The White Paper : A Chance for Every Child - Mitt Romney’s Educational Reform Plan 

Overview:            

            

Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, released on May 23, 2012, a 35 page 

proposal plan that addresses the need for educational reform for America’s educational system.  

Romney's proposal of educational reform for the future of this country, mirrors President George 

Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. In terms of Romney’s educational platform called, A 

Chance for Every Child, Romney is adamant when he states that the education system in 

America today is abysmal and fails to provide the foundations and growth potential for 

educational opportunities for our future generations of Americans.  In order to get America’s 

educational priorities set on the right  track, Romney states that he endorses the idea that every 

child deserves a quality and individualized education, noting the importance of under served 

populations including minority students when it comes to their educational training and 

opportunities for being prepared to enter higher education, job training, and staying competitive 

in a global market in our world today. Some of the nontraditional families that are considered to 

be a minority population also include grandparents raising grandchildren due to absent parents, 

homosexual couples with children, or teenage parents raising a child, etc. Other minorities of 

various races and ethnicities included African American, Latino, Asian etc. 

             

      Due to this educational phenomenon, Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has vowed as part 

of his campaign platform to address this dire situation for the American people now and in the 

future. As a result and commitment to bringing about a positive change, Romney created the 

educational reform plan called, A Chance for Every Child, in his word to "remediate what 

Romney calls mistakes by current President Barack Obama."  In his document, A Chance for 

Every Child, Romney outlined a vision for restoring the promise of America’s education system 

and guaranteeing every student the opportunity to succeed in this country no matter what your 

background.  The educational reform, A Chance for Every Child, proposed by Mitt Romney, 

looks at the following issues that Romney asserts have led to an overall decline in the American 

education system. 

The paper will also address some of the major pro's and con's that are associated with 

Romney’s educational reform plan include the following issues:

 * High School Graduation Rate /Student Performance/Parent Empowerment/ Recruitment & Accountability of Schools and Employees – 

     Statistics  currently state that roughly 25% of high school students in the US do not graduate; 

or are not adequately prepared for college or post-secondary education and as a result drop out or 

fail out of high school.  In response to this current trend in education of high school drop out or 

students not completing a high school diploma program, Romney’s educational reform includes 

presenting the following initiative called K-12: Promoting Choice And Innovation to be able to 

give students trapped in declining schools productive alternatives other than not graduating high 

school. It looks at strengthening the home and school bond by empowering parents and students 

with the help of school employees. Specifically, Romney advocates increasing the following in 

order to combat the high school dropout rate including:  parents must receive clear information 

about the performance of their current school, students must be allowed to move to a new school, 

and  students must bring funding with them so that new schools can afford to serve them. 

            Romney’s plan also addresses the need for schools in this country to best meet the needs 

of students with disabilities and their parents. In a Chance for Every Child, Romney proposes to 

allow low income and special needs students to choose which school to attend by making Title I 

and IDEA funds transferable so that eligible students can choose which school to attend and 

bring funding with them. This will be huge and dramatic undertaking for districts, communities, 

and educational staff because it will allow the student to choose from any district or public 

charter school, or a private school where permitted by state law, or to use funds toward a tutoring 

provider or digital course.  Along those lines, Romney proposes to provide incentives for states 

to increase choices for parents and develop quality alternatives to meet the needs of the 

individual student. He would also propose to require states to adopt open-enrollment policies for 

students receiving Title I and IDEA funds, and to eliminate caps on charter and digital schools.  

Romney also is a proponent of building on the success of effective charter schools and plans to 

do so by amending the federal Charter School Program so that successful school management 

organizations can receive funding to replicate their efforts, serve more students, and take their 

programs to scale.  He also would like to expand and reinstate the DC Opportunity Scholarship 

Program to serve as a model for the nation’s resurgence in education.  Ideally,  this would  hope 

to reverse President Obama’s efforts to eliminate this popular and effective program.  

