Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

I believe public education is a civil right and we have an obligation to all the students in our community to provide sufficient funding so they have equitable access to an effective educational experience. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was a negative turning point in public education. It placed far too much responsibility on teaching staff and provided far to little funding to meet the goal of having all children proficient at specific points in time. Of course we want ALL children to succeed, but the reality is that children are not widgets. They are amazing individuals that come to school with varying social and academic skills and interests.

I am running because I want to level the playing field and offer pre-k for all 4 year olds. The evidence is clear quality early learning programs increases a child's readiness for learning. We also have evidence that the K-3 plus program, which adds 25 extra days of instruction at the beginning of the school year for children attending high-poverty schools, narrows the achievement gap and improves cognitive skills in reading and math. Let's expand the program to 5th grade and make it available at all schools. We also know that extending learning activities to after school hours has a positive impact on student engagement and learning.

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