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BARACK OBAMA: SUPPORTING OUR SCHOOLS
OBAMA WANTS BETTER OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR CHILDREN
“Every child is our responsibility.…We can provide every child with the best education.” (University Wire, 2/28/08)
OBAMA WOULD REFORM AND FULLY FUND NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
“NCLB has done more to stigmatize and demoralize our students and teachers in struggling schools than it has to marshal talent and the determination and the resources to turn them around.”
—Barack Obama, Manchester, N.H., 11/22/07
Obama Would Fix NCLB Flaws. Obama would reform No Child Left Behind, starting by funding the law, and “believes teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests.” He would improve NCLB’s accountability system so we support schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them. (Associated Press, 5/28/08; Evansville Courier & Press, 5/4/08; Obama speech in Manchester, N.H., 11/22/07; Obama Website, accessed 6/30/08)
Obama Voted to Restore Funding for No Child Left Behind. Obama voted to start closing the gap in funding for NCLB by supporting an amendment that provided $5 billion for Title I of NCLB. When NCLB was passed, Congress provided funding authorization levels commensurate with the law’s accountability and other requirements. From 2002 to 2005, however, the gap between what Congress promised and what Congress provided for NCLB programs was $27 billion. (S. Amdt. 2275 to H.R. 3010, Vote 269, 10/26/05; AFT Voting Record for 109th Congress, accessed 7/1/08)
OBAMA SUPPORTS TEACHERS
Obama Would Help Teachers Pay for School. Obama plans to create Teacher Service Scholarships that would cover four years of undergraduate or two years of graduate teacher education, including high-quality alternative programs for mid-career recruits, in exchange for teaching at least four years in a high-need field or location. (Obama Website, accessed 6/30/08)
Obama Would Support Mentoring and Sharing Best Practices Among Teachers. Obama plans to expand mentoring programs that pair experienced teachers with new recruits and provide incentives to give teachers paid common planning time so they can collaborate to share best practices. (Obama Website, accessed 6/30/08)
Obama Plans to Make Math and Science Education a Priority. Obama’s website says he would “recruit math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession and would support efforts to help these teachers learn from professionals in the field.” He would also work to ensure that all children have access to a strong science curriculum at all grade levels. (Obama Website, accessed 6/30/08)
OBAMA OPPOSES PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHERS
Obama Supports Helping Public Schools, Not Abandoning Them. Obama told teachers at their convention, “What I do oppose is using public money for private school vouchers. We need to focus on fixing and improving our public schools, not throwing our hands up and walking away from them.” Obama has always been a critic of vouchers and throughout his career has voted against voucher proposals and voiced concern about siphoning off resources from our public schools. (Speech to AFT Convention 7/13/08, AFT Presidential Questionnaire; Obama Campaign Press Release, 2/20/08)
OBAMA WOULD PROVIDE SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES WITH RESOURCES THEY NEED
- “We have to provide the funding we were promised, give our states the resources they need and we have to meet the commitment to special education. We can meet high standards without forcing students and teachers to spend most of the school year preparing for a single, high-stakes standardized test.” (Fort Collins Coloradoan, 5/29/08)
Obama Promises to Double Federal Funding for After-School Programs. According to his campaign website, Obama would double funding for the main federal support for after-school programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve 1 million more children. (Obama Website, accessed 6/30/08)
Obama Supported Increasing Special Education Funding. Obama voted to provide $4 billion in funding for special education. The shortfall of funding for special education has cost schools more than $300 billion since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was enacted in 1975. (S.Amdt. 2292 to H.R. 3010, Vote 273, 10/26/08; AFT Voting Record for 109th Congress, accessed 7/1/08)
Obama Would Provide Affordable Child Care. He would help ease the burden on working families by making high-quality child care more affordable. (Obama Website, accessed 7/1/08)
OBAMA WOULD INVEST IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Obama Would Expand Head Start and Early Head Start. He has voted consistently to protect Head Start funding. He would quadruple the number of infants and toddlers participating in Early Head Start, increase Head Start funding and improve quality for both. (S.C.R. 70, 3/14/08; Obama Website, accessed 7/1/08)
Obama Would Work to Ensure That All Children Have Access to Preschool. Obama would create Early Learning Challenge Grants to help states move toward voluntary, universal preschool. (Obama Website, accessed 7/1/08)
OBAMA WOULD MAKE COLLEGE MORE ACCESSIBLE
- “Our education system, despite the slogans, leaves millions of children behind unable to compete. We cannot wait to make college affordable.” (University Wire, 2/28/08)
Obama Would Help Middle Class Families Pay for College. Obama’s plan includes a $4,000 tax credit to help pay for college and would streamline the financial aid process by allowing families to apply by checking a box on their tax form. He also supports outreach programs like GEAR UP, TRIO and Upward Bound to encourage more young people from low-income families to consider and prepare for college. (Obama Website, accessed 6/30/08)
Obama Voted for Higher Education Funding. He voted to restore cuts to federal student aid programs, to raise the maximum Pell Grant to $4,500 per year and to provide up to $23,000 in loan forgiveness to math, science and special education teachers who work in high-need schools. (AFT Voting Record for 109th Congress, accessed 7/1/08)
Obama: We Need to Strengthen Community Colleges. “Families are finding it harder and harder to get ahead. Workers need new skills to compete, and everything—especially education—costs more. That’s why it’s time to call upon our community colleges once again, and put a little wind at the backs of the American people.” (Obama Campaign Press Release, 2/16/08)
