Lorie Wood

Lorie Wood graduated from Adams City High School. Wood earned a bachelor's degree from Old Dominion University in 1994 and a graduate degree from the University of Birmingham in 2005. Wood's career experience includes working as an educator.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm Lorie Wood and I'm running for the Kansas Board of Education District 5. I've spent more than 30 years as an educator, teaching in rural and urban communities across the United States and internationally. My classroom experience spans K-12 English language learners, high school literature, journalism and English Language Arts, as well as college-level composition, academic writing, and ESL. I also spent 7 years teaching for the US Navy in Japan, have presented at numerous teaching conferences, written four textbooks and developed curricula for both online and traditional classrooms.

I hold a Bachelor's degree in English – Secondary Education with an ESL endorsement and a Master's degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Throughout my career, I've intentionally chosen to teach in rural communities when possible, so I know firsthand what these schools and students need.

In 2019, I moved to Kansas to be closer to my aging parents. I now live in District 5, where I have grandchildren attending local schools — so my connection to Kansas classrooms is both professional and personal. I serve as Chair of the Decatur County Democratic Party and as the Rawlins County Silver-Haired Legislature representative.

I'm running because I believe rural Kansas deserves a State Board member who understands classrooms, listens to educators and families, and fights to make sure every child has the opportunity to succeed.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Every District 5 child deserves to read and do math at grade level. After 30 years teaching — including K-12 literacy, ELA, and ESL instruction — I know what works. Too many rural Kansas students fall behind because schools lack reading and math specialists, funding doesn't reach classrooms, and teachers get stretched outside their training. On the State Board, I'll push for early intervention, shared specialist staffing for small districts, real teacher training, and honest assessment of how students are doing. As a teacher and a grandmother with grandkids in District 5 schools, I've seen what happens when kids fall behind — and what's possible when they get help in time. Every Kansas kid deserves that chance.School funding isn't a line item; it's the foundation rural communities are built on. When schools struggle, families leave for better-funded districts, houses sit empty, and enrollment drops, cutting funding further. Towns can lose schools entirely; that rarely reverses. I've taught in rural communities most of my career and seen how much rides on strong schools for families, businesses, and seniors who want their grandkids' hometowns to survive. I'll push Topeka to fully fund mandates already committed to, treating education as long-term investment, not an annual fight. Strong schools keep families here and draw new ones in. I want to be the bridge between District 5 classrooms and Topeka's budget decisions.Teachers, principals, school boards, and parents know their classrooms better than anyone in Topeka. That's why local control matters to me. The State Board must protect districts' ability to make the right calls locally, while making sure the State meets its own funding obligations. District 5's counties are too varied for one-size-fits-all policy. I'm driving across the district all campaign, listening to teachers, administrators, and parents about what their schools actually need. I'll keep doing that if elected — bringing what I hear into State Board decisions. Local control only works if it's paired with real State funding, not used as an excuse for the State to step back from its responsibilities.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm most passionate about Kansas fully funding public education at the level already mandated. For 30 years, I've taught in classrooms that paid the price when funding fell short: outdated buildings, missing specialists, teachers stretched outside their training. Rural districts like ours in District 5 are hit hardest, since they can least afford to make up the gap locally. This isn't charity; it's an investment that keeps families and teachers in our towns instead of watching them leave. I've discussed this with legislators and found real agreement that funding must improve. As a State Board member, I'll keep pushing until the funding promises already made are kept in every district.