        Romney is also very adamant in providing a solid K-12 educational programing ensuring 

high standards and responsibility for results.  Currently, there is little data for parents about their 

children’s schools. Romney believes that providing better information for parents will empower 

them to hold districts and states responsible for results and, when combined with increased 

parental choice, give them more control over their children’s education. Romney’s reforms will 

improve transparency and give parents the information they need to be informed about their 

child’s education.  He also hopes to accomplish this task with the help of the reforming of No 

Child Left Behind by emphasizing accountability and responsibility for results. Finally, Romney 

highlights in his educational reform the need to replace federally-mandated school interventions 

with a requirement that states create straightforward public report cards that evaluate each school 

on its contribution to student learning.  Romney’s educational reform, A Chance for Every Child, 

will  have comparable overtones to George Bush’s The NCLB act, which is applicable to all 

school districts, to ensure that every parent is empowered with the right to send their child or 

children to the school they choose. 

        In his educational reform plan, Romney firmly believes in the idea for every child to be 

educated as a matter of individual right offers parents the chance to tap federal legislation to 

further the interests of outcome and standards based education. NCLB helps the parent 

community to set high standards for academic excellence alongside the school management team 

and address methods for improving and developing school assessment patterns. What Romney 

does point out in his educational reform plan, he believes that the exclusion of a national 

achievement standard makes room for individual state authorities and school principals to 

collaborate under the specifications of the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It has 

provisions for every school to make public names and contact details of all the enrolled students 

to institutions that deliver higher education and the military recruitment team. Romney  endorses 

the idea of focusing on effective instruction for better student learning, systematic testing, 

increased federal funding for education and listing of 'failing' schools that could be opted out of. 

      Romney also speaks of the critical need in his educational proposal for America to  recruit 

and reward great teachers in K – 12 settings.  His belief is that a school is only as strong as its 

teachers, but the most promising teachers often find it difficult to reach the classroom door or 

receive recognition for their efforts once inside.  Romney’s reforms smooth the path for talented 

individuals to join the profession and shape the next generation.  He hopes to attract and reward 

great teachers through increased flexibility and block grants. Specifically, Romney hopes to 

consolidate the numerous and overlapping federal teacher quality programs. His proposal also 

offers states flexible block grants if they adopt policies to advance and reward teacher quality, 

such as eliminating or reforming teacher tenure and establishing evaluation systems that focus on 

effectiveness in advancing student achievement. Finally, Romney’s educational reform looks to 

eliminate unnecessary certification requirements that discourage new teachers. For instance, the 

federal “highly qualified teacher” requirement, while well-intentioned, only serves to reinforce 

hurdles that prevent talented individuals from entering the teaching profession in the first place.  

   

**Need for Global Competitive in Education and the Economy  -

      The second major issue of Romney places a lot of emphasis in his educational reform, A 

Chance for Every Child, to point out that many other progressive countries are sending their 

students to college and graduating and entering the work force immediately.  When looking at 

this same trend in terms of enrollment, progression, and graduation into the workforce,  in the 

educational reform, A Chance for Every Child, Romney states USA does not even come close to 

some countries college preparation, entrance, and graduation that include China, Japan, India, 

Korea, etc.  In order reverse this negative trend for Americans, Romney plans to replace 

burdensome education regulation with innovation and competition.  He further plans to 

encourage market entry by innovative new education models, emphasize skill attainment instead 

of time spent in the classroom, and support research and development. He also would like to 

repeal confusing and unnecessary regulations that primarily serve to drive costs higher, and 

replace them with common-sense reforms that ensure appropriate student outcomes.

   ***Student Preparation, Graduation and Access to Higher Education/Competitiveness in Attaining Jobs and Careers in a Global Economy - 

      In his third major issue in his educational reform plan, A Chance for Every CHild, Romney 

asserts that the lack of advancement or financial opportunity for minority or economically 

disadvantaged young people and families to be competitive in the American and global job 

market by attending higher education, graduating, and then finding employment in a globally 

infused economy is critical for our country moving forward.  Romney also thinks that we need to 

take of our young people and citizens to make our nation a great and productive world power and 

that starts with access to education.  Romney talks quite adamantly about issues with higher 

education  in terms of both affordability and applicable learning to an increasingly competitive 

job market globally in our society today.  America’s traditional community and four-year 

colleges are the heart of our nation’s higher education system.  However, Romney points out the 

dire issue that a flood of federal dollars is driving up tuition and burdening too many young 

Americans with substantial debt and too few opportunities to use their training and degrees.  

