"The foundation of every state is the education of its youth. " Diogenes
Today we look to our national leaders to inspire us and provide a vision for what the country must do in order to ensure that every child receives an excellent education, with no exceptions. Americans must call upon their local, state, and federal officials to make that vision a reality.
We believe it is the role of the Federal government to provide leadership and vision that will set the policies and funding to eliminate the current inequities in school funding and close the opportunity gap, encourage innovation, invest in quality teachers and school leadership, and to invest in the full spectrum of education opportunities.
Specifically, we want to see Federal funds used to:
1. Close the Opportunity Gap. Inequity in our public school system is increasing, both in terms of resources and experiences. Children in the poorest of our neighborhoods have the least prepared teachers and the most limited of school budgets. We want a plan to use federal funds to close the Opportunity Gap in our schools, so that children in our most challenged neighborhoods have all the same opportunities to learn that the most affluent of our children have.
2. Encourage innovation. The focus on standardized tests has severely curtailed some of the most interesting school renewal work that was going on as the focus is now teaching the set of skills and information as measured by state tests. Invest in reforms that genuinely address the needs of every child.
3. Invest in quality teachers and school leadership. Every parent knows that the single most important thing in their child’s educational experience is the teacher. We want significant Federal investment in teachers, reducing high teacher turn over and student failure. Furthermore, we want significant investment in school leadership preparation.
4. Invest in the full spectrum of education opportunities. This includes universal access to Pre-K, guaranteeing a meaningful high school education and access to affordable post secondary education for every high school graduate who wishes to continue their education, and development of opportunities for life long learning.
"The foundation of every state is the education of its youth. " Diogenes
Today we look to our national leaders to inspire us and provide a vision for what the country must do in order to ensure that every child receives an excellent education, with no exceptions. Americans must call upon their local, state, and federal officials to make that vision a reality.
We believe it is the role of the Federal government to provide leadership and vision that will set the policies and funding to eliminate the current inequities in school funding and close the opportunity gap, encourage innovation, invest in quality teachers and school leadership, and to invest in the full spectrum of education opportunities.
Specifically, we want to see Federal funds used to:
1. Close the Opportunity Gap. Inequity in our public school system is increasing, both in terms of resources and experiences. Children in the poorest of our neighborhoods have the least prepared teachers and the most limited of school budgets. We want a plan to use federal funds to close the Opportunity Gap in our schools, so that children in our most challenged neighborhoods have all the same opportunities to learn that the most affluent of our children have.
2. Encourage innovation. The focus on standardized tests has severely curtailed some of the most interesting school renewal work that was going on as the focus is now teaching the set of skills and information as measured by state tests. Invest in reforms that genuinely address the needs of every child.
3. Invest in quality teachers and school leadership. Every parent knows that the single most important thing in their child’s educational experience is the teacher. We want significant Federal investment in teachers, reducing high teacher turn over and student failure. Furthermore, we want significant investment in school leadership preparation.
4. Invest in the full spectrum of education opportunities. This includes universal access to Pre-K, guaranteeing a meaningful high school education and access to affordable post secondary education for every high school graduate who wishes to continue their education, and development of opportunities for life long learning.