Leading the Way in Education
WORD ON WASHINGTON
“Leading the Way in Education”
September 2011
Educating our children is one of our highest priorities as parents, and it must be one of America’s highest priorities as well. Providing a world-class education is the single best investment we can make in our children and in our common future. The prosperity of our nation indeed rests on how well we prepare those who will soon be our leaders and the workforce of tomorrow. It is a challenge that we all must accept, whether we have school-aged children or not. Now more than ever, we need to strengthen the partnership among families, schools, and governments in order to transform education in a revolutionary way.
Many of us share a serious concern about reducing federal deficit spending, and cuts which will require much sacrifice will be coming in the months ahead as we try to restore the fiscal health of the country. We should not, however, target proven and effective education programs that are working. I am convinced that we can continue to make needed improvements during difficult budget times if we work together.
We made significant federal education investments last year that are working well for North Carolina. Through the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistant Act, which I supported, we were able to save hundreds of teaching jobs in the Seventh District alone. I also supported legislation which created Race to the Top, one of the boldest commitments in education reform that rewards states that are leading the way in educational innovation. North Carolina was one of a handful of winners last year and is slated to receive approximately $400 million in competitive grand funding over four years.
Recruiting and retaining the best qualified teachers is a key component of reform, and I have co-sponsored the Keep Teachers Teaching Act which would support states and school districts to develop innovative teacher retention programs. We must continue to create pipelines and incentives to put the most effective teachers in the classroom, and we must support those teachers and provide the tools they need for successful outcomes. I have also been an advocate for enhancing education through technology in our schools and libraries. Our schools must have access to educational technology in order to improve teaching and student achievement. In the Seventh District, the schools have been awarded over $97 million in the last decade, realizing substantial savings in technology investment.
We are fortunate in North Carolina to have exceptional public and private institutions of higher learning and a strong network of community colleges. They each have a vital role to play in educating our citizens, and it is imperative that we re-double our efforts to make higher education more accessible and affordable for all American families. The Pell grant program is the cornerstone of federal financial aid, providing grant assistance this school year to over 28,000 students in the Seventh District. Though we have been able to increase Pell grant funding over the years, the increases have not kept pace with the sizable increases in education costs. That is why I am urging the House Appropriations Committee to further increase Pell grant funding, the primary form of financial aid for millions of low and middle income Americans.
Lastly, as we consider the how to best restructure No Child Left Behind (NCLB) for elementary and secondary education, we must focus on adopting rigorous standards, encouraging innovation, rewarding success, and providing more flexibility for states and school districts to invest resources where they will be most effective. Narrowing the achievement gap has been a positive result of NCLB, but otherwise, significant reforms still must be made. Just last month, the President directed the U.S. Department of Education to move forward with plans to provide greater flexibility under NCLB, and I look forward to changes which will address the most pressing needs of our students, teachers and administrators.
There is nothing more important to our nation’s future than re-affirming our commitment to education and preparing our students with the knowledge and skills they need to compete in a global economy. As a volunteer in the classroom for the past 30 years, I am often reminded of the positive difference we can each make in the life of a child. We all teach by our example, and I am grateful for those who have chosen to dedicate themselves to the noble pursuit of education and for those teachers who have inspired and encouraged my family and me along the way.
