John Kerry Offers Real Deal to Strengthen America’s Public Schools

[Feanorcurufinwe]

National Education Trust Fund Part of Plan for First 100 Days

Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry today outlined a plan to improve K-12 education and make sure that every child gets the skills they need to meet the needs of the 21st Century economy. Kerry addressed teachers and students at Thomas Jefferson High School and outlined his fight for a real deal to support America’s public schools.

In the last week John Kerry unveiled a bold new vision for change, offering a blueprint that details the “Real Deal” he will keep with Americans in the first 100 days of his presidency. The National Education Trust fund to strengthen America’s public schools is one of the 10 proposals that Kerry has promised to fight for in the early days of a Kerry Presidency.

John Kerry said, “As President, I will begin a new era of responsibility when it comes to our public schools, take the politics out of public education funding, and end George Bush’s bait-and-switch. George Bush 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.

“I’m running to replace George Bush’s Raw Deal with a Real Deal that stands up to the powerful interests. And that makes our public schools the priority they need to be.

“In my first hundred days as President, we will, for the first time in American history, lead into law a new Education Trust Fund that will guarantee we fully fund our schools and protect our children’s education from politics. With the 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 to succeed will be there – year in and year out.”

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.

John Kerry unveiled 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.

Council Bluffs School District, which serves 9,800 students, was forced to slash $1 million from this year’s budget and it has enacted a hiring freeze, cut district paid field trips, and delayed maintenance projects and textbook purchases. The State of Iowa plans to borrow $500 million to pay school districts the money they need to maintain their operations, since there it not enough money in cash reserves to cover the payments.
http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2003_1125b.html

[Hawkeye-X]

1. Let's see. How did Kerry vote on NCLB?

Sens. John Edwards (D-NC), John Kerry (D-MA)Voted For "No Child Left Behind." (HR 1, CQ Vote #371: Agreed To 87-10: R 44-3; D 43-6, I 0-1, 12/18/01, Edwards, Kerry Voted Yea; HR 1, CQ Vote #497: Agreed To 381-41: R 183-33; D 198-6; I 0-2, 12/13/01.

Ruh-roh. It looks like Edwards voted for this POS too. Not good.

John Kerry has some explaining to do...

Hawkeye-X

[DrFunkenstein]

5. Um, Didn't Kennedy have Something To Do With NCLB?

I seem to remember him playing some part, but I can't remember what.

[sandnsea]

6. Some teachers unions supported this

"Overall, we are supportive of it -- probably more so than most organizations," says Jamie Horwitz, a spokesman for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which represents 1.2 million education professionals nationwide. "We like the professional development component, the emphasis on reading, Title I, and that it did not include a voucher program. We think it will have a positive affect."

"If a state meticulously implements the federal statute, there will be a period of great change in school systems for four to five years," says Bruce Hunter, director of public policy for the American Association of School Administrators (AASA). "If a number of governors seek waivers, that could mitigate the disruptive effect.

http://www.education-world.com/a_issues/issues273.shtml

[Hawkeye-X]

2. Links to Kerry's ed failures

Kerry faces wary teachers... Educators question candidate on policy

Kerry Defends Vote For Bush Education Plan

http://www.gopusa.com/news/2003/june/0612_dean_education.shtml">Dean slams * on NCLB WARNING - GOP spin

etc...

[blm]

4. BUSH DIDN'T FUND IT the way it was written.

Funny, you want to keep letting Bush off the hook for his lies.

[sandnsea]

7. States were to implement programs

The states, or local school boards, were supposed to implement various programs in NCLB. These programs were supposed to be the groundwork for better schools. When the bill didn't get funded, I imagine states didn't implement these programs, or not adequately. So the local control portion of this bill may never have seen the light of day. Anyway, everything I've heard teachers complain about has been addressed in his plan.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

3. 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.
http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/100days/education.html

[pruner]

8. John Kerry's grass roots are the REAL DEAL

[Feanorcurufinwe]

9. Thanks for the insightful commentary on Kerry's education policies.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

10. anyway it was a good film

:eyes: