Education

• Teachers support the concepts of No Child Left Behind but criticize its implementation
• Teaching qualifications and credentials
• Funding
• Measurements
• Penalties
• Hold hearings around the country with teachers, parents, administrators and researchers/experts to understand what works and does not work – and why –
• Refine and FULLY FUND the resulting program
• Consider the elimination of category grants
• Our public school structure still reflects the agrarian culture of 19 th century America
• Lengthen the school year from 9 to 11 months
• Include arts, music, vocational training, and sports to help all students to excel at some part of school
• Encourage educational innovation through Charter Schools
• Encourage educational choice through a system of magnet schools and vouchers
• Increase teacher compensation to reflect a full-year professional salary
• Replace collective bargaining with annual national salary surveys and arbitration
• Strengthen after-school programs through public/private partnerships to insure that all U.S. school children have a safe place to go after school where they can both study and play
• Provide student loans and work study programs for any legal resident or citizen of the United States eligible for college admission who requires financial assistance in addition to scholarships and private student loans.
• Offer an option to repay the loan with interest or to
• Provide one year of national service (Peace Corp, Teach for America, Ranger Naturalist, or Military Service etc.) for every year of education funded.