Senator Kerry on Education

[MurikanDemocrat]

Strengthening America's Schools for the 21st Century

John Kerry believes that we need to invest in our schools instead of giving tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans. He has the courage to fight for our children’s future every day. When it comes to education, George W. Bush has been the photo-op President. He stands next to children and teachers for a picture, but he doesn’t stand with them when it comes to improving our public schools. By signing the No Child Left Behind Act and then breaking his promise by not giving schools the resources to help meet new standards, George Bush has undermined public education and left millions of children behind.

As President, John Kerry will roll up his sleeves and get things done for America’s schools. It’s time to stop sending new mandates from Washington to school districts without providing the necessary resources needed to carry out those new rules. That’s why John Kerry is proposing a new ‘Education Trust Fund’ that means fully funding education, no questions asked.

John Kerry also believes that given the demands of a global economy, every single child has to be able to reach high standards in order to prosper. To ensure that all children can meet high standards, we need to do so much more to improve our public education system. John Kerry will support teachers, reduce class sizes, and rebuild crumbling schools.

Detailed Plan to Strengthen Public Schools

National Education Trust Fund Part of Plan for First 100 Days

John Kerry is outlining a real plan to improve K-12 education and make sure that all children get the skills they need to meet the needs of the 21st Century economy. John Kerry has consistently criticized George W. Bush for signing the No Child Left Behind Act and then leaving schools in a lurch by not funding the bill. However, he also believes that a President or a Presidential candidate should not just be a Critic-in-Chief, but should provide a real plan and a real vision for America’s schools.

A Three Part Plan to Improve America’s Schools

First, he is outlining his plans for a New National Education Trust Fund that will guarantee that the Federal government meets its obligation to fully fund education priorities. Our children are too important to be subject to the whims of budget cutters in Washington DC.

Second, Kerry is outlining reforms he would make to the No Child Left Behind law to assure that our schools focus on teaching high standards to all children, and do not become drill and kill test prep institutions. John Kerry has already proposed the most comprehensive higher education plan of any candidate. Today, he is outlining a plan to assure every child has the skills to be ready for college.

Third, Kerry is stating his main priorities in education – from higher teacher pay for higher standards to universal after-school to assuring discipline.

George W. Bush: A Photo-Op President that Shortchanges America's Schools
When it comes to education, George W. Bush has been the photo-op President. He stands with children and teachers for a picture, but he doesn’t stand with them when it comes to improving our public schools. In fact, by signing the No Child Left Behind Act and then breaking his promise by not providing the resources to help meet new standards, George Bush has undermined public education for the nation’s 53.7 million students. President Bush walked away from his commitment to fund public education, shortchanging public schools by $6 billion this year and he is on track to fall $8 billion short for next year. That means less money for after-school, teacher training, and our highest poverty schools.

A New National Education Trust Fund
John Kerry believes it is time to stop sending mandates from Washington to school districts without providing the resources needed to carry them out. Kerry will make a new deal on education – if Washington is going to mandate accountability for our schools, then the funding should be mandatory. Kerry is proposing a “National Education Trust Fund” to make sure that, for the first time ever, the federal government meets its obligation to fully fund our education priorities.

A Mandatory Trust Fund: Today, education spending is at the discretion of Congress. That means it is vulnerable to Presidents like George W. Bush who send new mandates to the states, but don’t provide the necessary funding. Under Kerry’s National Education Trust Fund, any new education program Congress authorizes will be automatically funded by law. That would mean Congress and the Administration would be prohibited from mandating a program and not funding it.

Full Funding for Elementary and Secondary Education. Kerry’s “National Education Trust Fund” will require an increase in our annual investment in education from its current level of $23.8 billion to about $35 billion by 2008 to meet the full commitment of No Child Left Behind. If NCLB were fully funded this year, Iowa would receive an additional $42 million.

Meeting Our Full Commitment for Special Education. Special education costs are stretching school budgets to the limit, but the federal government only provides less than half of the money that it promised to states and localities to educate children with special needs. The Trust Fund will assure the Federal government meets its full commitment so that children with disabilities get the education they deserve and that funding for special education doesn’t come at the expense of other critical education programs. In Iowa, fully funding special education will bring an additional $1.2 billion to the state over the next ten years.

State Tax Relief and Education Fund. Largely because of the Bush economy, states are being forced to cut back on education. At least 18 states were planning or considering cuts to education this year due to state fiscal crisis. Consequences include teacher layoffs, school closures, and shortened school years. John Kerry has put forward a Fund to stop these cuts. It would invest $50 billion over two years to stop cuts and layoffs in education.