Meanwhile, other models of advanced skills training are becoming ever more important to 

success in the American economy, and new educational institutions will be required to fill those 

roles. Romney’s reforms help to bring about change for the American public in the access, 

affordability, innovation, and accountability needed to address all of these challenges related to 

higher education that include:

     Romney’s plan looks at consolidating duplicative a complex programs within the Department 

of Education.  In terms of student loans, Romney look to focus on the Department on giving 

students and families with financial need the appropriate information about completion and 

persistence, loan repayment rates, future earnings, and other indicators to intelligently weigh the 

risks and benefits of the many options available to them, rather than limiting choices through 

punitive regulations.  Romney also talks about embracing the private sector participation instead 

of pushing it away; specifically looking to reverse President Obama’s nationalization of the 

student loan market and welcome private sector participation in providing information, 

financing, and the education itself.

     Finally, Romney hopes to restructure the American job market entry by implementing 

innovative new education models, that look to emphasize skill attainment instead of time spent in 

the classroom, and support research and development. He addresses the need to repeal confusing 

and unnecessary regulations that primarily serve to drive costs higher, and replace them with 

common-sense reforms that ensure appropriate student outcomes. 

****Pro’s & Con’s of Romney’s Educational Reform, A Chance for Every Child to Take Into Consideration

    While Romney's educational platform, A Chance for Every Child, seems very promising in 

bringing and restoring hope for Americans now and in the future in terms of the American 

education system and the propensity for job openings in our world today, there are substantial 

issues that are related; which an individual may find either negative or positive depending on 

 individuals’ views. The following points are a list of potential pro's and con's specifics that are 

connected to Presidential Republican nominee, Mitt Romney's, White Pages: A Chance for Every 

Child, the specifics include:

Pros:

* Proposed state-wise standardized tests have resulted in a higher enrollment for courses in mathematics than ever before

* Targeted  academic improvement in all subject categories

*Legislation encouraged accountability in public schools to provide additional educational options

* Hope to eliminate negligible achievement gap between white students and the minorities

* Look to provide measurement based performance assessment for student against the student esp. special ed students

• Continue w detailed report cards explaining AYP (annual yearly progress) performance, recommended para-professional or parental involvement and preferred line of curriculum and instruction practice for each child

* Place a special focus on students from low-income groups and disabilities for their education

*Increased responsibility towards ethnic subgroups by awarding schools adequate rating and recognition for measured school performance

* Target improved instruction and classroom practices and scope for more parent involvement

*Provide funding for school technology used in classrooms as part of NCLB, is administered by the Enhancing Education Through Technology Program (EETT) funding for technology used within classrooms, professional teacher training and development of online assessment interfaces

Cons:

*Lack of desired federal intervention to address random subject choice for teachers

*Inadequate oversight in the case of special education - how can determine if a child is really making progress if only looking at that child and not his peers?

*Manipulated test records and results and test driven preparation for teachers and students

*Lowered official state standards to earn incentives from improvement via standardized tests along with impetus from district leaders to teach to the test

*Choice of select skills subsets to increase test performances leading to misinterpretation of educational outcome. Are we just asking kids to spit back what teachers tell them or are we encouraging to become divergent and creative thinkers?

*Inherent cultural disparity since each culture is naturally gifted with certain skills - not looking at each person’s talents, gifts, and backgrounds

*Lack of sensitivity towards Disabilities Education for the visually impaired, hearing impaired, physically impaired, cognitively impaired, and hearing and audio-logically impairments

*Inappropriate dispossession of students who fail to meet the desired performance levels for the school to earn incentive to want to do better. 

