Decatur Resident Brian Westlake Running for State Superintendent
Decatur Metro | June 21, 2010 | 11:55 am
With the current State Superintendent of Schools, Kathy Cox, making the surprise announcement last month that she wouldn’t seek reelection in the fall, the race to fill her job has been thrown wide open.
Among the five candidates currently running for the post is Gwinnett County high school social studies teacher and Decatur resident, Brian Westlake.
Westlake, a Democrat, recently responded to a series of four questions posed by the AJC:
- 1. How would you manage a mandated 10 percent cut in education spending?
- 2. How will you restore public confidence in test results?
- 3. Do you support vouchers for public education?
- 4. Do you support pay for performance for teachers?
Voter registration for the 2010 fall election ends today.
Re AJC questions: I liked Westlake’s responses about NCLB, formulaic approaches to accountability, curriculum narrowing, schools turning into test prep centers, and test anxiety in 7 year olds.
Would have been nice if he had answered question 1.
The best thing I can say about Mr. Westlake is that he is a veteran. According to his website, he is a former U.S. Marine who led troops into some of the most difficult and inhospitable areas of the world. In my opinion, his Marine training has helped him become a successful teacher and would come in handy if he is lucky (or unlucky) enough to win. Joe Martin, another Democratic candidate, was a decorated Vietnam War veteran (as well as a student in one of Decatur’s elementary schools). I see military experience as one that would normally influence my vote, although I doubt that many people in Decatur feel the same way.
The Democratic winner will need allot more than impressive military experience to convince conservative Georgia voters that higher educational spending will resolve our problem. I wish Mr. Westlake the best of luck in the Democratic primary.
As a teacher, I’d love to see another teacher become state superintendent. However, a teacher needs extensive leadership preparation just to to be a building leader. A state level position requires significant leadership skills and political savvy. Are his credentials superb? Has he led a department, school or district?
These aren’t retorical questions or slamming. I’m really curious. I guess I’ll go do some research. What do you all already know?
P.S. I’m texting by the pool in Florida- I love teaching!
Here’s what I found out from his website. Chris mentioned his military experience already. He held a national position for the GAE (Georgia Association of Educators) but I can’t find what the position was. He is certainly well educated- M.S. from Florida state, law degree from Georgia Sate University’s College of Law and a Master of Public Administration from Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.
I don’t see much school leadership experience except the GAE.
how much school leadership did cox have? i look forward to hearing more about this guy.
I’d vote for a three legged aardvark over Cox.
Ironically, I’d need more leadership to get a local principalship than Cox’s job.
I am trying to find out about Mr. Westlake. In the process of looking, I found someone who agreed with me about the too much testing issue/ . I really think we could save a great deal of money in this state by just giving the ITBS test, and that would be it. It is a great test, and given all over the country. Why is this so difficult to understand. One test for all. I am a retired teacher of 28 years in the Dekalb County system. I miss the children, but not the system. Think about it, one test, ITBS, and use the money for important things that the schools need.
Re why it is difficult to understand about just using one test, the ITBS: Because 1) State achievement tests (vs nationally-normed performance tests like ITBS) are required in order to receive federal funding; and 3) some educators have made their careers on the MAP test. Of course nothing is in place to do the most important evaluation of all–evaluating whether all this testing has resulted in better educated, more successful, more productive graduates of public schools.