As classrooms close for the summer and families and teachers reflect on the experiences and the ways that their students have grown since August, I am preparing my classroom for a new, incoming teacher.

After 11 years of service to the profession, I am stepping away from my beloved role as a public school teacher. 

In those 11 years, I’ve personally participated in and witnessed countless examples of educators and families collaborating for the success of their students. I’ve seen advocacy on behalf of greater educational equity. I’ve seen students’ lives changed through daily, incremental rhythms of continuity of care and the deliberate, skilled expertise of teaching teams focused on increasing students’ social, emotional and academic gains.  

I, too, have watched the many ways that systemic structures shortcut the potential of teachers, and as such, their students. Striving for the utmost support of our teachers is paramount for a world in which each one of our students and local communities is better empowered to thrive. 

Be leery of anything or anyone sugarcoating the privatization or commodification of education. Let’s recognize the role of Kansas public school teachers within our communities as cornerstones of our collective success. Our public school teachers are doing incredible work with what they are given. However, it is also true that teachers are systemically and rhetorically under-resourced.

The beauty of a public school is that the public, when informed by experts in the field, has the potential to be a part of exponentially powerful redesigns. We all benefit from public policy that supports public school teachers.

Kansas is at a critical juncture, one in which we are poised to blaze the trail forward. It is time we lead the way with a teacher supportive agenda. The following proposals would strengthen both educators and our state.

• Demand higher salaries for public school teachers.
• Equitably staff our public schools, including specialized support staff in the buildings.
• Finance individualized teacher professional development and continuing education with opportunities for rotating sabbaticals.
• Provide robust benefits, including paid parental leave and child care options.
• Adjust all teachers’ retirement packages to KPERS 2.
• Reduce teacher-to-student ratios.
• Create opportunities for flexible instructional hours and schedules.
• Reserve an elected position in our legislative government (specifically in education committees) and local school boards for active teachers.

In the near future, I won’t serve in the classroom daily, but I will be sending my child to a public school. I will continuously raise my voice for the teachers and for the policies that elevate teacher voices, wellbeing and expertise. When teachers succeed, their students do, too. When teachers are supported, their students are. 

May the heartland of our nation set the bar for unparalleled support of our public school teachers, our local public schools and our children. We know the way. It’s time to link arms, drown out the noise of distracting ploys from out-of-state demagogues, and remind the rest of the world just what Kansas is: a state that invests in its people.

For our people are our greatest asset, and the public school teacher teaches all. 

Whitney Morgan is the 2019 Kansas Teacher of the Year and taught ELA and ESOL at Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.