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| Congresswoman Wilson says better schools essential to give every child a chance to help build new century |
January 28, 2000 |
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Congresswoman Heather Wilson will introduce three bills designed to improve teacher training and development, establish a Federal Loan Guarantee Fund for charter schools, and strengthen early childhood education for the poorest children, the first steps toward getting our education system on the right track.
"In the twentieth century, we made the transition from an agrarian to an industrial economy," Wilson said in testimony at a Congressional field hearing on New Mexico's education needs held recently in Albuquerque. "Now we are making the transition from an industrial economy to an information economy. This transition will change our society as surely as the urbanization of America changed our society. It will affect the way we do business, the way we shop, and most importantly the way we learn.
"If the twenty-first century is to be just as much an American century as the twentieth century, we must improve and expand public education, and no child can be left behind. The education that was good enough for our grandparents was not food enough for us. And what is good enough for us will be woefully inadequate for our children."
Congresswoman Wilson said that testimony provided by New Mexicans during the congressional hearing helped shape her ideas for three pieces of legislation that she will introduce in the session of Congress that just began. The following is a brief summary of her proposed legislation.
1. Teacher and Principal Training: Wilson will introduce legislation to improve teacher and principal training and professional development, including programs to make it easier for second career teachers to get into classroom.
2. Charter School Loan Guarantee Fund: Wilson will introduce legislation to establish a Federal Charter School Loan Guarantee Fund. Charter Schools provide options within the public school system, but, in most states are held back by the lack of facilities and capital money. A federal loan guarantee fund for charter schools could make banks more willing to lend, and would lower interest payments. The federal government would realize a cost only if the charter school defaulted on its loans.
3. Improving Early Care and Education: Wilson will introduce legislation to improve early childhood education for the poorest children by requiring that any federal childcare funds must pay at or above market rates for child care and pay a premium for accredited care.
"These legislation initiatives are only the beginning. I look forward to working with parents and community leaders in Albuquerque, state official in Santa Fe, and my colleagues in Washington to ensure that all our children graduate from high school with the skills they need to build the next American century," Wilson told the committee. |
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