Lessons Learned: Improving the No Child Left Behind Act
John Kerry believes that the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act -- ensuring that all students learn to high standards and closing the achievement gap -- are the right ones for America’s children. However, to date we have fallen short of these goals due to insufficient funding and problems with the law. Kerry will make important changes to the No Child Left Behind Act to help students reach high standards.

Judge Schools On More Than Just Test Scores. Kerry believes that we need to consider indicators of school performance other than simply test scores. Kerry will revise the accountability standards in No Child Left Behind to include ways of assessing student performance in addition to testing. Under Kerry’s proposal, states will construct a set of leading indicators, subject to review and approval by the U.S. Department of Education, which will comprise part of the school's assessment in the NCLB accountability framework. Possible indicators include graduation rates, teacher attendance, parental satisfaction, and student attendance.

Reward States That Implement High Standards. Kerry is also concerned that No Child Left Behind unintentionally rewards states and districts with low standards and penalizes those with high standards. Since schools, districts, and states are punished if they fail to make adequate progress, the incentive is to set expectations lower rather than higher. Kerry will work to include incentives in the law to reward states, districts, and schools that implement higher standards.

Ensure the Law Works for States, Schools, and Teachers. John Kerry will also support reforms that give states and school districts greater freedom to target assistance to schools with the most extensive academic difficulties; ensure that the federal government provides funding for professional development requirements in the law; require that every single group or program that receives funding from No Child Left Behind fully complies with federal civil rights laws; and close loopholes in the law’s definition of “highly qualified” teachers.

Improving K-12 Education: Support - Not Soundbites - for America's Teachers.
The evidence is clear that the quality of a student’s teacher is the single biggest factor in the quality of a child's education. While most politicians just talk about the importance of teachers, John Kerry believes we must actually do more to support and reward teaching. In order to reach our goal of all students learning to high standards, we need highly-qualified teachers and principals in every school and classroom. This challenge is even greater given that two million teachers must be hired over the next decade to accommodate rapidly growing student enrollment and an aging teaching force.

$10,000 Tax Deduction for Teachers, Principals, and Paraprofessionals in Low Performing and Underserved Schools:
Most Severe Shortages in Underserved and Low-Performing Schools. The most severe shortages will occur in high-poverty urban and rural schools, which must hire 350,000 teachers over the next several years. Urban and rural schools serving high percentages of poor students have many teachers who have not been given the preparation needed to succeed. In high poverty schools, one-third of students take math from teachers with neither a major nor a minor in mathematics. Moreover, in urban districts, up to 50% of teachers leave the profession within the first five years.

A New Tax Deduction for Teachers. In order to equip low-performing schools with the tools and incentives to improve, John Kerry will provide a $10,000 tax deduction for teachers, principals, and paraprofessionals in low-performing schools. Personnel will be eligible for this refundable tax deduction for five years after the school is no longer considered low performing. As President, Kerry will ensure that we provide the tools to meet the goals and not just threaten to punish schools for not meeting the goals.

"Higher Teacher Pay for Higher Standards” John Kerry believes that we cannot successfully improve public education without paying our teachers like the professionals that they are. Kerry’s proposal will provide higher pay for teachers in exchange for implementing higher standards. In order to qualify for funding, school districts will have to submit a plan that includes strong professional development plan for the district’s teachers; an aggressive plan to ensure that every teacher is qualified in his/her subject area; and a plan for increasing the number of master teachers and teacher mentors in schools.

Improving K-12 Education: Recruit and Train School Principals
School Leaders Are Critical to a School’s Success. Many of today’s principals are reaching the age of retirement, and there is clear evidence that reveals a decline in the number of candidates for each opening. The attrition rate for elementary school principals now stands at 42 percent for the decade from 1988 to 1998, and it is expected to remain at least as high through this decade. A strong principal can create the climate that fosters excellence in teaching and learning while an ineffective one can quickly thwart the progress of the most dedicated teachers and reformers.
John Kerry’s Plan to Help Recruit and Train School Leaders. Kerry will invest in high-quality school leaders by providing $120 million annually for the School Leadership Program to recruit and train principals in every low-performing or high-needs school across the country.

Improving K-12 Education: Ensuring School Discipline and Creating 'Second-Chance Programs'
Classrooms Without Discipline Are Ineffective: If a classroom or a school is not safe and orderly most other education proposals and ideas are ineffective. Kerry will ensure that teachers and school districts can remove chronically disruptive and violent students from the classroom. Violent or disruptive students are often in desperate need of services, supports, and greater levels of attention than are provided in the traditional classroom. We have a choice: Either we can help these young people while they are in school, while we know where to find them or we can deal with them later when they drop out of school or end up in the juvenile justice system.

