Drop Out Crisis - What are the Candidates' Positions?

Fourteen urban school districts have on-time graduation rates lower than 50%; they include Detroit, Baltimore, New York, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Denver and Houston. Studies estimate that the drop out rate is 70%. That means about 7,000 students drop out per school day

Sen. McCain voted against $20 million for dropout prevention. He proposes $250 million for Digital Passport Scholarships, so low-income students could get up to $4,000 for virtual schools online.

Sen. Obama says he will address the drop out crisis by funding to school districts to invest in intervention strategies in middle school - strategies such as personal academic plans, teaching teams, parent involvement, mentoring, intensive reading and math instruction, and extended learning time.

Source: Greg Toppo, Big-city schools struggle with graduation rates, http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-06-20-dropout-rates_x.htm

Source: GovTrack.us: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=s2003-322

Subscribe to Kimberlie Ryan's Working Wellness

McCain Pledges 60% of Title II Education Funds for Bonuses

Title II of the Higher Education Act addresses higher-education-based teacher preparation programs. It's getting some attention this year. Just how do we want to spend our education funds?

Sen. McCain pledges to devote 60 percent of Title II funding for incentive bonuses for high performing teachers. He says payments would be made directly to teachers. 35% would be used by principals as they see fit for professional development. 5% would be used to recruit teachers graduating in the top 25%.

Sen. Obama has proposed a broad based series of reform plans around improving teacher recruitment, preparation, retention, and salary, including Teaching Service Scholarships, Professional Development Schools, and mentoring programs. He calls for significant increases in public school teacher salaries to $100,000 to reflect a professional status similar to other professions.

In Obama's Innovation Districts for School Improvement Act, he includes provisions for a Career Ladder initiative, from Novice, Career, Mentor, to Master Teacher. Because of shortages in teachers certified in the critical areas of math and science, Obama has proposed offering pay differentials to teachers qualified in these areas.

He has also proposed a merit pay schedule, in which teacher salary and evaluations of "effectiveness" will be based in part on measurements of improvement in student achievement data on standardized tests.

Source: John McCain's Plan for Strengthening America's Schools, http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/News/PressReleases/read.aspx?guid=2ca6f926-4564-4301-87cd-a5f35e68c0d4

Source: Allen Jan Baird Ph.D., Obama, the Next Education President? EducationNews.org: http://ednews.org/articles/28450/1/Obama-the-Next-Education-President/Page1.html

I ask again, just how do we want to spend our education funds?

Subscribe to Kimberlie Ryan's Working Wellness