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Follow Wyoming Public Radio as we cover the Equality State and U.S. elections online and on-air.

Superintendent Balow Moves Into Second Term Unopposed

screen shot from jillian4supt.com

Wyoming's Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow will serve a second term. Four years ago when she started her first term, she said educators called for strong leadership and stability in K-12 education. She said delivering that along with her reputation for collaborative decision making is why she ran uncontested this time around.

"You know I really pride myself on being a collaborative and inclusive leader, and there's nary a policy decision that's made in a silo in my world," said Balow. "We are constantly reaching out to stakeholders across the state for advice and input on how we can make education policy the best it can be."

Balow said she'll continue to work on implementation of K-12 computer science education and she wants to help districts take a comprehensive approach to school safety and security. She said a focus on student well-being is key to that conversation.

Balow also anticipates that education funding discussions will take up her time.

"But as always those should not ever take the place of talking about what needs to be done to improve education," said Balow. "Because school funding... should not affect what's happening in the classroom."

Balow oversees a state education system that's seen over $100 million in cuts over the last three years.

Tennessee -- despite what the name might make you think -- was born and raised in the Northeast. She most recently called Vermont home. For the last 15 years she's been making radio -- as a youth radio educator, documentary producer, and now reporter. Her work has aired on Reveal, The Heart, LatinoUSA, Across Women's Lives from PRI, and American RadioWorks. One of her ongoing creative projects is co-producing Wage/Working (a jukebox-based oral history project about workers and income inequality). When she's not reporting, Tennessee likes to go on exploratory running adventures with her mutt Murray.
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