Kerry’s Plan to Assure Discipline and Give Kids a Second Chance. Kerry would rather invest in these young people today. Kerry will ensure that all chronically disruptive or violence students removed from classrooms will be placed in alternative learning environments, “second-chance schools” where they can receive the intensive help and service they need to excel. Kerry will insist that alternative education programs are of high quality so that students can make the progress and improvements necessary to reach high standards.

Improving K-12 Education: Investing in School Construction and Modernizing
Schools Are in Need of Repair: We can’t ask America’s kids to meet high standards in schools that are falling down. There are $127 billion worth of school construction and emergency repair needs nationally; 14 million children are learning in substandard schools in need of major renovation; and half of all schools have at least one unsatisfactory environmental condition, such as polluted drinking water or soot-filled ventilation.

Kerry’s Plan for School Construction: John Kerry supports allowing the federal government to issue $24.8 billion in school modernization bonds in order to help states and school districts repair and build modern schools. In order to expand choice within the public school system, Kerry’s school construction fund will include dedicated funding for charter schools. The greatest barrier to the expansion of charter schools is the lack of funding for facilities.

Improving K-12 Education: An After School Tax Credit and Full Funding to Assure Universal Afterschool
Millions of Children Need After-School: Today, more than 28 million school-age children have parents who work outside the home. An estimated five to seven million “latch-key children” return to an empty home after school. One recent study found that twice as many elementary and middle school parents wanted after-school programs as were currently available. Unfortunately, President Bush has proposed cutting funding for the federal after-school program by 40 percent – more than 550,000 children across the country would lose access to after school programs under the President’s plan.

John Kerry’s Plan to Assure Universal After-School: John Kerry will ensure that all 7 million “latch-key children” have a safe place to go after school that will allow them to improve their academic performance and also provide them with opportunities to develop other skills and interests, such as music and the arts. Kerry will fully fund the successful 21st Century Community Learning Center program. He will also offer a new After-School tax credit to help parents of millions of children afford after-school programs.

John Kerry Unveils Three-Point Plan to Keep Every Kid Safe, Healthy and Ready to Learn
Calls for Safety Labels for Food Allergens, Comprehensive Standards for Early Childhood Education, and Health Care Coverage for Every Child

December 10, 2003

For Immediate Release
Manchester, NH –

Read the Entire Plan
Find out More About the First 100 Days

At a childcare center in Manchester, John Kerry outlined a three-point plan today to make kids safer and healthier and assure they enter school ready to learn. His plan includes a new Kids Safety Effort requiring safety labels for food allergens and mandatory testing of prescription drugs used for treating children; setting comprehensive standards for early childhood education; and providing health insurance for every child in America.
“In my first one hundred days as president, I will set the nation on course to achieve unprecedented levels of quality education, child care, and health care for America’s children. America should be committed to expanding opportunities for learning enhancing early childhood development and my Administration will lead the way,” said John Kerry. “My comprehensive plan to provide for America’s children is an example of the kind of leadership America is craving for from its president. It provides real solutions to the problems are families are facing every day and it is a real plan to leave no child behind.”

John Kerry proposed a New “Kids Safety Effort” at the Food and Drug Administration that would require testing for prescriptions used for children and require any food containing a major allergen to be labeled clearly and consistently. This effort also would:

· Encourage States to Require Booster Seats for Children. John Kerry will work with states to require the use of booster seats, which prevents the injurious effects caused by children wearing adult belts.

· Address the Childhood Obesity Epidemic. John Kerry will launch a program to train health professionals and school administrators and parents to educate them about preventing and treating obesity and encouraging physical activity.

· Keeping the Environment Clean and Safe for Our Children. Kerry will get rid of the rollbacks of the Clean Air Act. He also believes polluters, not taxpayers, should have to pay to clean up our nation’s most toxic sites, reducing the exposure in nearby communities.

John Kerry’s plan provide the states and communities with funding to implement the high quality standards found in the military’s child care system and that will improve workforce quality, including: uniform standards to improve quality, workforce education and training and compensation to reward high quality providers and improving quality and safety by requiring criminal background checks.

“Parents shouldn’t be forced to send their children to unlicensed child care providers because the waiting lists are too long everywhere else. That’s why I’ll create an ‘Excellence in Early Care and Education’ fund that will make sure your children will receive quality care from highly-trained professionals. With your help, I’ll be a President who will make childcare a priority, and early childhood education a national way of life,” said Kerry.

