SLP to Head of Arizona Department of Education

Democrat Kathy Hoffman, a speech-language pathologist in the Peoria (Arizona) Unified School District, won a tight race to become Arizona’s superintendent of public instruction in the Nov. 4 election. The novice politician was declared the winner over Frank Riggs, an experienced politician, after a post-election vote count, according to a report on ABC15-Arizona. A first-time candidate, Hoffman won two political upsets—first by besting David Schapira, a veteran politician, in the Democratic primary over the summer, and then by narrowly overtaking Riggs, a former California congressman who also headed a nonprofit group that helped charter schools with funding. Hoffman, who will lead the Arizona Department of Education, was propelled by grassroots educators who took action during the #RedForEd teachers’ strike last spring. The unprecedented teacher strike in May shut down Arizona public schools for nearly a week, after which the governor signed a plan that gives teachers pay raises that will reach 20 percent by 2020. As superintendent, Hoffman will oversee the department’s programs and bureaucracy. Look for a profile of Hoffman in an upcoming issue of the Leader. Carol Polovoy is managing editor of The ASHA Leader. cpolovoy@asha.org The post SLP to Head of Arizona Department of Education appeared first on Leader Live — Happening now in the speech-language-hearing world.
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: News Schools Slider Speech-Language Pathology Uncategorized education political leadership Source Type: blogs