Despite being a highly respected profession held by millions of people, we suffer from a shocking lack of representation of educators among elected officials.
Our mission is to identify and support educators running for office who can win their elections and put their experience to work on behalf of all educators and students.
Lean more about and support educators running for local school boards in key districts around the country.
Congratulations to the 94% of Elect Educator Everywhere candidates in Wisconsin School Board elections who won
Educators Running For Congress
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Christina Bohannan
University of Iowa Law School Professor and State Representative Christina Bohannan knows the power of public education to transform a person’s life. She grew up in a trailer in a small town, the daughter of hard-working parents who never finished high school. Her teachers believed in her, and she became the first person in her family to graduate from college.
As a State Representative, she’s fought for better education funding, fairer pay for teachers, and safer schools for students and educators alike. As a professor, Christina has been recognized four times for her teaching excellence.
Today, Christina is running in the district with the closest 2020 Congressional election, one decided by just 6 votes out of 400,000 votes cast. With your help, she can win back the seat this year.
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Dr. Alma Adams
Dr. Alma Adams was an art teacher at Bennett College for 40 years, and served on the Greensboro School Board, Greensboro City Council, North Carolina General Assembly, and now in Congress. She’s been a champion for students, parents, and educators, and is commonly known around Congress as the “Godmother of HBCUs” due to her steadfast advocacy for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Congresswoman Adams is one of the few educators on the House Education Committee and is running in the newly-drawn 13th Congressional District in North Carolina.
We can’t afford to lose one of the members of the Education Committee who brings her professional education experience to debates about education policy.
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Tony Vargas
Former Middle School Teacher Tony Vargas is a child of immigrants, a product of public schools, and a first-generation college graduate. He was inspired by the educators who believed in him, and he would go on to be recognized as the “Teacher of the Year” and “Most Outstanding Teacher” before being appointed to the Omaha Public Schools Board of Education, and then winning election to the Nebraska State Senate in 2017.
Tony is running in a highly-competitive, swing district that has been decided by an average of just 2.6% over the last three elections. Tony won his primary in May, and with our help, he can win the general election in November.
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Kirsten Engel
University of Arizona College of Law Professor and former State Senator Kirsten Engel has over 20 years of experience serving students and helping them prepare to make a difference in the world.
Now, she’s running in one of the most competitive, open Congressional seats in the country, Arizona’s 6th Congressional District. Joe Biden won this district by just 0.1% in 2020 (49.3% to 49.2%).
Kirsten comes from a family of educators, and when she saw the damage underfunding did to her daughter’s local public school, she got personally involved. After running for and winning a seat in the Arizona Legislature, she championed school funding and school safety for students and educators alike.
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Greg Landsman
Greg Landsman, the son of parents, was inspired by the impact they had on their students. He went on to become a high school teacher and then a City Councilman.
Based on his understanding of how public education can be the greatest opportunity for every kid, he led the Preschool Promise program, which provides quality preschool to three and four year-olds in Cincinnati.
In Congress, he’s committed to increasing federal funding for public schools and ensuring educators and parents have a voice in how local schools operate.
Greg is running in one of the most Democratic districts still held by a Republican, a district that voted for President Biden by 9% in 2020. -
Jahana Hayes
Jahana Hayes, a high school teacher honored as the 2016 National Teacher of the Year, was elected to Congress in 2018, making history as the first African-American woman elected to Congress in Connecticut.
She is one of the few professional educators on the House Education Committee, and serves on the early childhood, elementary and secondary education subcommittee, where she puts her 15 years of classroom experience to work for every K12 public school student, educator, and parent.
This year, she’s running for re-election in a swing district, against a highly touted Republican recruit. Privatizers, book banners, and other opponents of great public schools have targeted her for defeat.
Educators Who Won in 2021
H.S. History and Government Teacher
Schuyler VanValkenburg
Delegate
Schuyler VanValkenburg
2021 Winner
Virginia’s 72nd House District
Schuyler VanValkenburg has been a middle and high school history and government teacher for over 15 years, continuing to teach after his election to the Virginia House of Delegates. VanValkenburg is an active member of the Henrico Education Association and holds a National Board Certification.
Since he was first elected in 2017, he has advocated for increased education funding, curriculum moderization, and building up the teaching profession to attract and retain more stellar teachers.
As one of the few educators in the Virginia House, Schuyler is relied on to bring the voices and experiences of educators to the debates about education policy and funding. His #1 priority is enacting an overhaul of Virginia’s broken public education funding model to ensure that more funding goes to the schools that need it most.
Schuyler is at the center of the fight to retain Democratic control of the House. In his past two elections, he’s has won by just 3,819 combined votes, after Republicans have spend over $1 million against him. He’s counting on support from educators to help him share his message and turnout enough voters to win re-election.
E.S. Spanish Teacher
Shelly Simonds
Delegate
Shelly Simonds
2021 Winner
Virginia’s 94th House District
Shelly Simonds lost her 2017 election by zero votes! Shelly appeared to win by one vote, but a recount resulted in a tie and a random drawing from a bowl gave her opponent the seat for two years. But Shelly came back to win in 2019 by over 3,000 votes.
Shelly taught Spanish for six years at her local elementary school before serving as the PTA President and then on the Newport News School Board for seven years.
The mutual support and team spirit of her fellow educators at Hilton Elementary School is what inspired Shelly to run for school board. She wanted to be a voice of educators, for educators, and create the space for her former colleagues to teach and serve students’ best interests.
As Delegate, she evaluates legislation with her experience as an educator, asking whether each proposal will empower educators and benefit students, or whether it will increase bureaucracy and workload without benefiting students.
Shelly is one of the majority-maker Democrats who won a Republican-held seat in 2019, and now she has to defend it in a tough environment and lower turnout election.
Elementary School Teacher
Kelly Convirs-Fowler
Delegate
Kelly Convirs-Fowler
2021 Winner
Virginia’s 21st House District
Kelly Convirs-Fowler was an elementary school teacher for seven years, including serving as the grade level chair for the 3rd grade, prior to her election to the Virginia House of Delegates. In 2017, Kelly she defeated an incumbent Republican and made history as the first Filipina elected to the world’s oldest representative body
Kelly continues to support raising teachers’ salaries to and beyond the national average and ensuring education support professionals are paid at least a living wage.
She’s committed to fully funding public schools, including providing state funding to ensure school districts can meet the needs of all students and ensure a safe learning environment for students and educators alike.
She’s running for re-election in Virginia Beach, a competitive area that tends to vote with the statewide election winner. Republicans are targeting her for defeat, having spent over $1.1 million to try to defeat her in the last two elections and investing heavily already this year to try again.
She’s counting on educators and allies of public education to help her stay competitive and get her message out.
H.S. Math Teacher
Jalen McKee-Rodriguez
Councilman
Jalen McKee-Rodriguez
2021 Winner
San Antonio’s 2nd Council District
Jalen McKee-Rodriguez decided to become a teacher when he learned that only around 2% of educators are Black men. He’d never had a Black male teacher himself, and recognized the positive value that experience would have on so many students, and so he became a teacher.
Jalen was inspired to run for office as he saw local officials neglecting issues impacting students and educators. From inadequate mental health support and local jobs that paid so little that parents and grandparents had to work multiple jobs and couldn’t spend time with their kids, to children walking to school on unpaved roads and without sidewalks or streetlights to help keep them safe, Jalen saw the impacts of public policy failures on his students and in his classroom.
When he was sworn in, Jalen became the first gay Black man elected to public office in Texas. He’s committed to increasing education funding, advancing racial equity and investing in disadvantaged communities, and supporting the safety of students and educators alike.
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