Education

There is no more important investment we can make in America than the money we invest in educating our children.  As a Board Member of Providence St. Mel School on the West Side of Chicago, where 100% of the graduates go on to college, I have seen firsthand how a successful education program can change our children’s future.  The keys to Providence St. Mel’s success – and to early successes of the new Providence–Englewood Charter School on Chicago’s South Side – include high expectations for students, academic programs that are both rigorous and creative, proper support for teachers and their classrooms to encourage innovation and dedication, and a supportive school environment.  We must focus on innovative, best practices by schools and teachers around the country, and use our resources to encourage all schools to emulate them.

While the federal No Child Left Behind Act was based on a laudable desire to improve student learning across the board, it takes too rigid and one-dimensional an approach without providing sufficient resources for local school systems.  High, objective standards must be part of our educational system, but we must ensure that innovation and creativity in the classroom are prioritized as well, and are not crowded out by a one-size-fits-all focus on “teaching to the test”.  The federal government must work with local districts to provide incentives for better teacher training and to encourage our best young teachers to serve in the schools where they are most needed.