Sisterhood Spotlight

What led to your decision to become an educator?

Like many other teachers, I had a positive experience in school. I was blessed with teachers who served as mentors and role models - I wanted to be like them. After ten years as a classroom teacher I decided to combine my desire to impact students with my interest in governance and policy. It was the right move for me. I cannot imagine being an educator without thinking about policies that affect our communities and schools and I cannot imagine making policy decisions without the wisdom I gained as a teacher.

What, to you, is an exciting opportunity in education right now?

Parents! They are so engaged in making our schools successful. Every parent and every teacher have at least two things in common: 1) We want students to find success in school and life, and; 2) We want to support students on that path. That’s a recipe for partnership, not polarization. I want to help build productive, trusting, and meaningful relationships between parents and teachers.

What would you say to young women who are considering entering your field?

I love the opportunity to talk to young women about teaching because there are so many opportunities to lead every day in the classroom, school, and community. Teachers who are passionate know that the job is about facilitating learning and providing opportunities, not just delivering content.

How is the Department of Education addressing teacher vacancies?

My team is unleashing a new initiative called “Turning the Tide” to address teacher vacancies. The initiative pulls grant opportunities and incentives under one umbrella so communities have support for their customized efforts to recruit, grow, and retain the best educators. We are also making sure that Virginians know the facts about teacher vacancies in Virginia - it may or may not be what is being reported nationally. It is exciting to see school divisions recruit and grow teachers from populations like veterans, retirees, paraprofessionals in schools, and career switchers from business and industry. I support the efforts and my team and I work to build community momentum. 

What’s a piece of advice that has impacted the trajectory of your career?

No matter what you are doing in life, find mentors and people to mentor. For me, finding mentors is the easy part - I am learning every day from those around me. I also have a few “life mentors” (including my high school government teacher!) who I count on to give me the brutal truth. Mentoring others is also important. Psalm 46:5 says, “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.” Mentoring others is not about imparting knowledge on others or speaking about my successes. It is about supporting, uplifting, and strengthening our colleagues and friends, especially in difficult times.

You relocated your family from WY to VA. What is the biggest difference?

Calling Virginia home is a blessing for our family - we are still getting used to the humidity, the trees and the traffic. We take full advantage of weekend adventures to explore all Virginia has to offer. The biggest challenge has been being away from most of our family. We are quickly making new friends and have connected with east coast family we have not seen in a long time. Our family loves adventure and we are on one now!

What is something you’d say to parents across Virginia during this back-to-school season?

Connect with your children’s teachers in a positive way early in the school year. Do not wait until there is a specific reason to talk because then the interaction is about an issue, not building a partnership. Teachers and parents want positive relationships with each other - take the first step to build that!

About Superintendent Balow

Balow was a classroom teacher for 10 years. She served in the Wyoming Department of Family Services, and as a policy advisor to Wyoming Governor Matt Mead before being elected as Wyoming's state superintendent in 2014.

In Wyoming, Balow worked with tribal partners to create the “Indian Education for All” curriculum so that all Wyoming students would learn about the history and contributions of the state’s Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes.

She developed a support system for Wyoming’s lowest-performing schools and reduced the number of schools needing state assistance by 5%. Balow also incorporated career and military readiness into Wyoming’s accountability system and worked with business, industry, policymakers, and educators to include computer science education in every K-12 classroom.

Since becoming Virginia’s state superintendent, Balow has advocated for the Virginia Literacy Act and provided Governor Youngkin with a report on policy steps necessary to restore high expectations and excellence as objectives for all of the commonwealth’s students.

Nationally, Balow served as president of the Board of Directors of the Council of Chief State School Officers from 2019-2020. She is a member of the Hunt Institute's 2020 Cohort 6 Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellows. She also served as the Treasurer of the Education Commission of the States, the highest-ranking position a state superintendent can have in that organization.

Balow was recognized as the 2017 State Policymaker of the Year by the State Education Technology Directors Association and the 2016 Influencer of the Year by the Mott Foundation. In 2017, she received the Patrick Henry Award for distinguished partnership with the armed forces. In 2021, Balow was recognized as a Wyoming business “changemaker” for her response to COVID-19.