*Forced mandatory curriculum in reading, writing, and arithmetic, impairing grade advancement not looking for kids and teachers to be creative thinkers and learners

*Restricted and almost absent non-English test assessments - huge implications for students with ESL issues - vastly growing in USA schools; need for ESL teachers certified to educate these students

References:

1.  http://www.mittromney.com/blogs/mitts-view/2012/05/chance-every-child-0

2.  http://coopcatalyst.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/a-students-response-to-mitt-romneys-a-chance-for-every-child/

3.  http://politicalnews.me/?id=14327

4.  http://www.cfr.org/education/romneys-white-paper-education-chance-every-child-may-2012/p28352

Outline to Blueprint for Reform

In the Blueprint for Reform, President Obama addresses the modifications he would like to make in his reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which in its latest incarnation is also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). There are six main areas that are the focus in this reform: a complete education, literacy, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs, well-rounded education, college pathways and accelerated learning, and activities to strengthen a complete education.

            When speaking of a complete education the Obama administration is asking for the states to raise their standards and is even pushing the use of common core standards among states by providing those that do adopt the common core standards with funding. Other goals include fewer students needing remediation when entering their college education. This administration seeks to have students who graduate high school ready to start their college education.

            The Obama administration is keen on improving the nation’s literacy programs and ensuring that all students are receiving highest quality literacy instruction possible. The same is true of the administration’s push to improve schools’ STEM programs, as well as providing more funding for these programs.

            College pathways and accelerated learning in this context refers to allowing high school students opportunities to do college work and for elementary and middle school students, providing opportunities to participate in gifted and talented programs.

When comparing the Blueprint to Reform to No Child Left Behind, several main differences emerge. First is how the state standards are determined. Under NCLB, the states were required to develop their own standards, but there were no requirements for how rigorous these standards needed to be. The Blueprint to Reform is urging states to work together to develop common standards and for those states that do not elect to do so to work with their public university systems to make sure that the standards will ensure students will be ready for college when they graduate high school. The hope is the program should help lower the rate of students needing remediation when entering into college classes.

Another difference is how student progress will be measured. Under NCLB, states are allowed to choose their testing instrument; therefore, there is a lot of variability among states. The Obama Administration is offering to provide states that adopt common standards a formula to develop an assessment based on core standards and is offering funding in an effort to create consistency among the states. 

The Obama Administration aims to address a major criticism to NCLB, which is accountability for student performance. Under the Blueprint for Reform, the lowest performing five percent of schools in the state will be put under a “challenge” status. Schools that are placed under the challenge status will be mandated to utilize one of four possible turnaround models that have been established by the Administration.

A major criticism of Obama’s Blueprint for Reform is that it provides a lot of big language and talk, but it lacks a true plan to achieve the goals that are set. It is conceptually pleasing but without proper research, direction, and implementation the question remains if it actually is going to work.  

Technology and Curriculum - The Pro’s and the Con’s

 

Technology has revolutionized education, nobody can deny that.  Educators have also adjusted their teaching methods in response to new technology over the years.  Gone are the “field of dreams” days when believing that simply putting computers in the classroom would automatically make a difference.  Many schools now carefully consider cost and application when debating how best to use new technology.

Although providing laptops for every K-12 student in the classroom is cost prohibitive for most districts, wireless mobile labs can be used in group projects.  Individual word processers are now also becoming more affordable was as smaller, hand held devices such as personal digital assistants that can be hot-synced to the teacher’s computer.

Pro’s of the classroom technology “gadgets” in the classroom can create what they feel is a more interesting interactive environment that students are, in many cases, already familiar with outside of school.  This varies from district to district as in the poorest communities technology is limited in school but also outside of school.  This technology gap in our communities is a direct relationship in terms of money to technology.  This gap is widening in our country is something worthy of further review.

There are several reasons why technology in the classroom can improve students achievements.  For example, computers can provide more motivation then their teachers during drilling and practice skill building.  Students in an at-risk group, such as special need students, rural and inner-city schools, feel motivated and successful when using curriculum-assisted instruction.  In addition, these types of students create visual abstract ideas which might help the student from being discouraged during difficult tasks and concepts.

When students are suing technology as a tool or a support for communicating with others, they are in an active role rather than the passive role of recipient of information transmitted by a teacher or textbook.  The student is actively making choices about how to generate, obtain, manipulate or display information.  Technology use also allows many more students to be actively thinking about information, making choices and executing skills than is typical in teacher-lecture lessons.  Moreover, when technology is used as a tool to support students in performing authentic tasks, the students are in the position of defining their goals, making design decisions and evaluating their own progress.

