by Wendy N.
So, let’s kick start this discussion with the most controversial question of the day: Hillary or Obama?
First, let me be clear that I don’t think that there is an obvious answer to the question. Both candidates are have their unique talents, and I would gladly make phone calls for either candidate once we get in the process of the general election.
On the issues (near and dear to my heart)
- Education: So, let’s be honest. No one talks about education in depth in an election year. It’s one of those “higher” priority items that doesn’t affect enough well-to-do families to ever make it to the top. And this year, it’s no different. Our Democratic candidates seem to care about education, but are not going to take controversial stances that will become fodder for the Republican attack machine. So, we’ll have to do a little digging into their past to get to their record on education.
…But before we do the digging, let me get on my soapbox and state for the record why I think education is so important. Education is the battleground for the civil rights movement in our country. Things are not overt as they used to be. We have left the age of signs posted outside coffeeshops stating “No blacks allowed,” but we still allow de-facto segregation and general apathy to affect the quality of education a child receives. (Marco, feel free to chime in.) And yes, schools in Oakland are that bad. We are graduating minority students at an average rate of 50% as compared to 75% of their white peers. We have schools where some teachers show up and do not teach. We have meetings where minority parents come in droves to scream at union-backed education board members who literally pull out their newspapers and read as the community pleas for reform. (This actually happened in SF.)
For those who trust me and don’t want to read on:
Round 1 to Hillary
Now on to the analysis…
My filter for a progressive agenda on education:
1. More funding: We are in an under-funding crisis, especially here in California. Let’s take a quick look at the numbers. How much does it cost to get a world-class, primo education with all the fixin’s? We need to look no further than tuition costs at Harvard-Westlake, the private school to go to in LA. Tuition costs are $25,000 for the 2007-2008 academic year. Some of those fees go to subsidize kids who can’t afford the $25,000 price tag. Once you account for that, the price tag for the best education we can offer is $21,875. (Note: teacher to student ratio here is 1:8). Now, let’s look at what the average Californian public school student is receiving on a per pupil basis: $8,563. Wow, it seems our students are getting the commodity version of education - the kind that gets 40% of what’s needed to be the best. (Note: teacher to student ratio in California is 1:22)
2. Accountability
People love to rag on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) like no tomorrow. And yes, the execution has been flawed (what else would we expect from the Bush administration). The flaw has something to do with the lack of funding that was promised but never delivered. But take funding aside, NCLB is fair in principle. We need a mechanism to gauge the progress of our schools. Having kids spend a week taking standardized tests is not a horrible one. And for those who proclaim that we’re “teaching to a test” and kids need to learn art and blah and blah, I just don’t think they understand how bad the problem is. Our kids are not proficient in basic math and reading. The benchmark that we have set in California is an API of 800 for each school. Getting an 800 API means that when students at a school are averaged together, those pools of students are achieving somewhere between a basic and proficient level of math, reading and science. Somewhere between BASIC and PROFICIENT. Because I had obviously nothing to do at 8am this morning, I decided to pull API data for Oakland Unified. Only 11% of the schools in that district have met the 800 API target. Let’s also consider the impact of not having a basic proficiency in math and reading on our democratic society…
3. Support for charter schools
Until districts go through massive reform, our best hope to serve disadvantaged kids now (like right now) is through the use of charter schools. Most of you are already familiar with the concept, but here’s a quick refresher. Charter schools are publicly funded schools that must perform to receive additional funding. These schools do not necessarily have to abide by the curriculum and regulations of a normal school in the district. They can, for example, enforce longer school hours, break-up schools into much smaller sizes and require parents to contribute 35 hours of community service to the school. To read about a great one making incredible change in LA, go here: Green Dot Public Schools. This Charter Management Organization is run by my favorite ex-Bain partner. Charter is not the total solution to our education ills, but is a very important catalyst for reform. It gives us alternatives. It quiets the critics who say getting comparable graduation rates among the poorest, minority students isn’t possible, because yes, it is. GreenDot is doing this TODAY.
4. Working with/standing up to teacher unions
It is not acceptable to have incompetent teachers. It is not acceptable to have to wait 5 years before you can fire an incompetent teacher. Tenure and credentialing need to all be revisited.
5. Teacher development
We need better teachers. Honestly, funding is a big part of the equation. More money, more talent. But beyond that, we should invest in professional development programs that would help lower teacher turnover. Most teachers agree that it takes about 3 years to come up to speed. In California, 22% of teachers leave by the end of their 4th year. Professional development has often times proven to be a more cost effective means of retaining teachers than a simple salary increase.
