State school superintendent candidate wants to focus on equity

Tarnisha Dent, an instructional coach in the Atlanta Public School system, joined the crowded race for state school superintendent March 10.

“I stand before you today nervous but ready—ready to advocate for the students of Georgia, for the teachers of Georgia, and for equity in Georgia,” she told supporters who gathered at the Community Achievement Center in Decatur.

“I have waited all of my career for this moment,” Dent said. “I have worked hard. I have been challenged. I have had some successes, but I have a plan for the children of Georgia.

“I want each district to have the resources that they need to support our students,” she said. “I want an evaluation system in place that’s there to help our teachers with growth to support good practice.”

A product of Atlanta Public Schools, Dent majored in biology at Alabama State University, and earned a master of science in education at Troy State University Atlanta. She also earned an education specialist degree in curriculum and instruction K-12 from Argosy University Atlanta.

Dent has worked in several metro Atlanta school districts.

Dent said she is running “not because it’s another job to me, but this has been my life’s dream. Every position that I have had has prepared me.”

Dent said she believes she can win the election because she is “in the trenches.”

“I know what students need. I know what support teachers needs,” she said.

Her jobs in education have given her “insight to a group of students that may fall behind,” said Dent, who works in an alternative school.

As the state school superintendent, Dent said one of her priorities would be “more equity in Georgia.”

“I want us to pay more attention to the group of pre-K students that we’re missing that don’t get in a lottery,” she said.

The state needs to look “at our pre-K students that we’re missing as they enter kindergarten to make sure that we have things in place where they’re not behind,” Dent said.

“I’m a little concerned about pre-K because right now a large number of our children are not entering pre-K,” Dent said they’re entering kindergarten without the necessary skills.

One problem in the state education system is the equity of support.

“Some districts have money and technology and some districts don’t,” Dent said.

“The teacher evaluation system is a problem—making sure our teachers are understanding what’s going on with their evaluations and that the evaluations are being used to evaluate and not to eliminate,” she said.

“I’m a student advocate, a teacher advocate and an equity advocate and I hope to serve the students of Georgia,” Dent said.