Obama Should Go On an Education Tour

[redstate_democrat]

He has done the economy tour, but tied into the economy is the issue of education. I like his platform.

Barack Obama's Plan

Early Childhood Education

* Zero to Five Plan: Obama's comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan will provide critical support to young children and their parents. Unlike other early childhood education plans, Obama's plan places key emphasis at early care and education for infants, which is essential for children to be ready to enter kindergarten. Obama will create Early Learning Challenge Grants to promote state "zero to five" efforts and help states move toward voluntary, universal pre-school.
* Expand Early Head Start and Head Start: Obama will quadruple Early Head Start, increase Head Start funding and improve quality for both.
* Affordable, High-Quality Child Care: Obama will also provide affordable and high-quality child care to ease the burden on working families.
K-12
o Reform No Child Left Behind: Obama will reform NCLB, which starts by funding the law. Obama believes teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. He will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner. Obama will also improve NCLB's accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.
o Make Math and Science Education a National Priority: Obama will recruit math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession and will support efforts to help these teachers learn from professionals in the field. He will also work to ensure that all children have access to a strong science curriculum at all grade levels.
o Address the Dropout Crisis: Obama will address the dropout crisis by passing his legislation to provide funding to school districts to invest in intervention strategies in middle school - strategies such as personal academic plans, teaching teams, parent involvement, mentoring, intensive reading and math instruction, and extended learning time.
o Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities: Obama will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children.
o Expand Summer Learning Opportunities: Obama's "STEP UP" plan addresses the achievement gap by supporting summer learning opportunities for disadvantaged children through partnerships between local schools and community organizations.
o Support College Outreach Programs: Obama supports outreach programs like GEAR UP, TRIO and Upward Bound to encourage more young people from low-income families to consider and prepare for college.
o Support English Language Learners: Obama supports transitional bilingual education and will help Limited English Proficient students get ahead by holding schools accountable for making sure these students complete school.
Recruit, Prepare, Retain, and Reward America's Teachers
o Recruit Teachers: Obama will create new Teacher Service Scholarships that will cover four years of undergraduate or two years of graduate teacher education, including high-quality alternative programs for mid-career recruits in exchange for teaching for at least four years in a high-need field or location.
o Prepare Teachers: Obama will require all schools of education to be accredited. He will also create a voluntary national performance assessment so we can be sure that every new educator is trained and ready to walk into the classroom and start teaching effectively. Obama will also create Teacher Residency Programs that will supply 30,000 exceptionally well-prepared recruits to high-need schools.
o Retain Teachers: To support our teachers, Obama's plan will expand mentoring programs that pair experienced teachers with new recruits. He will also provide incentives to give teachers paid common planning time so they can collaborate to share best practices.
o Reward Teachers: Obama will promote new and innovative ways to increase teacher pay that are developed with teachers, not imposed on them. Districts will be able to design programs that reward accomplished educators who serve as a mentor to new teachers with a salary increase. Districts can reward teachers who work in underserved places like rural areas and inner cities. And if teachers consistently excel in the classroom, that work can be valued and rewarded as well.
Higher Education
o Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit: Obama will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Obama will also ensure that the tax credit is available to families at the time of enrollment by using prior year's tax data to deliver the credit when tuition is due.
o Simplify the Application Process for Financial Aid: Obama will streamline the financial aid process by eliminating the current federal financial aid application and enabling families to apply simply by checking a box on their tax form, authorizing their tax information to be used, and eliminating the need for a separate application.

He should visit inner city and rural schools this fall to show how badly NCLB has affected these schools. When he talks about kids learning a second language, he can show how important this is for these kids to be competitive in a global economy. Our kids are so far behind on a global scheme and its because of the achievement gap between certain segments of society. If we can pull all students up, then that will only help our standing in the world. We should be number one across the board. This will make America the number one source of talent for jobs. Now, that doesn't mean greedy corporations won't still outsource and move overseas to get out of paying fair wages and adhering to labor laws and environmental regulations, but perhaps they won't be able to use the excuse of poorly educated people being the reason why they are doing so.

Also, I'd like to hear more on Obama's plan for small business owners. Democrats need to talk more about small business ownership and entrepreneurial opportunities. I think I remember Bill Clinton doing A LOT with that and this caused a lot of black people to be able to open their own businesses. This is extremely important, especially in the black community since we are at the bottom of the scale as it pertains to business ownership. The problem for us is obtaining capital. Most of black America's wealth is tied up in their homes and since this mortgage foreclosure crisis has taken its toll on this community, wealth in the black community has decreased. There needs to be an easier, more understandable path to business ownership and obtaining capital to get there. I would like to hear his plans on that. Does anyone know if he has plans on that?

[seasat]

1. Everyone needs to compare that to McCain's plan.

Guess who McCain views as a model for education? Why Jebbie Bush of course. Just look at some of the stupid policies Jebbie has passed down here in Florida and that is what McCain wishes for the rest of the country. Jebbie's policies are basically destroy public education and give everyone vouchers to private religious schools with little oversight. Pretty much keep everyone ignorant while the wealthy (who can afford it) get decent education. It's part of their neo-feudalism program.

[redstate_democrat]

2. Yeah I know all about Jeb's plan down in FL.

What a JOKE. This is all about diverting public money into the coffers of private companies and religious institutions. This is a MAJOR break for parents who CHOOSE to send their kids to private schools. But this is the thing: these private schools aren't currently required to abide by federal law in anti-discrimination and special education. Will they be required to do so if they take public money? Will they WANT to do that? What happens when these private schools RAISE tuition above the voucher amount to keep certain kids out? Some parents may be able to pay the additional cost over what the voucher will take care of, but not most. All this will do is divert money away from public schools, weakening them even further, while fattening up private institutions. This whole idea is a FRAUD. That is why I am against Charter schools and public funding of private schools. We need to be strengthening the public schools.