Education

Elementary and Secondary Education:
 
In 2001, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act, representing this nation’s commitment to closing the achievement gap and helping all children learn by holding states and schools accountable for student academic progress.  However, significant changes are needed to if we are to provide our students with a first-class education.  The keys to a first-class education are no mystery.  I believe that we can make dramatic improvements to America’s education system by taking the following steps:
 
I believe that we should continue to hold our schools accountable for the progress of every student, however it is also necessary to find new ways to evaluate our children’s educational abilities.  One way of assessing their abilities is through the use of growth models.   States and schools deserve credit for the progress that they make over time through the use of growth models.  This fairer accountability system will credit schools for improvements in the performance of their students.
 
While I believe that we should continue to place strong emphasis on reading and math skills, we should also allow states to use more than their reading and math scores to determine how well schools and students are doing.  By using a more comprehensive evaluative approach to testing, student leaning and school performance can be assessed more fairly and accurately.
 
The quality of a child’s teachers and principal are critical factors in determining the academic success of a child.  I will continue to work to ensure that all of our children are taught by well trained and highly motivated teachers and principals.  To accomplish this I support the hiring of teachers with expertise in the subjects they are teaching, lowering the teacher to student ratios, state-of- the-art mentoring programs for new teachers, professional career ladders for both teachers and principals as well as improved physical working conditions.
 
None of this will be possible without fully funding the federal mandates established by the No Child Left Behind Act.  With appropriate levels of funding, we will be able to hire more teachers, pay them competitive wages and provide them with high-quality training.
 
Finally, because no factor matters more to a child’s educational success than his or her parents, involving parents in their child’s education is vital.  We will not be able to improve our children’s educational performance without the support and active participation of parents.
 
I believe that following the above steps will result in better educational outcomes for our children and help to ensure that every child receives the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully compete in the 21st century.