Presidential Frontrunners Look to ED

Presidential candidates continue to release their K-12 education plans, building on the recent momentum that has been growing around education as a heavyweight campaign issue. Just last week, we saw the first education-focused candidate television ads launch in New Hampshire, in addition to a lengthy discussion on performance pay for teachers during the Democratic debate in Las Vegas.

I am encouraged that more presidential candidates are announcing substantive and detailed K-12 education proposals for strengthening America’s schools.  This signals that the presidential contenders are finally responding to what the voters want to hear – the candidates’ plans to reform our education system. Parents want to know if their kids are going to have the skills they need for college, the workforce, and life.  Ensuring this is a national challenge that requires national leadership.

ED in ‘08 believes the core elements of any successful school system are: an effective teacher in every classroom, incentives for teachers in high-need schools, differentiated pay for teachers based on performance, and more time and support for student learning.

Studies have shown us time and time again that teachers have a greater impact on student learning than anything else in schools, and America’s schools will need to hire 2 million new teachers over the next decade. It’s going to take innovative plans and incentives, like the ones being laid out in the recent candidate proposals, to attract talented individuals to the teaching profession and to the schools and subjects where they are needed most.

With the growing demands on our students to compete in the global economy, we need to provide students with enough time and support for their learning. On average, students in other developed nations spend 193 days annually in school, compared with only 180 in the U.S.  Over 12 years, this deficit translates into a gap of nearly one full school year. That’s not fair to our students.

The time has come for all of the candidates to go beyond the same old messaging and rhetoric, and beyond special interests or party bias to issue innovative and action-driven plans to strengthen our schools. Otherwise, they have no place offering themselves as the right choice for America’s families.

Education is one of those bread and butter issues, the kind that every American can rally around. We’ve heard from the candidates several times that there is no issue more important than education, and if this momentum continues, education just may be the issue that takes them all the way to the White House.

Former Governor Roy Romer (D-Colo.) is a guest blogger for The Hill. Romer Chairs Strong American Schools and is Director of the ED in ’08 campaign. Romer frequently blogs on the campaign’s website.