Education...
Vermont was several years ahead of the federal government in improving standards and accountability in our classrooms, so I was delighted when the President took up education reform early in his term. Unfortunately, the President's bill not only costs states a fortune, but also takes away local control of the schools, and it is essentially another unfunded mandate. This new federal law will result in the identification -- or mis-identification -- of between 30 and 65 percent of all community schools (depending on your state) as failing. The enormous cost of coming into federal compliance will fall on local property taxpayers. Vermont, like many other states, already has a strong testing and accountability program. Now our system is at risk because of a new federally-dictated definition of quality. To add insult to injury, the President's bill mandates that schools certify that they allow "constitutionally" defined school prayer and that they send the name and address of every rising senior to colleges and to the military. These matters ought to be left up to the local school boards, not dictated by the President and Congress. I am proud of the Vermont approach. First, we require and pay for high standard (but not standardized) testing, and publish the school-by-school results annually. Second, we use professional development to help non-performing teachers and schools do a better job. The state can take over a failing school, although I'm happy to say that has never been necessary. Finally, the state pays a substantial share of new school construction. The federal government must recognize that an enormous number of our teachers are retiring in the coming years and provide incentives to inspire a new generation of great teachers. In addition, Washington needs to provide a cost share to help local communities fix their most rundown schools -- not only improving education, but providing construction jobs as well. If we are serious about improving American education, however, we must not forget that the single most important factor in a child's learning has less to do with the quality of the building, the computers, or even the teachers. The most important predictor is the attitude in that child's home toward education. We must involve parents again; we must insist that they participate in their children's education, and we must make schools and school boards responsive to parents. But we must under no circumstances abandon the public schools, as the Bush Administration seems bent on doing. according to www.deanforamerica.com
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