John Kerry believes that we have a moral obligation to cover America’s children. His plan would assure that nearly 99 percent of all children have health care coverage. Kerry’s plan would include:

· A New Deal to Provide Health Coverage to Every Child. Kerry's plan would assure that the Federal government picks up the cost of the nearly 20 million kids enrolled in Medicaid in exchange for states covering kids in the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

· Making Sure All Children Are Eligible. Kerry’s swap plan would require states to cover children in families making up to $60,000; eliminate the current 5-year waiting period for eligibility for legal immigrant pregnant women and children; and enable children with disabilities to keep their health care coverage when their parents return to work.

· Assuring Automatic Enrollment. The Kerry plan would assure every child gets health care coverage by automatic enrolling kids when they come to school with a simple form. Since the Federal government would be picking up the costs for these kids, this would not undermine states' fiscal situation.

John Kerry's Plan to Keep Every Kid Safe and Ready to Learn

Today, at a child care center in Manchester, John Kerry outlined a plan to make kids safer and healthier and assure they enter school ready to learn. Children cannot be ready to learn and meet their potential in the new economy if they do not start off healthy and strong. He unveiled new initiatives to improve kids’ safety and improve the quality of early care, and highlighted his plan to provide insurance to every single child in America.

Priorities

I. "Kids' Safety Effort"
A) A New ‘Kids' Safety Effort’ at the Food and Drug Administration

Requiring Testing for Prescriptions Used for Children. Only 20 percent of prescription medications on the market has been tested and approved for use in children. It is unclear how most drugs will affect children, and the size and frequency of doses that will serve their health best is often unknown. While there have been efforts to address this issue, laws on the books have expired. John Kerry would make pediatric labeling a high priority and assure parents have the information they need about the prescriptions their children take.
Labeling on Food Allergens. Between six and seven million Americans, many of whom are children, have serious food allergies. Many kids have had serious reactions or died after consuming specific food allergens, like peanuts. Yet the presence of specific and serious allergens is often not indicated clearly or at all on most major food labels. John Kerry would require any food containing a major allergen to be labeled clearly and consistently. He would also call on the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate allergen residue contamination and provide further research on allergens.
Encourage States to Require Booster Seats for Children. Automobile accidents are the leading cause of death for children. Each day, seven children are killed and 850 are injured in crashes. Statistics show that the use of child safety seats can reduce the mortality rate for infants by 71%. Only eighteen states currently have laws requiring the use of booster seats, which make adult seat belts fit a child properly. John Kerry will work with states to require the use of booster seats, which prevents the injurious effects caused by children wearing adult belts.

B) Address the Childhood Obesity Epidemic. Fifteen percent of children between the ages of 6 and 11 are overweight, an increase of 382 percent in the last 30 years. Nearly half of all the foods advertised during children's programming are cakes and candies. The average American child sees 10,000 food advertisements each year. Ninety-five percent are for fast-food, sugary cereals, soft drinks, and candy. John Kerry will launch a program to train health professionals and school administrators and parents to educate them about preventing and treating obesity and encouraging physical activity.

C) Keeping the Environment Clean and Safe for Our Children. John Kerry believes that all children have the right to clean air, clean water, safe food, and healthy communities, as they are the most vulnerable to air pollution. In New Hampshire, asthma accounts for one third of all pediatric emergency room visits and is a leading cause of school absences. Kerry will get rid of the rollbacks of the Clean Air Act. He also believes polluters, not taxpayers, should have to pay to clean up our nation’s most toxic sites, reducing the exposure in nearby communities.

II. Quality Care So Children Start School Ready to Learn
High-quality early care and education programs are critical to success in school, the ability to have good relationships, and healthy development. Sixty-four percent of children in New Hampshire under the age of six are cared for by someone other than their parent, but unfortunately, care often costs more than many parents can afford and sometimes provides lower-quality services than they want for their children. John Kerry has fought for increases in Head Start, child care and early education and will continue to do so as President. He will also launch a major initiative to increase the quality of child care.

