Tracy Layne Foss

Tracy Layne Foss earned a high school diploma from Northwood Public School, a bachelor's degree from Mayville State University in 1992, and a graduate degree from Valley City State University in 2012. Her career experience includes working as a teacher.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a lifelong North Dakotan with a Masters Degree in Education who has been working in the education field for over 30 years. 22 of those years have been in teaching, at the college level, high school level, junior high/middle school level, and I was even an elementary para. I also have educational experiences outside the classroom as a school business manager, a grant writer for a 15 school consortium, and a state Career and Technical Education supervisor in the fields of Information Technology and Technology & Engineering Education. These experiences give me a wide range of perspectives that I now feel called to bring forward in service to North Dakota. I am also a wife, mother, and mother-in-law.

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?

There are some amazing things happening in our schools districts, but we also have some real issues. These issues are fixable, but only if we get to the root causes of the problems. And we can only get to those root causes if we give all stakeholders place and voice at the table and we ask the right questions.Successful schools need to be fully funded. A fully funded education system benefits everyone. It is a great return on investment through stronger communities, economic growth, and reduced long-term social costs. We therefore, need to define what a fully funded school looks like and then develop a plan to get there.Issues that would be priorities include teacher retention and recruitment, providing no cost meals to our students, supporting special education, and rethinking accountability. We need to give voice to our teachers to understand why they are leaving. We need to provide meals so that every child can reach their full potential. All students are capable of learning, so we need to ensure all students get the resources they need. We need assessments that truly reflect student learning and growth, helping schools improve rather than just producing test scores.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Education