Make public education the civil rights issue of 21st century
Guiding Principles:
We need to make public education the civil rights issue of the 21st century.
Every American should have access to a high-quality, public education from preschool to graduate school, regardless of how much money their parent
make or the zip code they live in.
The most important in-school variable in improving student achievement is the quality of his or her teacher and principal. We must ensure that every classroom and school are led by a great teacher and an effective
principal.
It is time to stop focusing on ideology and start focusing on results: those programs generating success for students should be expanded, and the programs that continue to receive federal money without results should be discontinued.
Education is the key to making sure all Americans have a fair shot at the American dream. It is indispensible to reviving our economy, protecting our national security, and ensuring that our young people can compete with students across the world.
Source: Campaign website, www.alanforsenate.com, "Learn More"
Nov 15, 2009
Double the federal charter school investment
We must support innovation and invest to scale what works. Alan understands that we not only need to support innovation, but also closely monitor and evaluate new programs to make sure that we are expanding the programs that work and reforming or
closing the ones that don't. Examples of the innovative reforms Alan will support include the following:
Doubling the federal charter school investment to support expansion of high-quality charter schools while investing similar additional investments
over the next five years to expand high-quality public schools and support bold interventions in low-achieving schools. In each of these initiatives, states and school systems would be required to hold accountable charter and other public schools
consistently failing to reach expectations.
Expanding the School Day and Year.
We must replace the No Child Left Behind Act with a reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act that builds on its strengths and fixes its failures.
Source: Campaign website, www.alanforsenate.com, "Learn More"
Nov 15, 2009
ServiceNation: volunteers for improving education& mentoring
In 2007, Alan launched Be The Change, Inc., which is dedicated to building national movements of citizens and leaders to push for bold solutions to some of our nation's most stubborn social problems, from failing schools to chronic poverty. Be the
Change's first major campaign, ServiceNation, organized a coalition of more than 200 non-profits, with a reach of some 100 million Americans, to promote voluntary service as a front-line strategy for improving education,
mentoring youth, preserving the environment, supporting and engaging veterans in civilian service, and fighting poverty. The ServiceNation Summit, held on September 11 and 12,
2008, united both Presidential candidates, then-Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain, who expressed their strong support for citizen service and the Serve America Act.
Source: Campaign website, www.alanforsenate.com, "About"
Oct 1, 2009
