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Kai Cortina
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Kai Cortina ran for election for an at-large seat of the Ann Arbor Board of Education in Michigan. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Cortina completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Kai Cortina was born in Cologne, Germany. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Marburg in 1986 and a Ph.D. from the Free University Berlin in 1996. His career experience includes working as a professor of psychology.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Ann Arbor Public Schools, Michigan, elections (2022)
General election
General election for Ann Arbor Board of Education At-large (4 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Ann Arbor Board of Education At-large on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Susan Baskett (Nonpartisan) | 13.6 | 27,891 |
| ✔ | Jacinda Townsend Gides (Nonpartisan) | 12.7 | 26,126 | |
| ✔ |  | Rima Mohammad (Nonpartisan)  | 12.4 | 25,493 |
| ✔ | Susan Schmidt (Nonpartisan) | 10.0 | 20,456 | |
| Jeremy Lapham (Nonpartisan) | 9.9 | 20,323 | ||
| Jamila James (Nonpartisan) | 9.9 | 20,215 | ||
| Lena Kauffman (Nonpartisan) | 5.7 | 11,709 | ||
 | Kai Cortina (Nonpartisan) | 5.2 | 10,707 | |
| Andrew Spencer (Nonpartisan) | 5.2 | 10,564 | ||
 | Leslie Wilkins (Nonpartisan) | 4.8 | 9,915 | |
| Alex Wood (Nonpartisan) | 4.5 | 9,211 | ||
| Barry Schumer (Nonpartisan) | 3.4 | 6,888 | ||
| Paulette Metoyer (Nonpartisan) | 2.4 | 4,999 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 467 | ||
| Total votes: 204,964 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Heather Eckner (Nonpartisan)
Endorsements
To view Cortina's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kai Cortina completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cortina's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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My perspective on education is informed by my 30 years of researching and teaching educational psychology. I have conducted studies on many aspects of education, such as learning motivation, test anxiety, and the professional vision of teachers. I have observed hours of classroom practice and worked with teachers on a range of projects, such as developing strategies for positive classroom engagement. I have also worked with our school district on important initiatives. For example, I was part of a coalition of parents and teachers that helped the district reopen its tuition preschools after restructuring them to offer free preschool to low-income children. I have great respect for public education -- one of the most important institutions of modern society.
- When our school district moved to a completely virtual model in 2020, this worried me for many reasons. As an educational psychologist, I could foresee what, in fact, happened. Student learning was disrupted, especially in elementary grades. Low-income children were particularly hard hit by the prolonged period of school closure. Youth mental health problems spiked. Two years later, we see evidence of widespread burnout among teachers. I run for school board to make certain our district takes bold steps to correct the problems brought on by the closures.
- School-based childcare is essential for working families. The canceling of childcare has been devastating to our community. Although some elementary buildings have their programs back, others do not. Many parents cannot leave work mid-afternoon to pick up kids, and many do not have local family to help. They are forced to choose between earning a living and keeping their kids safe, which is no choice at all. It’s imperative that we bring back affordable childcare throughout our district. I will make this a top priority.
- If we have learned one lesson from the COVID crisis, it is that technology cannot replace the social interaction of a real classroom. Many families, including mine, struggle to get children off their device. Like many other parents, I feel uneasy about the trend in public education to replace authentic, teacher-led experiences with technology. As a school board trustee, I will push for students to have more time with teachers, less time with tech.
Ann Arbor Public Schools was one of the last districts in Michigan to reopen its doors after COVID closures. Hundreds of our local doctors advised the district on how it could reopen safely, but still our schools remained shuttered. One of my motivations for running for school board is to ensure this never happens again. I will also work with the district to develop solutions to learning loss – repairing the harms of the virtual year. And I will help restore the ranks of its teaching workforce, which has lost too many gifted teachers to early retirement. Ann Arbor has some of the best public schools in the country. I look forward to supporting the excellence of this school district as a trustee of its Board of Education.
Honesty. Transparency. Respect for constituents.
I’m an immigrant, a scientist, an educator, and a father of two kids in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. I have 30 years of experience in research and teaching educational psychology. I’ve worked with teachers on a range of projects, from early literacy interventions to strategies to increase student engagement. I’ve also worked with AAPS on important initiatives. For example, I was part of a coalition of parents and teachers that helped the district reopen its tuition preschools, after restructuring them to qualify for state funding. I have great respect for public education as one of the most important institutions of modern society.
Prioritize the needs of students when setting school district policy.
I would like to leave our school district stronger than it is when I start.
Research Assistant at University of Lüneburg (3 years).
The Beatles - Yesterday (extended version)
Set policy for the school district.
People residing within Ann Arbor Public Schools boundaries.
I would make certain that school district policy considers needs of students and staff of all identities, including those that are visible (e.g., gender, race) and those that are not (sexual orientation, class, immigration status).
I will listen to people from different segments of the community, and make certain their voice is represented on our school board.
I believe in recruiting for diversity and excellence, and would pursue evidence-based policies to achieve this.
One big issue gets in the way: moving education to virtual platforms. I will make certain this is no longer the go-to response of our school district when times get tough.
Good teaching involves engagement with students.
I would advocate for our school district to partner with the University of Michigan (where I am faculty), Eastern Michigan University, and Washtenaw Community College to build innovative new programs.
I would excercise careful oversight over district spending, and make certain it aligns appropriately with priorities. For example, one current priority should be intervening in the learning losses that emerged after the all-virtual year. For this purpose, funding should be funneled into in-person tutoring and summer school (not virtual software -- it makes no sense to repair the harms of virtual school by offering more virtual school).
I am a strong advocate for gun control: guns have no place in our school buildings. I am also a strong advocate for public health and minimizing disease risk in schools (though I believe the public health department should set public health policy, not the school district).
I support expanded access to mental health services in person, on site in our schools. Both students and staff should have access to these services.
I would hope that technology plays a smaller role in the classroom than it does now: our school district has poured millions of dollars into chromebooks, digital libraries, math software, etc. Kids need more time with teachers, less time with tech.
We should pull out all the stops to make certain schools stay open, even during pandemic times. Many school districts nationwide stayed open at the height of the COVID crisis, and did not become superspreader sites. We can learn from them.
I will hold listening sessions and coffee hours, and I will push for a more participatory format for school board meetings.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on November 4, 2022
