Today on Teacher Appreciation Day, I want to share with you just how deep my appreciation is for teachers.

If I didn’t have Mr. Osterweil as a teacher, I would either be dead or in prison. Let me tell you a bit more…

After my mom passed away when I was 8, I lived with my father who was suffering from undiagnosed Alzheimer’s disease. With everything going on at home, school became a place where I could be a kid when outside of school I really couldn't.

Mr. Osterweil, my fourth through sixth grade public school teacher, made that possible. He made school a safe, supportive, and engaging place. He showed us a world beyond our neighborhood, transforming our classroom into a space for self-expression and, sometimes, a Shakespearean stage. He was so deeply invested in all of the students, and the impact he made in my life during such a difficult period is really why I became a teacher myself.

It was because of teachers like Mr. Osterweil who changed the trajectory of my childhood that I went on to become a high school social studies teacher, a principal, and the 10th U.S. Secretary of Education under President Obama.

In these roles, I tried to do for others what my teachers had done for me. Now, I’m running for governor of Maryland with an educator’s perspective guiding my vision to build a brighter, more equitable state. All students deserve to have a teacher like Mr. Osterweil and experience the transformative power of public institutions, and as governor I will fight to support our teachers and public schools with the resources to empower all Marylanders. 

If you believe it’s time we had a teacher for governor, I hope you’ll consider supporting our campaign with a donation today.