Implementing Lessons Learned from the Military. Thirteen years ago, the United State’s military’s child care system was in such terrible shape that Congress was forced to mandate improvements. The problems that the military faced were similar to the country’s child care system today: poor quality care; a lack of standards on key issues such as staff-teacher ratio; high staff turnover due to low salaries and poor working conditions; long waiting lists for available slots, and unaffordable parent fees. John Kerry will provide the states and communities with funding to implement the high quality standards found in the military’s child care system and that will improve workforce quality, including:

Comprehensive, Uniform Standards to Improve Quality. Today, in New Hampshire a caregiver can care for as many as twelve four-year olds at one time. Kerry will fund states and communities to implement high-quality standards such as those found in the military child care system health and safety, staff/child ratios, staff education and training, and developmentally appropriate curriculum. Quality care will be enforced through inspections and well-publicized sanctions.
Workforce Education and Training and Compensation to Reward High Quality Providers. The child care workforce needs more education and training, better compensation, and lower turnover rates that undermine the quality of care. A child care worker in New Hampshire makes $17,240 on average. Thirty states do not require teachers in child care centers to have child development training, even though education is a key quality indicator. Kerry will fund states to provide salary bonuses to caregivers, to help pay for high quality training, and for those who make a commitment to stay with the program for a period of time.
Improving Quality and Safety by Requiring Criminal Background Checks. Parents should have the peace of mind to know that the workers they entrust their children with are highly-qualified and do not have a criminal record.

III. Every Child Should Have Health Insurance
Children without insurance are:
more than four times as likely to delay medical care
more than twice as likely to go without needed prescription medications
more than twice as likely to go without eyeglasses
and more likely to fall behind in school.

John Kerry believes that we have a moral obligation to cover America’s children. His plan would assure that nearly 99 percent of all children have health care coverage.

A New Deal to Provide Health Coverage to Every Child. Kerry's plan would assure that the Federal government picks up the cost of the nearly 20 million kids enrolled in Medicaid in exchange for states covering kids in the Children’s Health Insurance Program. This would be a financial win for states facing serious deficits.
Making Sure All Children Are Eligible. Kerry’s swap plan would require states to cover children in families making up to $60,000; eliminate the current 5-year waiting period for eligibility for legal immigrant pregnant women and children; and enable children with disabilities to keep their health care coverage when their parents return to work. All families will understand that their children -- whether they have disabilities, are legal immigrants, or are moving off welfare -- are automatically eligible for health care.
Assuring Automatic Enrollment. Millions of children who are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP today are not signed up. Often parents don’t know about the programs or it is too hard to enroll. The Kerry plan would assure every child gets health care coverage by automatic enrolling kids when they come to school with a simple form. Since the Federal government would be picking up the costs for these kids, this would not undermine states' fiscal situation.


Education Trust Fund
Remarks by Senator John Kerry

November 25, 2003

Council Bluffs, IA -


Thomas Jefferson High School
Thank you for having me here today at Thomas Jefferson High. Your school – like all our schools – is on the frontlines of America’s future. Here young people get the education they need to succeed and thrive and have the opportunity to become good citizens of this great nation.

Education is a subject that hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves in this presidential race. But no subject is more important to determining what kind of country we are – and what kind of country we are going to be.

I want to spend some time with you discussing what I would do in my first hundred days as President to strengthen our K to 12 public school systems. Because I believe campaigns should be about telling people what they’re going to get when they cast their vote for President.

Americans deserve more than a campaign of slogans and soundbites. They deserve substance. They deserve real answers, not just anger. You see, this election is not just about replacing George Bush – it’s about changing the direction of our country. People in Iowa don’t trudge through the snow on a cold January night just because they support a candidate. You do it because you love America – and want it to be better. And you deserve to know what I – and every other candidate – would do to make this nation all it should be.

In my first hundred days, I will begin a new era of responsibility when it comes to our public schools. I’ll take the politics out of public education funding. And I’ll end George Bush’s bait-and-switch. This President promised to give our schools the help they need – but he broke that promise and instead gave that money to the most powerful and wealthy people in our country.

What George Bush has given our students, their parents, our teachers and all our education professionals is a Raw Deal. He’s favored tax cuts for the wealthy and special favors for the special interests over what’s fair for middle class Americans. He’s buckled to lobbyists and the powerful instead of standing up for everyday Americans. This Administration’s motto really should be “no special interest left behind.”

I’m running to replace George Bush’s Raw Deal with a Real Deal that stands up to the powerful interests. That’s built on people and products not privileges and perks. That stands on the side of those who are standing up for what’s right. And that makes our public schools the priority they need to be.

Investing in our students is investing in our future. This school’s namesake – Thomas Jefferson – knew this. He decided that when he died, his grave-marker – on a shaded hill near his home in Virginia – wouldn’t mention that he was America’s first Secretary of State or that he was Vice President or even that he served as President of the United States. But he wanted it to say that he was the father of the University of Virginia. Because he valued education and all it meant.

