Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

As a former Virginia Beach public school teacher and parent of school age children, I know first hand how important it is to invest in our children. We must provide the necessary resources for early childhood education in order to prepare students to be responsible citizens and equip them with the knowledge and skills to compete in the new economy.

I will:

*Restore funding for public schools and find innovative solutions to address growing class sizes, high teacher turnover rates and teacher pay
*Help our most challenged schools combat chronic absenteeism and poor academic performance
*Make early childhood education a priority
*End stringent standards of learning requirements; students should be encouraged to learn to think creatively -- not just learn how to take a multiple choice test
*Expand STEM curricula and seek to increase the number of students taking courses in science, technology, engineering, and math

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