Sherry Gay-Dagnogo for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District
The Network for Public Education Action is proud to endorse Sherry Gay-Dagnogo for U.S. Congress, representing Michigan’s 13th Congressional District. Sherry is currently a member of the Detroit Board of Education. Sherry served three consecutive terms in the Michigan State House of Representatives for the 8th District from 2014-2020.
Sherry is a former Detroit Public Schools teacher and education is her priority. Sherry told us that “improving education for all children is the key to a strong workforce and economy. Specifically, I want to change the national direction of Workforce Development and job creation as it relates to criminal justice reform.” Sherry’s top priority is justice. Whether it be in education, free and fair elections, policing, the environment or the right to choose. Sherry told us that the ”future of our democracy is under attack. The battle for the soul of this nation is being fought on several fronts, which requires us to attend to them all at the same time.”
Education is a pillar of Sherry’s platform. She is a former science teacher for Detroit Public Schools and a 2008 Education Pioneers Fellow. In addition to teaching in the classroom, she worked with United Way Southeastern Michigan to lead the 2010-2012 Kindergarten Readiness initiatives program.
While serving in the Michigan State House, Sherry advocated for debt-free scholarships to community college for every Michigan citizen and loan forgiveness for those serving high impact needs. Sherry is passionate about education and her education platform draws upon her experience on the Detroit Board of Education as they continue to transform public education to holistically address the needs of every child.
As a member of Congress, Sherry will continue to push for greater investments for universal Pre-K and Head Start programs, and fair and equitable funding to support academic preparedness and the scaling of teacher pipelines. Additionally, she will continue to support integrated health and nutrition partnerships to focus on mental health and trauma-informed best practices.
Sherry’s positions on testing, charters, and vouchers are all in line with those of NPE Action. Here’s what Sherry told us.
Testing: “There should be less standardized testing and more in-class testing to ensure students have an equal chance at success.Testing in our schools should not be used to disqualify children or to cherry pick which succeed or fail. Testing should be used to inform, yet there are inherent flaws and biases that make this goal a fallacy. Test scores should tell where improvements can be made.”
Charters: “I understand the impact that charter schools have had on our traditional public schools. They have continued to poach students from our district, without improving the overall academic standing of our students. I have opposed charters for their practices of school closure, low scores, no accountability, and appointed school boards with no accountability to parents and families.”
Vouchers: “I do not support vouchers, Education Empowerment Accounts or tax credits that allow money to follow students to non-public schools. Public dollars should not be used to support private schools. Vouchers and the like increase costs, by requiring taxpayers to fund two school systems, one public and one private. The result is that public schools, which educate the clear majority of students, wind up with less funding.”
NPE Action urges MIchigan public education supporters to get out the vote for Sherry Gay-Dagnogo in the primary on August 2nd.
No candidate authorized this ad. It is paid for by Network for Public Education Action, New York, New York.