President Obama goes to the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington today to outline how his administration plans to improve education from “cradle to career,” Reuters reports quoting officials familiar with the President’s planned speech.
They said he would challenge U.S. states to adopt more rigorous standards of education, especially in reading and math. He would also explain how he plans to reward good teachers, redesign federal aid programs for students, and turn around underperforming schools. Obama will note the large gap between the best and worst performing states with respect to reading and math, the administration officials said in a briefing.
The Wall Street Journal reports Obama’s merit pay proposal “would significantly expand a federal program that increases pay for high-performing teachers to an additional 150 school districts.” The President will also call for more charter schools and challenge states to lift limits on the number in operation, the paper says.
Robert,
Education Week has published a 220 page guide on Obama’s plan. It’s fairly comprehensive and assuredly will raise some eyebrows and ruffle some feathers. I contend, that’s a good thing.
I, for one, hope that we can soon start a discussion about the merits of his plan. I hope that someone can link us to a comprehensive summary of the plan, although I suspect that a number of news outlets will make this available.
I am all for rocking the boat, but we must do it right.