Throughout the early days of the pandemic, I frequently watched the mid-day news updates with the California governor. While the conferences featured a variety of guests, one that I recall listening to specifically was Tony Thurmond, the incumbent candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He spoke about how the California Department of Education (CDE) was beginning to guide students through the pandemic and transitioning students back to in-person school, instilling confidence in California citizens that he would execute this rocky change in the best way possible. 

As the incumbent, Thurmond has already gained my trust, and if I were eligible to vote this year, I would vote for Thurmond for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the basic motive that he has already proved himself worthy in his past endeavors holding this position. 

In short, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction oversees the CDE and is the spokesperson for public schools in California. While they do not directly write legislation, State Superintendents of Public Instruction can influence, modify, and offer guidance on policy from the California Board of Education. 

Tony Thurmond has been the State Superintendent of Public Instruction since 2019 and he has 12 years of experience in education. Prior to working in education, Thurmond engaged in social work, focusing on foster youth services, programs for people with developmental disabilities, and providing job training for at-risk youth. 

Throughout his previous four-year term, Thurmond not only worked to repair the public school system after the pandemic, but he also focused on improving it in the process. He created the first-ever Office of Equity within the CDE as well as a Family Engagement Unit. Thurmond expanded the free lunch program, the Chafee Grant college scholarship program for foster youth, and bilingual education. Under his guidance, legislation was passed to expand STEM education, improve school conditions for LGBTQ+ youth, and establish the first-ever statewide youth advisory council and statewide parent advisory. Through these actions, Thurmond’s dedication to improving public education for all students is clear. 

If reelected, Thurmond said he hopes to increase the number of mental health professionals at all public schools by employing 10,000 additional counselors. While this may seem like a lofty goal, I trust in Thurmond’s ability to follow through with his promise because I’ve seen him do it before. Already, Thurmond has expanded the Golden State Teacher Grant Program, which allows students pursuing degrees in counseling to receive grants up to $20,000. It is clear that Thurmond recognizes the increasing need for school counselors and is willing to put in the effort to ensure that students from all public schools have access to the help they need. 

Additionally, Thurmond is dedicated to improving literacy rates by making sure students can read by third grade. Currently, only 23% of fourth-grade students in California are reading at or above their grade level and California has the lowest adult literacy rate of any state. Thurmond plans on putting $250 million from the state budget towards reading coaches and other specialists, creating family-based literacy programs, and increasing access to books for students in need. He has already provided five million free online books in English, Spanish, and French, demonstrating his commitment to bringing literature to people from all walks of life. 

One major difference between Thurmond and his opponent is their opinions on the creation of the ethnic studies program in California. Thurmond is interested in making it a graduation requirement, whereas Lance Christensen is looking to “immediately suspend the review of curriculum framework currently being reviewed,” which basically means he is looking to stop the forward progression of the ethnic studies program. Christenson claims that it is “cultural Marxism” and “makes kids feel bad about who they are.” What he neglects to recognize is that ethnic studies has the potential to make students appreciate their own cultures and improve their self-images, which is important in the diverse cultural climate of California. Christenson has said he wants to allow parents to have a bigger part in decision-making when it comes to curriculums under review, allowing the adults to decide what’s best for children. But I believe it’s imperative that students are the ones making decisions about their own educations. Surveys have shown that students are interested in learning more about their ethnicities, thus, it is not in the best interest of California students to elect Christenson due to his wild claims about the harms of ethnic studies. 

Because of Thurmond’s success throughout his previous term as State Superintendent of Public Instruction, he has already established a relationship of trust with California residents and I have confidence in his ability to continue his impactful work throughout the next four years.