The teachers role changes as well.  The teacher is no longer the center of attention as the dispenser of information but rather plays the role of facilitator, setting goals and providing guidelines and support for a new activity.  The use of technology stimulates so much active mental work on the part of students.

“Kids like the immediate results.  It’s not a result that you can get anywhere else except on the computer….for them, it is really a big deal.  Much more so than I ever thought it was going to be.”

Elementary school teacher

“Technology is the ultimate carrot for student’s, it’s something they want to master.  Learning to use it enhances their self-esteem and makes them excited about coming to school.”

Fifth grade teacher

 

Another effect of technology cited by a great many student’s, is the inclination on the part of the students to work cooperatively and provide peer tutoring.  Student’s ability to collaborate on substantive content can be further enhanced thru the use of software applications specifically designed for that purpose.

The con’s of technology in the classroom in general is expansive and takes an inordinate amounts of money to acquire and operate.  Schools with minimal technology resources can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

Classroom technology, especially laptops for individual use, must be replaced every two ro three years.  Tech staff is required for a school with technology in the classroom.  The more technology the more people will be needed to keep it running.

Use of technology can be a distraction.  A common complaint among educators is that social media is distracting in the classroom.  Instructors maintain that tools like Facebook, Twitter and even spell check divert student’s attention away from what is happening in class and are ultimately disruptive to the learning process.

The use of technology also discourages face to face communication.  Some educators are concerned that while real-time digital stream may create a “safe harbor” for students who are uncomfortable with expressing themselves.  Students can miss valuable lessons in real-life social skills.  At social gatherings and in personal relationships, they need to be able to effectively express themselves and connect with others.

Ultimately, while the debate continues over the role of technology in the classroom, no one can argue that the influence that social media and technology has on today’s student’s.  This tech savvy generation conducts much of their life though social media channels and technology.  With this in mind, it seems prudent for today’s schools to get on the technology and social media train and find ways to successfully integrate these tools into the classroom.

Tenure Reform Law

The New Jersey Tenure Reform Bill, formally called the Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey Act (TEACH-NJ Act), is a product of Governor Christie’s 2-year advocacy for educational reform in New Jersey.  This bipartisan bill was passed unanimously this past June by legislators and signed by Governor Christie on August 6^th, 2012.   The new law is the first landmark reform on the previous tenure law in over 100 years and will affect teachers and administration alike.   As noted in a press release from the office of Governor Christie this new law is supposed to ensure that the most effective and ineffective teachers are identified to provide for the best possible education of New Jersey students.  My review of the statement from the governor’s office on the law (www.state.nj.us/governor) and of NJEA’s website (njea.org) helped discern the new changes from the previous tenure law.  The new law has supporters feeling optimistic and others uncertain about the future of education in New Jersey.

Among the provisions of the TEACH-NJ Act is the general idea that the attainment, maintenance, and the loss of tenure will be heavily linked to the effectiveness of each teacher in the classroom.  A teacher’s effectiveness, however, is going to be based solely on their evaluation ratings, which in turn is to be determined by job requirements, professional standards, and of course student performance and growth.  This idea has many worried, and perhaps rightly so, because although many factors in a student’s life may attribute to their performance, the schools put total responsibility of student progress on the teacher.  Also, of concern is the fact that although teacher evaluations are to rely on many aspects, the provision that requires the partial use of objective measures of student growth does not specify what is considered “partial”.  With school districts being able to choose which evaluation tool they implement, so long as the provisions are met, the standard for what is considered partial may vary. 

More specifically, tenure will no longer be awarded after just 3 years, but instead will only be awarded after 4 years.  These 4 years must include a year of mentoring for 1^st year teachers, followed by 2 years of evaluation ratings of effective or highly effective in the 3 years following mentorship.  Although I foresee the mentor requirement having mostly beneficial influences, an immediate concern here is of the quality of the 1^st year mentor, which could influence a new teacher’s performance for better or for worse if not carefully selected. 

