Education

Public education is under assault in Indiana and teachers have become the prime target. Instead of focusing on ways to strengthen public schools, support our students and create jobs, some politicians in our state are just looking for someone to blame. Unfortunately, teachers – the people who work hard every day to give their best for Indiana’s students - have become the scapegoat.

For years, self-proclaimed education “reformers” have promoted unproven ideas and gimmicky proposals that would, in reality, harm our public schools. 

Our current governor supports many elements of this so-called “reform” agenda – including the creation of more charter schools using public school resources, funneling public funds to private or religious schools through the use of vouchers, and basing teachers’ pay on how their students perform on standardized multiple-choice tests.  

Nearly three decades ago, the National Commission on Excellence in Education issued “A Nation at Risk,” a compelling report that sounded the alarm on the state of public education in America. Since then, we have spent billions of taxpayer dollars to improve our public schools. Yet American students have fallen behind their international peers in math and science, and our achievement gaps remain. 

We must do better. Our economic prosperity, national security, and quality of life for all Americans depend upon the ability of our students to compete successfully in the global economy, which places high value on knowledge and innovation in math, science, technology and engineering. As President Obama has said, “America’s prosperity has always rested on how well we educate our children – but never more so than today.”

Pell Grants are the foundation of our student aid system, which seeks to make sure that students with low and moderate incomes can afford a college education. Right now, Pell Grants are helping more than 9 million people go to college. 

There is no doubt that the cost of the Pell Grant program has been rising rapidly. As I understand it, the single most important factor has been growth in the number of eligible students. Between 2008 and now, the number of students receiving Pell Grants has increased by more than three million. 

The Great Recession that started in 2008 was a major factor contributing to this growth. People who have lost their jobs and incomes are going back to college to acquire new skills for the economy recovery. That’s exactly what we hope people would do – take advantage of opportunity to retool their skills for the jobs of the 21st century. 

Now, I just had a chance to talk with some of your teachers, as well as some students, who told me about your all-school project that’s weaving the life and music of Duke Ellington into your classes. And by getting students engaged in learning, you’re teaching the kinds of skills about how to think and how to work together that young people are going to need in college and beyond. That’s what all of our schools need to be doing.

And in an economy that’s more competitive and connected than ever before, a good job and a good career is going to demand a good education. Over the next 10 years, nearly half of all new jobs are going to require more than a high school diploma. So, if you want a bright future, you’re going to need a college degree or advanced training.

And as Arne [Duncan] mentioned, unfortunately too many students aren’t getting a world-class education today. As many as a quarter of American students aren’t finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. And America has fallen to 9th in the proportion of young people with a college degree. Understand, we used to be first, and we now rank 9th. That’s not acceptable.

Several other Georgetown students and I, who all have been able to pursue our educational dreams thanks both to federal student aid programs and Georgetown scholarships, spent our Spring break in Washington.

On Wednesday, we went to Capitol Hill to attend a hearing before the Education and Workforce Committee, where Education Secretary Arne Duncan testified about education policy proposals in the Obama administration’s FY2012 budget.

Over the past few years, educators and lawmakers in Ohio worked together to benefit the students of our state.

In 2009 we passed the Education Opportunity Act, which laid the groundwork for improved student achievement and teaching practice. Since then we have seen a narrowing in the achievement gaps between minority students and their counterparts. We have seen college graduation rates climb. We have seen test scores rise at a pace faster than the rest of the nation.

The Education Commission of the States recognized Ohio’s education reform plans as ambitious, inspired and comprehensive.

In celebration of Teach For America’s 20th anniversary of bringing exceptional young teachers to low-income schools, here are some multiple choice questions. 

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently indicated that he would consider waiving the supplemental educational services (SES) provision of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). 

This is troubling. Not only would this be a major policy change, trumping Congress' current deliberation on the law's reauthorization, it also undermines one of the most innovative and sensible strengths of the law - serving the interest of parents and their children before that of adults.

President Obama firmly believes that all children deserve a world-class education. When he says all children, he means all – regardless of their race, ethnicity, disability, native language, income level or zip code.

The President’s proposal to fix NCLB focuses on schools and students at-risk, and on meaningful reforms that will help these students succeed. The plan will maintain the federal government’s formula programs serving disadvantaged students, English learners, migrant children, and students with disabilities. Many people are speculating that the President wants to make these programs competitive. They are wrong. The President is committed to keeping the historic federal role of providing funding for students who need it most. He does not want the programs dedicated to at-risk students to become competitive. And he does not want to reduce the funds distributed by formula.

In the President’s recent State of the Union address, he spoke about the steps we need to take to compete in the global economy and win the future. As the President rightly noted, education moves our entire society forward by ensuring that America’s workforce can meet current and future challenges.

This year we have an excellent opportunity to improve our educational system and move forward with a bipartisan reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). As my colleagues and I work on this critical legislation, we must go beyond simply addressing the academic needs of our students; we must focus on the development of the whole child.