2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumO'Malley touts all-day preschool in Cedar Rapids stop.
Democratic presidential candidate and former Maryland Gov. Martin OMalley pushed all-day preschool and a retooled senior year of high school as focal point of his education plan during a stop in Cedar Rapids on Friday.
Speaking at an educational roundtable sponsored by Every Child Matters, a Washington D.C.-based issue advocacy group, OMalley said starting all students with a base level of knowledge of numbers, colors, shapes and other early proficiencies would help close the education gap between rich and poor.
There is no better return on investment when it comes to closing the gap between the performance of kids from wealthier households and poorer households than that early childhood stuff, said OMalley. That is the single most important thing we can do.
OMalley, the former mayor of Baltimore, stopped at the Human Services campus as part of a three-day, seven stop swing through Iowa.
The federal government would encourage states to boost early childhood education by matching dollars to launch full-day preschool under his plan, he said.
Senior year of high school would also change, he said. Seniors would leave with a meaningful diploma, a year of college credit, and a certificate for an in-demand skill to enter the workforce, he said.
Under his plan, students could graduate college and be debt within five years, he said.
The roundtable was made up educators and others in childhood services.
Kelli Soyer, the state director for Every Child Matters, said she hope all major party candidates will participate. OMalley is the third candidate to do so, after Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb.
OMalley faced questions on whether hed federally-mandate kindergarten, which is not mandated in Iowa, address the disproportionate use of suspensions and expulsions on minorities, and support trauma-informed care for agencies that work with children.
When he didnt have an answer, he acknowledged that, and wanted to know what we thought, what the experts thought, said Okpara Rice, the chief executive of Tanager Place of Cedar Rapids, who asked about discipline disparity. Not everyone has command of every issue, but you want to see a willingness to look more at the issue.
Kelly McMahon, a teacher and part of the Iowa State Education Association, said she was pleased OMalley discussed support for non-traditional students and a college loan repayment plan.
Rice and McMahon both identified themselves as undecided voters.
OMalley said he supports income-based college loan repayment so teachers are not burdened after graduation, and addressed college cost and student debt.
He said he wants to realign the priorities of higher education more directly with degree attainment and creating multiple pathways for returning students to get degrees. OMalley said community colleges and online universities can be linchpins to achieving college degrees, lowering cost and reducing debt.
I think we need to be much more adaptive in terms of a hybrid approach, so that every course isnt imparted with the sage on the stage but the guide on the side and can handle greater volumes and greater flexibility of schedules, he said. Thats a big part of how we can get more out of our university systems.
http://www.kcrg.com/subject/news/politics/election/democratic-presidential/omalley-touts-all-day-preschool-in-cedar-rapids-stop-20150814
cali
(114,904 posts)all day pre-school just makes me sad
elleng
(130,908 posts)but should be AVAILABLE!
We 'graduated' our daughters to all-day from 1/2 day, and they (and we) thrived. (NOT public, as not available in DC, but a great private school.)
restorefreedom
(12,655 posts)not a fan of all day ps or even k for that matter. seems like a heavy schedule for a little kid.
elleng
(130,908 posts)little kids (like mine) love it; they learn by PLAYING! Unfortunately its not done well, far too often.
restorefreedom
(12,655 posts)depends on good funding
something the repubs are likely to fight at every turn.
doesn't mean its not worth trying though
elleng
(130,908 posts)like philosophy, not easy to come by, one reason I'm very hesitant about public education. MINE was public (til law school,) but my daughters wasn't; nothing suitable available in DC at the time.
restorefreedom
(12,655 posts)for some reason i think education options would be much better with om or bernie
elleng
(130,908 posts)I THINK MD now has some early-childhood education; will learn about it soon as my grandson was just 1 year old, and lives near me in MD!
restorefreedom
(12,655 posts)so you are in md and like om...from what i hear, gov chafee is not very popular in ri. maybe that is why he is focused on the metric system.....
elleng
(130,908 posts)restorefreedom
(12,655 posts)to have someone from there who is supporting him. speaks to his successes.
elleng
(130,908 posts)more important for why I support him now, he addressed hard problems and tussled with the legislature successfully, critical experience for a POTUS who will have to deal with a difficult congress.
restorefreedom
(12,655 posts)HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)Last edited Sun Aug 16, 2015, 09:42 PM - Edit history (1)
by second grade.
I think those studies are typically for half-day programs, maybe all day would be different.
The cost of daycare is about as stiff as college debt, I don't know how families with kids afford it. Not sure what O'Malley is proposing but I imagine it would be popular if the programs ran as public schools and were taxpayer supported
elleng
(130,908 posts)Yes, we paid for private pre-school, etc etc, plus childcare (at home.) We bore large financial burdens through college + grad school; that's what parents do, when we can afford it. We were fortunate.
I'm certain our daughters' pre-school advantage did NOT disappear; they talk about it today, at ages 27 and 30. GOOD education is precious, valuable, costly, and rare.
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)everyone i have talked to have said they like him and he is second choice, both with sanders and clinton. that says something.
elleng
(130,908 posts)Must say I'm kind of frustrated to hear so many 'he's my second choice.'