Positive evaluations must be maintained or the revocation of tenure will ensue after 2 years of ineffective or partially ineffective ratings. The only way to prolong tenure charges at that point is to make an improvement in one year of evaluations in which case it is up to the superintendent to develop and provide plans for support for the teachers in this situation in order to lead to improved evaluations.

 The revocation provision may seem fair at first glance until the thought of seniority rights arises.  As of present, seniority rights are still intact meaning that the policy of what Governor Christie calls “last in first out”, still protects grandfathered teachers who may or may not be qualified teachers anymore, while newer teachers will continue to be the first victims of district layoffs.  As reported by nj.com (Critics say education reform bill signed by Gov. Christie doesn't fix state's biggest issues), among several other big proponents to end the implementation of seniority rights like Senator Kyrillos, is state education commissioner, Christopher Cerf who claims, that due to the inclusion of seniority rights the TEACH-NJ act is a great disappointment in terms of total reform. 

NJEA lists other conditions of the TEACH-NJ Act, such as the duty of conducting the evaluation belonging administration as an annual summative evaluation and for those whom have received poor evaluation rating, a school improvement panel (consisting of the principal, vice principal, and another teacher) midyear.  The TEACH-NJ Act also moves tenure cases out of the courts, caps the cost at $7, 500 instead of the $100, 000 it often used to cost, and limits the resolution of a tenure suit to 105 days in an attempt to provide incentive to bring and resolve tenure suits.  Due process also remains intact for cases of appeal over the loss of tenure or employment. 

As Laura Waters, the president of the Lawrence Township school board, writes on her blog, NJ Left Behind, only 30 school districts out of 591 in New Jersey in the year long pilot program.  One of her main concerns, as is one of mine, is whether or not 1 year is sufficient to work out all the possible difficulties that may arise before the TEACH-NJ Act is fully implemented during the 2013-2014 school year.  This is especially so in regards to the controversy over the validity of NJ SMART, which is currently the states data system on student growth. 

There are a multitude of opinions, questions, and concerns that revolve around the new tenure TEACH-NJ Act, many of which may not be attended to in the foreseeable future.  What remains certain is that proponents of the law including Governor Christie see this as the best possible option for the tenure reform in New Jersey, as he was quoted on njspotlight.com (Compromise, Caffeine, and Trade-Offs: Behind NJ's New Tenure Reform Bill) as saying, “my decision was there was enough really good things in this bill that I was not going to allow it not to become law because it didn’t have everything I wanted”.  

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2012/Bills/S1500/1455_R1.HTM

STEM

      In the past few years, there has been a big push for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in schools.  Many believe that in order for the United States to compete in the global market, we need to enhance these programs in our schools.  President Obama stated, “Today, more than ever before, science holds the key to our survival as a planet and our security and prosperity as a nation. It's time we once again put science at the top of our agenda and work to restore America's place as the world leader in science and technology.”  According to the Journal of Technology Education, Vol.23 No.1 Fall 2011 p.32, entrance into the STEM field has grown, but this growth is not keeping pace with the overall needs of the labor market.  Reports indicate that on average there are 200,000 vacant engineering positions annually in the United States.  The United States graduates nearly 60,000 engineering students annually, while countries such as China and India graduate nearly 600,000.  The United States is currently ranked 20^th in the world in proportion of students earning a four-year degree in engineering or natural sciences. 

It is very clear from all of that data that there is a need for more STEM education.  However, the United States is struggling to implement these programs.  According to Helping STEM Take Root by Ron Schachter, districts are facing challenges financing STEM initiatives, finding and training good science teachers, and trying to make room in the school day to offer more science.  President Obama has tried to address some of these issues by tying Race to the Top funds to states that are putting emphasis on STEM projects.  Tennessee is one of the states that received some of those funds and they decided to start their own STEM Innovation Network.  These funds will support “incubator” schools that will use STEM approaches.  One such school is STEM Academy High School in Knoxville.  In order to promote the STEM approach, students will begin in 9^th grade by taking courses in physics.   In 10^th grade they will take chemistry.  This will allow an in-depth study of biology in grade 11.  The students will also take an additional STEM seminar class.  In these courses, they will study problems such as the Gulf oil spill and present solutions to peers and teachers.  Upperclassman will take seminars in which they “major” in areas such as renewable energy, forensic science, and sound engineering.  In developing the curriculum for these programs, engineering and science professionals volunteered their time to help teachers develop lesson plans, tutor students, and start STEM clubs. 