Early in his career, he fought to make education public and universal and free. So that every young person would have an equal shot at success. So that the chance to learn and grow wasn’t just a birthrate of the privileged – but a guarantee for all.

A few years before he died, Jefferson was still fighting to make this a reality. He said that – quote – “A system of general instruction, which shall reach every description of our citizens from the richest to the poorest” was his first concern in public life and that it would end up being his last.

Two hundred years later, we’re still fighting to make public education equal and available to all. We need to take the next big step in making that happen. I will lead into law a new National Education Trust Fund that will finally guarantee we fully fund our schools. It will protect our children’s education from politics.

Today, education spending is set by Congress every year. That means it is vulnerable to Presidents like George W. Bush who send new mandates to the states, but don’t provide the necessary funding. With the National Education Trust Fund, never again will teachers and parents and students have to worry about the whims of politicians in Washington. The funds our students need will be there – year in and year out. Americans will be able to depend on it. Because our future depends on it.

We will make a new deal on education – if Washington is going to mandate something for our schools, then the funding should be mandatory.

Iowa knows first-hand why this is important. George Bush proved it by sticking our states with the tab for No Child Left Behind. At the time of the debate on that bill, I insisted on the importance of the President keeping his promise. I said: “Either we fund education reform to the degree that will empower it to actually take place or we will invite an incredible new round of cynicism.” President Bush signed the bill and in his own act of cynicism quickly walked away from the agreement he just made. If No Child Left Behind were being fully-funded this year, Iowa would be getting additional $42 million in help for schools like this one. And that would make a huge difference.

And the National Education Trust Fund means the federal government will meet its full commitment to special education so that children with disabilities get the education they deserve. Our funding for special education shouldn’t come at the expense of other critical education programs.

By choosing tax cuts for the wealthy and giveaways for special interests over help for our schools and states, George Bush has left our states in the lurch. States like Iowa have had to lay off teachers, close schools, and shorten school years. The Council Bluffs School District has been forced to slash $1 million from this year’s budget. That is exactly the wrong direction for America. And the National Education Trust Fund will end that.

I supported the No Child Left Behind Law because of my commitment to assuring every child can meet high standards. George Bush has talked the talk, but he’s walked away from the funding he promised for that bill. I will hold George Bush accountable for making a mockery of the words Leave No Child Behind. And my National Education Trust Fund will guarantee our schools get the funding they need and the funding they deserve.

And then I will go further with important changes to this law to make sure students can reach high standards. That means judging schools on more than just test scores. It means rewarding, not punishing, the states that make progress and implement high standards. And it means ensuring this law works for our teachers, our states, our schools, and our students.

I know something about this first hand. Earlier this year, I visited the Mary Curley Middle School in my hometown of Boston. There I saw a teacher who was loved by her students and doing a great job in teaching them and getting them ready for their future. I have to admit, I’m a little biased about her. Her students called her Ms. Kerry. I call her my sister, Diana.

She and the other teachers I’ve met go far and above the call of duty for their students – sometimes spending a thousand dollars of their own money to give their classes something better than long outdated textbooks. They give their all everyday to students whose whole lives will depend on the opportunities that only a high-quality education can provide.

But the Bush Administration has sold our future short and sold out on its promises to America’s kids. Because of the choices of this President, the budget of the Mary Curley Middle School got cut by twenty percent. That meant larger class sizes, less opportunity and less hope.

And it meant that my sister Diana was laid off because of budget cuts – instead of being rewarded for making a difference. Let me tell you, we should be hiring new teachers and paying them more – not sacrificing the great teachers we already have.

The kids here today – and all our public school students – deserve better. They deserve a President that values their education as much as their teachers do. With your help, I’ll be a President who will make our public schools a priority, not an afterthought.

And that means making our teachers a priority. Everything we know tells us that good teachers make all the difference. But our teachers are drowning in praise from politicians while they’re parched for the support they need. We need to hire new high-quality teachers and get them to the urban and rural schools that need the most help. I will provide teachers, principles, and other education support professionals with a $10,000 tax deduction as an incentive to go work in the schools with the greatest need. It would be a great investment in our future.

And I believe that we cannot successfully improve public education without paying our teachers like the professionals that they are. My proposal will provide higher pay for teachers in exchange for putting in place higher standards. We need to help schools and school districts who giving teachers quality training and mentors and who guarantee they have a plan in place to attract and keep qualified teachers. Under my plan, teachers in those schools will get a $5,000 salary bonus. America’s teachers do some of the most important work in America – and we ought to reward it.

