Prerequisite To Success

In today’s global economy, a high-quality education is no
longer just a pathway to opportunity—it is a prerequisite
to success. Because economic progress and educational
achievement are inextricably linked, educating every
American student to graduate from high school prepared
for college and for a career is a national imperative.

President’s Goal

The President has articulated a goal for America to once
again lead the world in college completion by the year
2020, and all of President Obama’s education efforts aim
toward this overarching objective.

Create An Economy

To create an economy built to last, we need to provide
every child with a complete and competitive education that
will enable them to succeed in a global economy based on
knowledge and innovation. To provide a high-quality
education to all American children, President Obama has
advanced reforms around four key objectives:

Higher Standards

Higher standards and better assessments that will prepare
students to succeed in college and the workplace.

Ambitious Efforts

Ambitious efforts to recruit, prepare, develop, and advance
effective teachers and principals, especially in the
classrooms where they are most needed.

Smarter Data Systems

Smarter data systems to measure student growth and success,
and help educators improve instruction.

New Attention

New attention and a national effort to turn around our
lowest-achieving schools.

Designed  Initiatives

Since taking office, the Obama Administration has designed
and implemented several initiatives to strengthen public
education for students in every community nationwide:

Race to the Top

Race to the Top marks a historic moment in American
education. This initiative offers bold incentives to states
willing to spur systemic reform to improve teaching and
learning in America’s schools. Race to the Top has ushered
in significant change in our education system, particularly
in raising standards and aligning policies and structures
to the goal of college and career readiness. Race to the
Top has helped drive states nationwide to pursue higher
standards, improve teacher effectiveness, use data
effectively in the classroom, and adopt new strategies
to help struggling schools.

No Child Left Behind

As states move forward with education reforms, some
provisions of No Child Left Behind — the most current
version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act,
which is five years overdue for reauthorization — stand
in the way of their progress. Although NCLB started a
national conversation about student achievement, unintended
consequences of NCLB have reinforced the wrong behaviors
in attempting to strengthen public education. NCLB has
created incentives for states to lower their standards;
emphasized punishing failure over rewarding success;
focused on absolute scores, rather than recognizing growth
and progress; and prescribed a pass-fail, one-size-fits-all
series of interventions for schools that miss their goals.

Sent Congress A Blueprint

In March of 2010, the Obama Administration sent Congress a
Blueprint for Reform of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act, addressing the issues created by No Child
Left Behind while pursuing high standards and closing the
achievement gap. But because Congress has not acted to
reauthorize ESEA, the Administration moved forward in
providing states flexibility within the law – as authorized
by provisions in the law itself – to pursue comprehensive
plans to improve educational outcomes for all students,
close achievement gaps, and improve the quality of teaching.
To date, 41 states, CORE (California Office to Reform
Education) Districts, and the District of Columbia have
received ESEA flexibility.

Redesigning America’s High Schools

President Obama’s High School Redesign initiative will
encourage America’s school districts and their partners
to use existing federal, state and local resources to
transform the high school experience for America’s youth
through a whole school redesign effort. This effort will
challenge high schools and their partners to rethink
teaching and learning and put in place learning models
that are rigorous, relevant, and better focused on
real-world experiences. These reforms will incorporate
personalized learning and career and college exploration
and ensure that all students graduate with college-level
coursework or college credit, as well as with career-related
experiences or competencies.

Keeping Teachers In The Classroom

President Obama believes that our children cannot win the
future if teachers are not where they belong—in our
classrooms, teaching our nation’s children. America’s
education system has always been one of our greatest
sources of strength and global economic competitiveness,
as well as an engine of progress in science, technology
and the arts. Our nation cannot expect to train our
children for the high-skilled jobs of today, or for the
opportunities of the future, without investments in a
world-class education system. And America cannot build a
world-class education system without teachers in our
classrooms.

Cuts in Education Budgets

But cuts to education budgets nationwide put education jobs
at risk. These cuts force states and districts into
difficult decisions, including laying off teachers and
other school personnel, overcrowding classrooms, reducing
preschool and kindergarten programs, or even shortening the
school week and year.

President Invested In Education

That’s why the President has invested in education,
providing funding to keep hundreds of thousands of teachers
on the job over the past three years and creating a proposal
to prevent further layoffs from taking place:

Stabilization Funds Deployed

In 2009, the President effectively deployed stabilization
funds for state education budgets through the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which enabled states and
schools districts to keep approximately 300,000 educators
on the job in the face of budget cuts caused by the economic
recession. In 2010, the President signed the Education
Jobs Bill into law that provided states $10 billion in
emergency funding to keep approximately 130,000 educators
in the classroom.

For more information on high-quality education download the following   website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education 

Cordially,
Woody Woodchuck
“Word of wisdom from the Prairie Dog”

Prairie Dogs Prepare For K-12 Education