Kathy Hoffman, the newly elected Superintendent of Public Instruction for Arizona spent the day on Dec. 3 visiting the Patagonia Public Schools, meeting with the Patagonia School Boards and local officials, visiting classrooms, engaging in round table discussions with board members, school administration and teachers, and having lunch with the high school students.
“We’ve never had a politician of that stature come to the school,” said Patagonia School District Superintendent Rachell Hochheim. “We were very grateful for this opportunity.”
32-year-old Hoffman, the first Democrat elected as Superintendent of Public Instruction in more than two decades, was an educator and speech therapist before running for office. Among her priorities are charter school reform and accountability, investing in programs for English language learners, and bilingual education.
At the morning round table discussion with the school administration, Hoffman spoke of her intention to fund professional development for teachers. Several problems that rural schools face, including inadequate internet and computer accessibility, retention of teachers, competition by charter schools and lack of funding were discussed as well.
“She wants to take the AZ Department of Education and turn it into a resource for schools and school administrations, making it a platform for resources and best practices,” Liz Collier, registrar of the Patagonia School, said. “This is huge.”
Hochheim felt that the visit allowed Hoffman to see first-hand the accomplishments and the issues faced by small rural schools. “We were able to share with her the programs we’ve initiated in the past year and highlight the wonderful work of our teachers. We were also able to share with her the challenges that we face as a rural school district. We showed her what we have been able to accomplish with what we’ve been given and what we could do with much needed added resources.”
When asked for her impressions of the Patagonia Schools, Hoffman replied, “I love it. It’s a beautiful campus, with clearly dedicated teachers who are going above and beyond for their students.”