09/04/2026
I refuse to just report the negatives.
There’s a narrative out there that all parents in Maine have little understanding of what’s happening in their children’s classrooms. That simply has not been my experience.
I’ve attached text messages from JUST the first week of school showing how many of our Regional School Unit 21 educators are doing an excellent job communicating with parents about what’s happening in the classroom.
The good stuff matters too, but unfortunately, the positive stories don’t tend to always make the best political talking points, so props where props are deserved.👏
These are my experiences as a parent with a young child in public school, but I know that not all parents are having this experience. I’ve been objective and called out the facts here, we need to do more for education across Maine.
Maine’s education system, as a whole, does not rank particularly well compared with other states. Objective measures, including U.S. News and World Report, currently rank Maine #38 nationally, and that’s arguably a generous assessment.
We need to pay our educators better and make sure we retain the talented people already in our classrooms.
We need to give teachers the training and resources they need to navigate AI, because it isn’t going away. Our kids are already using it outside the classroom, and pretending otherwise isn’t a serious education policy.
We need to prepare students to think critically, communicate effectively, and articulate their own ideas. In a world where AI can generate an answer in seconds, knowing how to think may be more important than ever.
I also understand the political reality here. Regardless of any novel legislation ideas I propose and my fervent support for teachers and education, I’m a Republican, and the Maine Education Association will never endorse me because of that.
Most educators likely will not speak to me (I’ve tried.) on the record about their experiences in the classroom and provide me their thoughts on improving education, merely because of the letter next to my name. Regrettably, it is what it is.
But I’m married to an educator and a Democrat. We have three children six and under. I have a personal stake in getting this right, and I care deeply about the direction of education in Maine.
Our schools must improve. But if we’re serious about improving them, we need to elect leaders who are personally invested and have direct knowledge of what’s working, and the willingness to confront what isn’t, because they’re experiencing things firsthand as parents.
I pledge to be the state senator who is always accessible and willing to have those objective conversations. To our teachers, thanks for all that you do. 📚👩🏫✏️🤝🫡
