Robin Stevens, an incumbent candidate for the Nebraska State Board of Education, visited Alliance on Friday, visiting the community before catching his grandson’s football game on Friday evening.
Stevens took the time to meet with the Alliance Times-Herald Friday morning, sharing his 40 years of experience within the field of education. He said that in that time he has served as a teacher, a coach, an assistant principal, principal and superintendent.
“I’ve run the gamut as far as education is concerned,” said Stevens. “After my retirement, I wanted to maintain my involvement in communities and schools. I wanted to give back. After pursuing numerous options and thinking about things, the thing that seemed to really fit was my involvement in education. So the position of State Board of Education became available in 2018, and now I’m running for re-election in 2022.”
Stevens said the time he has served on the board so far has been an outstanding experience, despite there being challenges to overcome. He emphasized that the accomplishments made by the board have not been Stevens’ alone.
“Most importantly, it’s an accomplishment that we strongly believe helps kids,” Stevens said. “Some of those things would include the passing of the social studies standards, the current passage of the math standards and working on science standards and assessments, and that sort of thing. Those are big issues, and they help guide our school districts. We need to emphasize that the board only sets standards, and the local schools are the ones who set the curriculum. Every time we pass, or don’t pass a policy or whatever, it has an effect on our children. It’s much bigger than just standards.”
Stevens also cited the expansion of early childhood education, the increase of parent involvement in the school systems and state board, and the expansion of broadband access as other accomplishments that align with his goals. He said there is still work to be done in those areas.
Stevens said that in looking to the future, he believes there are two issues that must be addressed: recruiting and retaining teachers throughout the state.
“It’s a tremendously important part of our culture, and I’m happy to say that I was a part of it now well over 40 years when you include my involvement in the state board of education,” said Stevens. “I’m very excited about the future, but we know, of course, there will be challenges; some known, some unknown. Anything worth doing is going to have those challenges. If it was easy, everyone would want to do it.”
Stevens explained that retaining teachers comes down to making sure their voice is heard and respected on issues they raise and compensating them adequately for their work. He noted that another factor, to limit burnout would be providing mental health resources to educators. He said that for teacher recruitment, the State Board of Education is working with the colleges and universities to help encourage students to become teachers.
Navigating the challenges of education during the pandemic is something that Stevens said was a unique experience, one that led to both frustration and excitement. He said he believes the local school districts did a marvelous job in their response to the pandemic, and that he thinks education throughout the state will be stronger as a result of teachers and school districts adapting to the changes as they were presented.
“You really felt for the kids and the educators during that particular time,” Stevens said. “There are those who show, ‘We see some real reduction in our academic achievements,’ and some would say, ‘Oh, the schools failed,’ and that sort of thing. I’m not in that camp. I’d much rather be in the camp that says, ‘Hey, we came out of this, in certain ways, much stronger.’ The use of our technology was just absolutely amazing. It forced all teachers and all educators to rethink the things that they were doing. Anytime you do that self analysis of, ‘What can we do better?’ and, ‘What can we do to address this issue?’, you come out better, regardless of the measurement of a test, or that sort of thing.”
Stevens emphasized that education should not be a political issue, noting that one of the largest battles that schools and educators face is disinformation. He noted that education has been a political issue for many years, though the issues have evolved.
“I’m very concerned about the politics that have become part of the education process,” said Stevens. “The powers that be have found out that being negative toward education was a good political move. That disturbs me greatly. Generally, people who are challenging educators are those that have been, either they don’t understand, or that they believe many of the falsehoods that are being put out there by sources that are wanting to gain power through attacking education. So, they paint a much, much different picture than what I see in the Seventh District of the State of Nebraska. Education is not about politics; education is about kids. We have to keep that in mind. The powers that be, I believe, are doing a tremendous disservice to the education system as a whole.”
Stevens is grateful for the opportunity to serve his fellow Nebraskans, and to help carve a path for future generations.
“I’m just really happy to have served the Seventh District of Nebraska for the last four years, and I look forward to the possibility of continuing that service,” said Stevens.