Follow me on:
Education
As a former educator, I understand how important education is to the future of this nation. In my estimation, education policies in the United States have not come close to meeting the needs of our nation's growing minority communities. A quick glance at the Bush administration's unfulfilled funding promises with respect to the January 2002 landmark education bill, The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), clearly demonstrates this.
Just two years ago, amid great media fanfare, President Bush signed the bipartisan NCLB education bill. The plan was to expand the federal role in public education by greatly increasing funding for badly needed education programs. The president and congressional leaders promised the American public that once passed, the government would give states sufficient funding so that they could comply with the law's requirements, which in turn, would dramatically improve the education system. However, primarily because of administration driven budgets containing trillions of dollars in tax cuts (an obvious drain on the public expenditures) and a precipitous economic downturn, the legislation (and consequently public education in America) has been severely under funded.
For minority students, the lack of funding and resources has exacerbated an already difficult situation. Many minorities come from economically stressed communities, which are in dire need of more federal resources. Unfortunately for minorities, programs such as bilingual education, migrant education, Head Start, IDEA, reduced class sizes, English as a Second Language, and after school programs are facing severe cuts. In fact, one program in particular, "the national dropout prevention program," was sliced from the President's budget from 5 million dollars to zero, essentially eliminating the program. With a disproportionately high drop out rate in the Latino and African American communities, cuts in important programs such as this are extremely detrimental to minority students struggling to finish school.
Among the plethora of previously cited programs that benefit minority students currently on the chopping blocks, one that stands out in particular to me is smaller class size. With proper funding, the requirement that classes have no more than 18 students would give public school teachers an opportunity to provide greater individual attention to their students. This is of utmost importance in low-income communities, where the students' parents often both work one or even two full time jobs just to make ends meet, and unfortunately may have to choose between assisting their children with their school work and putting food on the table. Moreover, given the high incidence of school violence (particularly in poor urban communities), less students leads to greater control in the class room. Lastly, smaller class sizes also make it easier for the students themselves to participate in class discussions, since they are given more attention and have more opportunities to answer and ask questions. I would like to emphasize that smaller class size is just one area out of many that desperately needs increased resources and funding.
I am a wholehearted supporter of educational programs designed to improve and expand education not only in Florida's Third Congressional District, but throughout the entire nation. Although I am not a sitting member on the Education and the Workforce Committee, I work closely with my colleagues to support and pass innovative education legislation to ensure a successful future for our nation's young people. I will continue the fight for affirmative action in college admissions, and work to advocate for important programs such as after school and summer learning programs, as well as numerous other educational programs for our nation's students.
In the 108th Congress, I have fought relentlessly to enforce full funding for the No Child Left Behind Act, as well block Republican party plans to set up private school voucher programs. To me, vouchers drain badly needed funding from our public schools by redirecting it into private institutions. I have also been a wholehearted advocate in the fight to maintain the Head Start program in its current state, and deflect Republican party attempts to block grant funding for this important program. And as always, I remain a faithful advocate for Florida schools, and of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Just two years ago, amid great media fanfare, President Bush signed the bipartisan NCLB education bill. The plan was to expand the federal role in public education by greatly increasing funding for badly needed education programs. The president and congressional leaders promised the American public that once passed, the government would give states sufficient funding so that they could comply with the law's requirements, which in turn, would dramatically improve the education system. However, primarily because of administration driven budgets containing trillions of dollars in tax cuts (an obvious drain on the public expenditures) and a precipitous economic downturn, the legislation (and consequently public education in America) has been severely under funded.
For minority students, the lack of funding and resources has exacerbated an already difficult situation. Many minorities come from economically stressed communities, which are in dire need of more federal resources. Unfortunately for minorities, programs such as bilingual education, migrant education, Head Start, IDEA, reduced class sizes, English as a Second Language, and after school programs are facing severe cuts. In fact, one program in particular, "the national dropout prevention program," was sliced from the President's budget from 5 million dollars to zero, essentially eliminating the program. With a disproportionately high drop out rate in the Latino and African American communities, cuts in important programs such as this are extremely detrimental to minority students struggling to finish school.
Among the plethora of previously cited programs that benefit minority students currently on the chopping blocks, one that stands out in particular to me is smaller class size. With proper funding, the requirement that classes have no more than 18 students would give public school teachers an opportunity to provide greater individual attention to their students. This is of utmost importance in low-income communities, where the students' parents often both work one or even two full time jobs just to make ends meet, and unfortunately may have to choose between assisting their children with their school work and putting food on the table. Moreover, given the high incidence of school violence (particularly in poor urban communities), less students leads to greater control in the class room. Lastly, smaller class sizes also make it easier for the students themselves to participate in class discussions, since they are given more attention and have more opportunities to answer and ask questions. I would like to emphasize that smaller class size is just one area out of many that desperately needs increased resources and funding.
I am a wholehearted supporter of educational programs designed to improve and expand education not only in Florida's Third Congressional District, but throughout the entire nation. Although I am not a sitting member on the Education and the Workforce Committee, I work closely with my colleagues to support and pass innovative education legislation to ensure a successful future for our nation's young people. I will continue the fight for affirmative action in college admissions, and work to advocate for important programs such as after school and summer learning programs, as well as numerous other educational programs for our nation's students.
In the 108th Congress, I have fought relentlessly to enforce full funding for the No Child Left Behind Act, as well block Republican party plans to set up private school voucher programs. To me, vouchers drain badly needed funding from our public schools by redirecting it into private institutions. I have also been a wholehearted advocate in the fight to maintain the Head Start program in its current state, and deflect Republican party attempts to block grant funding for this important program. And as always, I remain a faithful advocate for Florida schools, and of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Paid for and Authorized by the Friends of Corrine Brown Campaign Committee