Strong & Safe Schools

A good education is foundational to achieving the American dream, protecting our national security interests, and preparing for the unforeseen challenges of tomorrow. I am committed to ensuring that our students have access to the best education possible. Academic achievement, academic growth, and social-emotional development should be the standard for every school in Tennessee. We must safeguard our academic institutions from political and social activism. A teacher’s job is to educate, not to indoctrinate their students based upon their personal worldview.

Education should not be a one-size-fits-all system. Parents should have a voice in their child's education, and we must continue removing barriers that prevent families from accessing the schools that best serve their children. School choice has often been inaccurately portrayed as a battle over funding between public schools and private schools. In reality, school choice is about funding the individual child and ensuring that they are in an educational environment where they can thrive. 
 
As a high school teacher, I witness firsthand the positive impact educators have on students every day. We must continue working to make the lives and jobs of teachers better by keeping class sizes manageable, adding more teachers or classroom assistants where possible, and ensuring that teaching and school effectiveness are evaluated fairly.
 
School violence is a long-standing challenge in America. Our students should feel safe at school from both internal and external threats. We must learn from past tragedies and fund security upgrades for both public and private schools across the state. New school construction and renovations should be designed with security in mind. Furthermore, we do not have to make our schools look intimidating to implement common-sense security standards.