Shawnee Public Schools Superintendent Dr. April Grace announced she will be running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2022. Current State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister is term-limited, making the statewide office an open seat in the next election cycle.
Grace has worked in education for more than 30 years. She has served as Shawnee Superintendent since 2016.
“I have always believed it was my job to serve the students and families in my school community in a way that allows every single student to find success. I look forward to the opportunity to take my experiences and use them in serving the more than seven hundred thousand students and their families across the great state of Oklahoma,” said Grace in a statement announcing her candidacy.
Grace says she’s ready to take on the challenge after working through the pandemic.
“We always face challenges, and challenges are no stranger to me. In Shawnee we opened our schools 5 days a week in the fall of last year by providing four different options to our families. While it was challenging, I am proud to say we closed school more days due to weather than to COVID.
While we have made strides within the Oklahoma education system to overcome challenges, we still have room to improve. To have a prepared workforce we must have an educated workforce. As State Superintendent I will work to ensure our families’ voices are heard and our children’s educational needs are met. Understanding that critical race theory has no place in our PK-12 classrooms, I will ensure strong unbiased curriculum standards for our students and work to keep educators focused on meeting the needs of students and teaching our standards. I look forward to traveling throughout Oklahoma in the upcoming months and hearing from the people of our great state,” said Grace.
According to her campaign, Grace has raised more than $100,000 from more than 350 individual donors.
State Ethics records show Grace is registered as a Republican.