Tennessee is not the only state promoting STEM initiatives.  In Florida, the newest set of state standards promotes inquiry-based learning and 21^st century skills.  The Sarasota County Public School District is piloting a program in three of its middle school classes.  In those classrooms, they are focusing on collaboration, communication, problem solving, creativity, and critical thinking. 

In researching for this paper, I spoke with the Director of Curriculum for Gateway Regional High School in Woodbury Heights, New Jersey and she stated that next year the students will follow a similar approach to Tennessee where the 9^th grade students will take physics, followed by chemistry in 10^th grade, and a more in-depth study of biology in 11^th grade.  This is meant to allow more students to take AP level courses.  They will also be bringing in a representative from the New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning to promote more inquiry based learning.   In math, all eighth grade students take Algebra, with a similar goal that students will take more advanced and AP level math classes in high school.  Another local district that is making a big push toward STEM education is the Kingsway Regional School District in Woolwich Township.  They have designed a four-year academy program.  The program is divided into two phases; two years of interdisciplinary education requirements, and two years of advanced programming aligned with STEM college programming.  Students will graduate the program 28-32 college credits. 

President Obama is also trying to get people currently in the STEM field to help promote this initiative.  In January 2010, he announced his “Educate to Innovate” program.  According to the press release issued by the White House, one part of the program asks 200,000 current scientists and engineers working in the field to work alongside STEM educators.  NASA is one of the organizations that have agreed to help and they held a “Summer of Innovation” enrichment program for teachers.  In addition, President Obama has created a five-year program to recruit 10,000 more teachers in the STEM fields by the year 2015.  He stated,  “The quality of math and science teachers is the most important single factor influencing whether students will succeed or fail in science, technology, engineering, and math.  Passionate educators with issue expertise can make all of the difference, enabling hands-on learning that truly engages students-including girls and underrepresented minorities-and preparing them to tackle the grand challenges of the 21^st century such as increasing energy independence, improving people’s health, protecting the environment, and strengthening national security.” 

As a result, many public private partnerships have developed.  Some examples include Intel’s Science and Math Teachers Initiative, which launched a ten year $200 million cash campaign to support teaching in math and science and Expansion of the National Math and Science Initiative’s UTeach program, which partners companies such as Texas Instruments with the federal government and hopes to prepare 4,500 undergraduates by 2015 and 7,000 by 2018 as STEM educators. 

The United States has tough competition in the global economy, but with the current measures put in place we may be able to gain some ground.  Not only do we need to recruit more students to the STEM fields, but we also need to secure teachers to educate them.  President Obama has made this a priority and has gained the support of some large corporations.  With all of these programs in place the United States may be making a step in the right direction.

Sources:

“Are We Missing Opportunities to Encourage Interest in STEM Fields?”  Journal of Technology Education Vol. 23 No. 1, Fall 2011

“Helping STEM Take Root”  by Ron Schachter Education Digest v. 77 Oct. 2011

Kingsway Regional High School Website http://www.kingsway.k12.nj.us/s-t-e-m-academy/program/

White House Press Release http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-expands-educate-innovate-campaign-excellence-science-technology-eng