I will recruit and train great new principals. I will assure discipline in our schools by removing violent and disruptive students from our classrooms and placing them in “second-chance schools” where they can get their lives back on track. And I will fight to build and rebuild, modernize and repair our school buildings with new school modernization bonds. One out of three schools needs major renovations and our school facilities are in worse condition than any other part of our nation’s infrastructure. That’s a national disgrace – and we have to change it. We can’t provide a 21st century education in 19th century schools.

We need a President who will tell the truth about vouchers – that they weaken public education, make it harder to build good citizens, and hurt those most in need. Don’t cry crocodile tears for inner city kids while trying in effect to destroy inner city schools. Vouchers aren’t choice; they’re a bad choice that would leave even more children behind. They don’t reform our public schools – they run away from them. Instead let’s reform education by giving teachers more freedom by ending the one-size-fits-all, cookie cutter approach to schools. That’s my resolve, and my commitment – and as President, I’ll fight for real change and real resources for our public schools. I have never supported vouchers. I will never support them. And if it ever comes to my desk, I’ll veto vouchers or voucher-like programs the day that bill arrives.

I will make after-school universal for America’s children. There are seven million latch-key kids returning to an empty home after school. George Bush wants to make cuts that would push 550,000 children across the country out of after-school programs. Its time after-school was available to every child that wants it.

And, as President, I will make early childhood education a top national priority. Our early childhood education system will be a model for the world. There are people all across America who are leading the way. One of them is here with us today. Connie Gronstal runs FAMILY – one of the great after-school programs in Council Bluffs. FAMILY stands for Fathers and Mothers Improving the Lives of Young children. But it stands for something more. It stands for people taking responsibility for their communities and for the future of this country. People like Connie Gronstal and all those who work with her. In just about 13 years, FAMILY has grown to serve 600 children – and we need a President who will help make sure it can serve even more.

Children’s success in school starts with early childhood education. A real commitment to education starts with a President who will get this done. And electing a President who will get that done starts here in Iowa in January. As many of you might know, 17 year olds can caucus here in Iowa. If you’re 17 by the caucuses, you can make your voice heard. And I urge you to do it. Your future – your country’s future – depends on it. And you can make all the difference.

Your courage can change this country. Your courage can create an America that does what’s right. And it starts with you on January 19th. Your courage can break the grip of special interests and win back our economic future. Your courage can save our environment, raise up our schools, and finally open up health care to all. Your courage can end discrimination once and for all. Your courage can defend this nation’s ideals. Your courage can put America back to work and put George Bush and Dick Cheney on a bus back to Texas. I ask for your vote. I ask for your help. Go to johnkerry.com. Together we can make it happen.

Priorities

Mandatory Funding for Schools - No Questions Asked
By neglecting his promise to provide the funding necessary to help each student to reach high standards, George W. Bush has made a mockery of the phrase ‘leave no child behind.’ The Bush Administration sought to cut funding for school reform and issued restrictive guidelines. Our public schools are too important to be left in the lurch without adequate resources. That is why John Kerry is proposing an Education Trust Fund that makes sure – with mandatory funding – that we meet the promises in the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. He has fought for mandatory funding for special education for years and as President he will ensure that we get it for all elementary and secondary education. This will enable schools to fund more after school programs, hire more teachers, and improve quality.

Stop Blaming and Start Supporting Public School Educators
Politicians can talk all they want, but at the end of the day the most important thing in a classroom is the people who work in it. Yet too often, teachers, most of whom are performing heroic work under difficult circumstances, take the blame. John Kerry wants to support teachers and paraprofessionals with better training and better pay, with more career opportunities, more empowerment and more mentors. What the public schools of America need is an advocate in the White House. As President, that’s what John Kerry will be.

Fix One-Size-Fits-All Testing in No Child Left Behind Law
We must recognize that no single prescription or solution will ensure success in every school and classroom. John Kerry will make sure that we do not turn our schools into test-prep institutions -- that is not right for our teachers and it’s not right for our children. Tests should be used to diagnose problems so we can fix them. They should not be used to punish our schools, our teachers, or our students.

The quality of our public schools should not be determined by a “one-size-fits-all” testing plan. We need high quality assessments that reflect actual learning and we need to consider indicators of school performance other than simply test scores. The No Child Left Behind Act – and, in particular, the definition of Adequate Yearly Progress – needs to be reformed in order to meet that goal.

