From the curriculum to inside the classroom, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) plays a key role in how the state instructs K-12 students.
Voters this spring will decide who should lead the nonpartisan office.
Three people are running for state superintendent. Two will advance after next Tuesday's primary.
It's a large state agency that interacts directly or indirectly with 421 school districts, 2,300 schools, more than 800,000 students, and thousands of teachers.
Every four years, voters decide who will lead a department that spends billions of dollars and employs hundreds of people.
It may not be the biggest turnout election, but it's important to Sally Maddick. "They are making decisions about the education of our children."
Caralyn Court agrees. She sees the state superintendent playing a role in how Wisconsin schools shape the next generation of students. "We need to educate the next leaders in our country and our businesses."
It's not an easy topic to tackle in one story, but TMJ4 turned to Quinton Klabon to help understand DPI's impact on K-12 education.
"One really important avenue where DPI intersects with school districts is helping to provide teachers. They are also partners with the universities who are producing great educators," said Klabon. "I don't care what district you are in—urban, rural, suburban—everybody's looking for teachers."
Klabon currently does education research at the Institute for Reforming Government, a center-right, nonprofit that advocates for all Wisconsin schools.
While DPI is set up to partner with schools, there can also be pushback from the public and educators on changes to measuring test scores or classroom curriculum.
"While a lot of the school districts have independence in what exactly they teach in the classrooms, it's DPI that sets the standards," said Klabon. "They are helping provide the teachers, and they are working with schools on finance to make sure they are in compliance."
The importance of the state superintendent race is not lost on voters.
"It's the decisions that will affect what goes on in our schools," said Maddick, "and the distribution of funds and everything else."
The three candidates running for the state's top educator job include current State Superintendent Jill Underly.
She is being challenged by Brittany Kinser and Jeff Wright. The primary is February 18. The general election is April 1.
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