Gary Locke on Education Former Democratic WA Governor

Reduced class size, despite legislative opposition

Teacher merit pay; less rules for certification

• I propose to waive regulations for schools that want to set even higher achievement standards and to reward schools for meeting those goals.
• Exceptional teachers deserve exceptional compensation. My proposal calls for select school districts to lead the way and design a new teacher compensation system based on knowledge, skill and performance.
• To further encourage great teaching, and to increase the number of great educators, we will adopt alternative certification programs for teachers. If a Microsoft retiree wants to teach math she should be able to do so without going back to college for an education degree. The Professional Standards Board we created just six months ago has devised a quicker method for qualified people to get into the classroom. So a person can retire from one profession in May and be teaching in September.

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.