A Chance for Every Child

“There is no more critical issue facing the United States than the need for education reform. These are the words of Florida Governor Jeb Bush in his foreword of Mitt Romney’s white paper, A Chance for Every Child, which outlines his plan for education reform. Governor Romney believes this plan will set the stage for what he considers genuine education reform. He criticizes the current administration and President Obama’s approach to education reform of throwing money at the problem. He points out that while America’s spending per student is among the highest in the world, our achievement lags far behind, a theme that begins in elementary school and continues through college. Romney’s plan details the steps he and his administration will take, if elected, to enact change in America’s schools. For grades K-12 the first step is to provide greater choice to parents and students. He believes that best way to increase the achievement of students who are trapped in a bad district is allow them the choice to leave. He thinks that it’s not enough to allow parents to make the choice of where to send their children. However we need to make sure those alternatives are available, and that schools are held accountable. They should be graded based on their results and that information should be transparent and easily understood by parents. Additionally he believes that Title I and IDEA funds should be able to follow the student receiving them wherever they want to go. Recent reactions to Governor Romney’s paper, released in May 2012, have been pointed out some holes in his theory. Democratic Representative from South Carolina James Clyburn says, “I don't see how you strengthen education by taking money out of the system and giving it to a few students to go to a private school”. In the Hechinger Report, HechingerEd, Sarah Butrymowicz writes: allowing more public dollars to follow low-income and special-needs children to private schools, one of Romney's main proposals for reforming American education, does not guarantee those schools will open their doors to them. The Florida Council of Independent Schools which accredits 159 independent schools across the state does not accept vouchers. Barbara Hodges, executive director of the Council says, “Part of being independent means that, typically, our schools do not take tax dollars and that vouchers have not significantly impacted us one way or another”. Even those who support Romney’s idea see the possible drawbacks. NYU professor of History and Educations Jonathan Zimmerman points out that while if successful Romney’s plan could completely transform the way Americans organize and fund public schools, and that's why it has little chance of being implemented any time soon. He calls it the NIMBY (not in my backyard) system of schooling. Wealthy districts are not going to let less fortunate kids into their schools vouchers or not. As far as accountability schools are already required to report student achievement and the Center for American Progress action funds says grading schools on an A-F scale, is hardly a way to eliminate the achievement gap among student groups. Governor Romney also supports greater innovation in the schools, allowing states to find the best way to educate their students as opposed to just following federal regulations. Governor Romney says he will reauthorize No Child Left Behind which will outline basic principles but allow states to carve their own path for educating their students. He also proposes elimination or restructuring teacher tenure, and having evaluations that focus on classroom effectiveness and advancement of student achievement. His plan also calls for recruiting and rewarding great teachers whose primary concern is student achievement and not their own interest. He censures President Obama’s tie to special interest groups including the National Education Association. Romney supporter Florida State Senator Antiere Flores agrees, “given how indebted he is to special interests, President Obama won’t be able to deliver the results that our students need and deserve. In contrast, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will fight to restore the promise of our country’s education system. Jeanne Allen from Center for Education Reform also illustrates this point, “until the president of the United States who ever that may be, stands up and says “No longer are you welcome to walk in to our offices to sit at our tables and talk to us about issues, when children are not your primary concern, until that happens we can't say that you truly reform minded. That is exactly what governor Romney is prepared to do. In his 2010 book No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, Romney states, Teachers’ unions do their very best to secure these insulations from performance for their members, and the results are lack of accountability, rising pay as a simple function of years on the job, and near-absolute job security. These have a deadening impact on student achievement”. Romney’s white paper also includes a new vision for higher education. This includes strengthening and simplifying the financial aid system, welcoming private sector participation in the student loan market, and replacing regulations with innovation and competition. Only with these changes will students be prepared to enter the job market with the skills they need to be successful and the ability to pay back their debts. While all of his points have their pros and cons there is one that stands out as a resounding positive. Regarding the regulations government places on universities about awarding degrees is one that could use and adjustment. Jordan Weissmann, associate editor of The Atlantic says it best, “if schools can figure out ways to graduate students faster and cheaper without compromising the quality of their education, there's no reason to let the government get in the way”. No matter which side of the political spectrum you stand on it’s easy to see that there needs to be a change in the education. Governor Romney’s stance for reform focuses on greater choice, higher standards and accountability, innovation, and rewards for effective teachers. His plan for higher education is to reduce the cost of school by tightening the federal funding and giving schools an easier way to reward to degrees to students who have the skills they need to enter the working world regardless of the number of hours spent in the classroom. Despite a bevy of ideas for reform, Romney revealed few concrete steps to achieve that change, and it will take a lot more than ideas to restructure America’s education system. The upcoming election will not only decide the next President but which direction education in our country will take. Will it stay the course or make a sharp right?