Barack Obama and PK-12 Education

I just got back from the first two days of the Democratic National Convention in Denver where I had my antenna up: What are the Democrats saying about PK-12 education? What kind of leadership on education would Barack Obama provide if elected?

(I won't make it to the Republican National Convention this year, but I'll be watching and sharing my thoughts about the Republicans next week.)

Many speakers talked about the importance of education. Democratic governors identified education as a key driver of economic success in their states. Michelle Obama told the crowd that her husband is running "to make sure every child in this nation gets a world-class education all the way from preschool to college."

But I think its fair to say that we don't have much of an idea about how Barack Obama would go about doing that.

Some Obama education priorities seem to have emerged (these and more can be found on the education section of his Web site):

• Expand preschool and early childhood education programs
• Recruit and develop high-quality teachers

But it's not clear what he thinks about NCLB's core principles and strategies. Consider this from his Web site: "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."

He implies that he supports the law's core principles, because he states that he wants to reform and fund it at a higher level. He wants to improve the assessments that states use — that makes a lot of sense. But I'm not sure what he means by "improving NCLB's accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them."

It is certainly true that under the current regimen some schools are not making progress because they just don't know how and nobody is helping them. Somebody needs to help and support failing schools to improve. But who? The federal government? States? Districts? How will Obama make this happen?

And what if schools still fail? Does he want to remove all consequences for school failure? Would that still qualify as "accountability" at all?

Obama and the Democrats have given us some indicators of their priorities, but many questions remain.

Comments

[LIsa P]

The major and ultimate desires for a change is to be start with the best education, it gives also an empowerment to the less fortunate one.
Education is no doubt the key ingredient to success. As Americans emerge from the afterglow of the recent presidential election, while president-elect Barack Obama prepares to take the reins of the country, education is an issue that’s lingering on the minds of many. According to an article at The Apple, No Child Left Behind will be Obama’s first priority when it comes to education. He is not looking to snip the program, but he does intend to reform it, particularly when it comes to standardize testing. He does not support preparing students all year to “fill out bubbles.” Referencing schools, both Obama and vice president-elect Joe Biden support charter schools, as long as they perform up to standard. Teachers at charter schools and others are pleased with Obama's incentives like Teacher Service Scholarships and various pay rewards – this will certainly be a great help. Furthermore, part of the president-elect’s main concern is to boost Early Head Start programs and provide tax credit for college education. The course to repair faith in the American educational system through these ideas and more will definitely lead to the kind of credit repair the country needs. Click to learn more about Credit Repair.

[kristin]

I agree with Tim..."fund the schools locally and remove the burden from the state"...if and only when their is a structured accountability system in place. It is all to often...(employee of one of the largest school districts in the state of tx)...monies come up missing on all levels(state/district/schools). I have an idea???? Why don't we train the administrators to fully understand their budget to fit the needs of the student population..which by the way is an ever changing process! Until we recruit...train...retain ethically sound leaders and managers, that can comprehend a budget and not pass the work to the office manager, in our school districts along with a acountability system, not a single president can try to implement any policy to fix edcuational funding issues in our country.

[msr]

If you can't make it to the Republican National Convention, maybe you should find someone to go in your stead, that is since you've introduced politics. BUT, I'm in total agreement with Tim (prior commenter), it's about time we get government's hands out of education.
Students should be getting fired up about learning through their parents and teachers. Parents and teachers should get the students fired up. We need to get excited about education! as education!, and get rid of the 'meet the standards' and 'follow the guidelines' mindsets.

[Tim]

Why do we want to rely on the government to improve and run our schools? Do you really think they can do a better job? When were our schools better? We should research this and and make the changes locally, where we have control. For example, if the California State Budget Crisis has taught us anything, it's that we cannot depend on our lawmakers to handle our money responsibly. Fund the schools locally and remove that burden from the state, which obviously can't handle it.