the past 36 years, with the majority of that time in Sacramento. He has never run a school system before and doesn’t have the experience or independence to lead the turnaround of California’s schools.
3. Significant Policy Differences:  My opponent and I have clear policy differences on issues that are vital to student success. Some highlights include: a) Vergara lawsuit – I strongly support the Vergara lawsuit while my opponent is Sacramento’s leading defender of a broken status quo; b) Charter schools – I have worked in charter schools and am an advocate for charter schools while my opponent has a mixed record on charters; and c) Student achievement data – I believe it should be a key part of principals’ and teachers’ evaluations; my opponent opposes the use of student achievement data for performance evaluations.

EC:  This past June, in Vergara vs. California, a Superior Court Judge ruled that state laws governing teacher tenure, dismissals and layoffs have left thousands of low-performing teachers concentrated in low-income communities.  You have been very vocal about your support for the tentative ruling.  If elected, how will you address the issues listed in the ruling so that every classroom has an effective teacher in every classroom?

MT: If elected, I will immediately move to drop the State Superintendent’s appeal of the Vergara decision. As someone who has only worked in low-income neighborhoods, I have seen firsthand the negative impact of the laws addressed in the Vergara case. For example, at one of the Partnership schools I oversaw, Markham Middle School, almost half of our teachers received layoff notices in 2009 because of the law mandating seniority-based layoffs. It was devastating to our students. Judge Treu made the right decision in the case, and the state needs to accept this decision rather than appeal.

Beyond the lawsuit, I will work with the legislature, education experts, and the public to develop a comprehensive solution that not only fixes the laws invalidated by Vergara; but also does more to support teachers. An effective teacher in every classroom must be the priority for our schools. This comprehensive solution will include:

• Create a longer period of time to achieve tenure and a more rigorous process so tenure is earned and not simply received
• Base layoffs on teacher effectiveness, not seniority
• Streamline the dismissal process for teachers while still offering basic due process rights
• Improve teacher professional development both in school districts and in university credentialing programs
• Develop smarter teacher evaluations that include student achievement data as a factor
• Improve working conditions and compensation structures to influence more people to go into teaching

EC: As the son of public school teachers, you must have tremendous respect for the teaching profession. Describe for us what you think is needed to bring more excellent teachers into the profession, and how to keep them in the classrooms?

MT: I learned the importance of great teachers not only through my mom, who taught public school, but also through the teachers I was fortunate to have growing up in the Bay Area. To me, there’s no greater gift we can give students than teachers who challenge and inspire them. When I led Green Dot and the Partnership schools, we made it a top priority to invest in hiring and retaining high-quality teachers. The state needs to do the same.

One thing Vergara made clear: we need a comprehensive, statewide strategy to bring more quality teachers into the profession and keep them in the classroom. Increases in teacher compensation, changes to work rules, improvements in teacher training and evaluations, and upgrades to university credentialing programs are all needed in order to elevate the teaching profession. High-performing college graduates don’t get too excited about going into a profession where they aren’t fairly compensated or where they could be fired regardless of their job performance. We must find a way to make teaching a profession of choice for our best and brightest.

EC: Describe how your experience in San Francisco public schools and being the son of public school teachers has shaped how you think about education.

MT: I believe that a quality education is not a privilege for the few; it is every child’s right. I was fortunate enough that my mom was a teacher who taught me the value of a good education at a very early age. I attended an incredible public middle school and a good public high school, where I had access to quality teachers, counseling support, and a rigorous, enriching curriculum. My experience, however, is very different than what I saw when I started working at Green Dot and the Partnership schools. In those neighborhoods, local public schools had been failing students year after year without change. Through no fault of their own, those students had far fewer opportunities to learn and achieve. It is simply not right that I was able to attend quality schools that prepared me to succeed while millions of children across the state are forced to attend inferior schools. This is the moral challenge of our time, and the one I’ve dedicated my career to addressing. We need to take urgent action to ensure every child has access to quality public schools.

EC: A lot of parents are very confused about the current conversation around Common Core.  Can you help explain what the Common Core Curriculum standards are, your views on how California schools are making the transition, and key milestones to watch for in the years ahead.  How will we know if our schools are better as a result of the Common Core?

MT: Common Core standards are new standards for learning that have recently been adopted by California. Standards for learning describe what a child should know by the end of each school year. For example, a third grade standard is that students must know how to place fractions on a number line. California has had standards of learning for several decades. The Common Core is an improvement over our previous standards, and more focused on preparing our students for the 21st Century. Often in the schools I led, teachers would claim that there were too many standards. They felt that they couldn’t educate their students effectively because they had to move too fast and spend too much time on rote memorization instead of more in-depth learning. When implemented effectively, Common Core can solve this problem. With fewer specific standards, teachers will be able to more effectively develop their students’ critical thinking and problem- solving skills.

Unfortunately, California is lagging behind other states in the implementation of the Common Core. The state has not effectively communicated with parents about this transition, causing confusion and opening the door to misleading political attacks. The state has not sufficiently invested in professional development for teachers and administrators, and has failed to develop a new accountability framework for measuring student achievement under the new standards. We need a State Superintendent who is not only committed to Common Core, but who also has the management expertise to fix the implementation problems and ensure a successful transition.

EC: Over the last twelve years, you have successfully managed charter and public schools in Los Angeles.  What are 2-3 distinct innovations or best practices you instituted at The Partnership for LA Schools and Green Dot that you think we could scale at the state level?

MT: I am proud of our students’ success at both the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools and Green Dot. Over the last five years, the Partnership Schools had the highest improvement on state tests of any school system with more than 10,000 students. Green Dot is graduating students prepared for college at four times the rate of neighboring schools. While there are a number of factors that contributed to our success in both organizations, below are three distinct innovations that we instituted that could scale throughout the state.

1. Investment in Attracting and Developing Educators: At both Green Dot and the Partnership, we made recruiting and training teachers and administrators a priority. We paid administrators more to come to the most challenging schools. We funded additional professional development for teachers during the summer and throughout the school year, and provided stipends to our highest-performing teachers so they could mentor their peers.
2. Parent College: At the Partnership, we prioritized parent involvement and launched the nationally recognized Parent College, a series of half-day, weekend workshops that empower parents to promote their child’s learning. Thousands of parents came to Parent College on Saturdays to learn about their roles, rights and responsibilities in their child’s school. Teachers and counselors at our schools led the Parent College work. It played a significant role in our schools’ success.
3. New and Different Teacher Contract: At Green Dot Public Schools, we created a union with a contract that worked for both educators and students. Our contract did not include many of the rules that made it difficult to have an effective teacher in every classroom, such as “Last In First Out” or cumbersome dismissal policies. The contract emphasized collaborative relationships between teachers and management. It is a contract that puts students first but is also fair to teachers.

Source publication: Emerson Collective