When I served as a state Senator, the most common visitors to my office were parents and teachers. Parents expressed concern that their children were falling behind in reading or struggling to keep up. Teachers were frustrated by the lack of resources needed to help students succeed early on. Their message was clear: our children deserve a better chance, and Alaska must do more to provide it.

Those conversations shaped my time in office. They reminded me that education is more than a policy debate. It involves families, students, and teachers who dedicate their lives to helping them. It’s about whether a second grader will learn to read in time to succeed in third grade. It’s about whether a teenager will graduate prepared for the workforce or higher education. And ultimately, it’s about

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