Jon Alfuth attended public schools throughout his personal education journey and began his career as a high school math teacher and administrator in Tennessee, teaching in both traditional public schools and charter schools. The Alfuth family moved to the DC area in 2016 and settled in Ward 5 a year later, first in Brentwood and then Woodridge.

Since leaving the classroom, Jon has dedicated his professional career to advancing national education policy and advocacy around public schools through his federal work at the US Department of Education and in Congress, the National Governors Association, and other education policy organizations. Along the way, Jon’s had the privilege to advise the US Secretary of Education, US Senators, governors across the country, state legislators, state superintendents, state department of education staff, and community advocates.

Here in DC, Jon regularly advocate’s for expanded opportunities that will benefit all students in front of the State Board of Education and serves as a member of the Education Through Employment Pathways Stakeholder Advisory Board. Even though Jon is no longer full time teaching, he keeps himself grounded in his experience as an educator through his work with the Washington DC Urban Debate League where he coaches and judges elementary, middle, and high school debate for both DCPS and charter school kids across our city. 

Jon Alfuth is running for state board of education because he believes we need to keep fighting so that all of DC’s public schools can successfully prepare our kids for the future. We’ve made progress as a city in recent years but data show that too many of our young people still aren’t finding success after they leave our K-12 system. This is especially true for our black and brown students. Jon wants to put his knowledge and experience to work building a K-12 education system that equips all students in Ward 5 and across our entire city with the tools they need for future success. Jon also believes that we need a member on the board who is currently invested in our public education system and who will fight for all our ward’s public schools. Jon’s entire family engages with our DCPS and Public Charter Schools each and every day, and he knows personally the importance of making sure all schools have the resources they need to be successful.

If elected, Jon will work to bring together our community to ensure all Ward 5 students attend safe and healthy schools where they can thrive, have access to rigorous academic and career-oriented learning experiences, and are supported so that they are present at school each and every day.

Jon is committed to always listening to as many voices as possible and combining expertise with lived experience to come up with the best solutions possible for public school children across our ward and city.