Early Education for All
John Kerry will work to make early education available and affordable for every American child. High quality early childhood education programs get kids ready for school and in later years cut crime and increase job productivity by giving young children the opportunity to learn skills early on that put them on the path to success. John Kerry has supported increases in quality early childhood programs like Head Start and child care. His Early Learning Opportunities Act, which became law in 2000, helps families by expanding and coordinating early childhood development efforts. He believes we must continue to expand quality programs so that children can get off to a good start in life.

Reduce Class Sizes
Smaller classes promote student achievement, improve discipline and classroom order, and expand quality learning time. Rather than terminate successful programs to reduce class size, John Kerry will champion initiatives that ensure children are not forced to learn in overcrowded classrooms, particularly in the early grades.

Modernize and Rebuild Crumbling Schools
John Kerry has been at the forefront of the fight to obtain federal funding for school construction. There are $127 billion worth of school construction and emergency repair needs nationally. 14 million children are learning in substandard schools in need of major renovation. Half of all schools have at least one unsatisfactory environmental condition, such as polluted drinking water or soot-filled ventilation. At the same time the schools are getting older, the number of students is growing, up nine percent since 1990. John Kerry responded to these challenges by introducing legislation that would allow the federal government to issue $24.8 billion in school modernization bonds in order to help states and school districts repair and build modern schools.

Oppose Vouchers - Improve Public Schools and Promote Public School Choice
John Kerry opposes private school vouchers that will drain scarce funds from public schools. Instead, he supports efforts to increase resources to public schools to ensure all students have quality teachers, high standards, smaller classes, and safe, modern schools. Kerry also would expand public school choice programs and support for pilot schools to empower parents and students and provide more options to fill specific needs without draining funds from public education.

Open College Opportunities for Women
For over 30 years, Title IX has helped open the doors of opportunity in education for millions of girls and young women. Title IX has enabled greater numbers of women and girls to participate in sports, receive scholarships, and obtain other important benefits that result from participating in sports. Despite this progress, the Bush Administration is considering many proposals to change Title IX that could undercut participation opportunities and scholarship dollars for women and girls, as well as other Title IX protections. John Kerry will defend Title IX and work to expand college opportunities for women.

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/education/

[WitchWay]

1. no child left behind act

"John Kerry believes that the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act -- ensuring that all students learn to high standards and closing the achievement gap -- are the right ones for America’s children. However, to date we have fallen short of these goals due to insufficient funding and problems with the law. Kerry will make important changes to the No Child Left Behind Act to help students reach high standards. "

Do some of these goals include the raising of those 40,000 troops in Kerry's first 100 days in presidency? No child left behind, after all.

[LWolf]

2. Some points of disagreement from a teacher:

1. Fully funding NCLB will not help. The harmful portions of NCLB need to be abolished, not funded. As a matter of fact, if you wanted to improve teacher morale, you would repeal it, send the phrase "No Child Left Behind" to the incinerator, and start over.

2. Notice how many times this position statement repeats "high standards?" "High standards" is a neoconservative slogan meaning "leave the poor behind to be cheap labor." You'd think we never had standards before someone decided to "raise" them. You'd think we never wanted kids to learn. Calling for "high standards" is a political way to make public schools accountable for social failings that they have no control over. It's also a way to ensure that a large percentage of kids fail, making them available for cheap labor and enlistments.

3. Kerry does not call for the end to high-stakes testing; he just suggests adding alternative assessments to the high-stakes mix. It's still high stakes. It's still based on comparing, competing, and leaving whole schools and a large population of students behind.

4. Every child doesn't need to go to college. Every child needs to have the option of college or a trade school, and tuition needs to be paid to either.

5. In order to reach our goal of all students learning to high standards, we need highly-qualified teachers and principals in every school and classroom. That's what NCLB says, all right. And I don't disagree that we need to be "highly qualified." I do disagree with the way politicians deal with that need. See here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=117x2608

Kerry has a lot of really great soundbites here; everything sounds great. Much of it is still underfunded. Most of it is meaningless as long as he adheres to the neoconservative standards and accountability movements ideas about improving public education.

[9119495]

4. Objections seconded by another teacher

But Kerry has to use some of these terms because he voted for NCLB. However, it is good to see him moving in the right direction and these policies will be a very welcome change in my surroundings. This posting would go a long way to turning out an army of volunteers in my important swing state of Iowa. I already feel much better about him based on this post.

[MurikanDemocrat]

5. Interesting to get perspectives from teachers in this thread who

actually understand the consequences and have some credibility in the matter.

[sangh0]

3. An excellent plan

that few on DU care about because it leaves little to criticize Kerry about

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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