Frank O'Bannon on Education Former Democratic IN Governor

Standards worked for math & English; apply to other subjects

Before the creation of the Roundtable, the Fordham Foundation gave Indiana an F for English and a C for math. So, we worked together to rewrite those standards. The result: We now have some of the highest English and math standards in the nation. And the Fordham Foundation now gives Indiana standards an A for English, an A for math, and an A for science.

Make no mistake. The Roundtable’s work is not done. It is now helping re-write our geography, economics, civics and history standards so they too will be among the highest in the nation. And it is now focusing on quality teaching.

$50 million for flexible school readiness program

My “Ready to Read” initiative includes funding for reading assessments, summer programs, reading institutes, and a tutor for every child struggling to read. Since our children will now be required to meet the highest math standards in the country, Algebra will be the key to their success. That’s why I have proposed a middle school summer math program to expand learning time.

But that’s not all. Within this $50 million initiative, we will also create 500 master reading and math teachers in the schools that need them the most. And the 50 schools that make the most improvement in reading and math will be rewarded.

Improve and invest in public schools.

Principles of the Democratic Governors Association:

IMPROVING PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND INVESTING IN OUR YOUNGEST CHILDREN

Democratic Governors are leading the way with highly-trained teachers, strong standards and accountability, increased funding to repair and modernize public school facilities, access to technology and computers, and more discipline and safety in the classrooms. Democratic Governors believe the most important aspect to insure a child’s education is to have the best possible teachers in the classroom. They believe that we must value teachers as professionals, encourage their development to be the best teachers they can be for our children and compensate them accordingly. Democratic Governors favor greater parental choice, but oppose measures that weaken public schools diverting taxpayer dollars to private schools with no accountability for results. Democratic Governors around the country are also forming innovative public-private partnerships to create programs to provide early childhood education, nutrition and health care services to ensure that our children have the best possible start in life.