I challenge the leaders of public education to stop issuing mandates from the state office and to focus on empowering schools and delivering resources to the school level.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I've focused on making sure we have talented teachers and principals in our schools through proposals like the GREAT Teachers and Principals Act and the Presidential Teachers Corps.
We need to end the government monopoly in education by transferring power from bureaucracies and unions to families. The era of defining public education as allegiance to centralized school districts must end.
During my time as a state legislator, I've pushed for significant investment in public school districts. In Congress, I would look forward to increasing federal public investment in education through initiatives like Race to the Top.
As the son of a union activist and a lifelong Democrat, I've always thought that privatizing our public schools is not the answer. We must strengthen public schools.
Instead of just giving lip service to improving our schools, I will actually put the kids first and the teachers union behind in giving our kids better teachers, better options and better choices for a better future.
I am convinced that your Mayor must take the leadership role in education too.
Instead of unfairly demonizing teachers, we should be working with them to find solutions to the problems in our schools and make sure every child gets an outstanding public education.
At the federal level, we must help, not hinder, local school boards, parents, teachers and administrators as they make decisions about educating our children.
The top priority is leaving no child behind. We want accountability in the system, and we want schools to recognize they have a responsibility to teach students.
Public servants should always be accountable and responsible for what they are advocating, and I challenge the American people to demand this from their representatives.