Obama vs. Hillary on education
(I did the best I could with the numbers portion. I went through their plans on their websites and only counted dollars that they had explicitly stated that they would spend. Let me just hint that one was much better than the other at doing this. And this will be my lead in for Part 2)
His Plan:
1. Pre-K plan: $10B to investing in early childhood education
2. Teacher recruitment: $1B to recruit non-traditional teachers who are currently working in other professions.
3. Teacher Professional Development: $1B to invest in mentoring and developing PD programs for teachers.
4. R&D into teaching practices: $520M to research better ways to teach.
5. College Affordability: $6B The Obama camp hasn’t actually earmarked dollars to this, but since his education credit is $500 more than Hillary’s, I’m guessing it would be in that range. He has also stated his total plan would amount to $18B, so backing the number out isn’t too difficult.
Total Funding = ~$18B
Her plan:
1. Pre-K plan: $5B from the federal government; $5B state match; Federal government willing to match any state spending above $5B after Year 1, which could increase funding to $20B per year.
2. At-Risk Youth plan: $350M. This plan covers more than just education including things like child support, internships and other social programs needed to help At-Risk Youth, but I tossed it in because it actually addresses vocational schooling, which I think has been largely ignored by everyone discussing education.
3. Drop-out crisis: $1B to support initiatives to cut minority drop-out rates in half. Funds would go to investing in “promising, innovative” approaches. Oh yes, someone willing to do something different. In her plan she mentions “Multiple Pathways” and “Early College High Schools” specifically. And by the way, she has been on record in stating she supports charter schools.
4. College education: $8B
Total Funding: ~$25B (including $5B kicker if states spend more)
His Past Record:
- Introduced Summer Term Education Programs for Upward Progress: This bill was signed into law in August 2007. “STEP UP establishes a grant program to support summer learning opportunities to be offered by local schools or community organizations.”
- Introduced 3 other bills that did not pass: 1) HOPE Act which would have increased Pell Grants for college education, 2) Teacher Residency Act to help develop and mentor teachers, 3) Innovation Districts for School Improvement Act that would have granted funds to have 20 school districts propose innovative ways of reforming their districts and provided funding to the 10 winners.
I can’t speak to his State Senate record. I’m sure/guessing that he voted for progressive education bills, but given the lack of information on his website about any major accomplishments, I have feeling that he never led the charge.
Her Past Record:
- Worked for Children’s Defense Fund project that helped to pass Education for All Handicapped Children of 1975
- Major Education Reform in Arkansas: She quit her job as a partner at a law firm, to chair the Arkansas Education Standards Committee. Arkansas schools were ranked last in the nation at the time. Apparently, a controversial issue, Hillary Clinton helped to get buy-in by conducting hearings in all 75 counties. “Hillary Clinton recommended teacher testing, a proposal that pitted her against a natural ally of the Clintons: the teachers’ union, ” as quoted from the Concord Monitor. The reforms were adopted, which included teacher credentialing and an increase in teacher salaries. Arkansas schools are now ranked in the middle of the pack.
- NCLB: Hillary has co-sponsored legislation to fully fund the program since the bill’s enactment. One in 2003 and one in 2004 which advocated an additional $8B in revenues. I’m taking these bills didn’t make it through, which is why we’re still debating this today.
- Introduced and enacted National Teacher Corp and Principal Recruitment Act, which has contributed $300M towards retaining teachers and hiring principals.
- As the First Lady, she worked to increase funding for after school programs. 21st Century Community Learning Center started with $1M in funding to a major program in all 50 states with $1B in funding. (Need to see what she actually did here)
- Introduced bills on renovating schools, fully funding special needs programs and fully recruit and provide professional development for teachers and district leaders.
Okay, there’s actually more. I suggest you go to her website as a US Senator for more detail.
So in summary
Funding: Hillary - Check
Accountability: Hillary - Check; voted for NCLB and enforced teacher credentialing in Arkansas
Charter schools: Hillary - Check; on the record as charter schools as well as plan shows willingness to support alternative models
Working with/standing up to teacher unions: Hillary - Check; read about her time in Arkansas
Teacher Development: I’ll give this to Obama in principle since his plan emphasizes this more, and he has in the past introduced legislation in this area.
But on the most important criteria - commitment - I’m going pronounce Hillary the winner. This obviously is not a pie-in-the-sky campaign issue for her, but obviously something that is also near and dear to her heart. I’m not saying Obama wouldn’t be a big proponent of education reform, but as of 6 weeks ago, he didn’t have a comprehensive education plan on his website. I know this because it’s the first thing I checked. Obama has also stated in his interview with the Reno-Gazette that education is not top 3 on his list of priorities. Well, I need a candidate whose willing to go the distance in this area b/c if not, it’ll never get changed.
Round 1: Hillary
