The Educational Platforms of the Leading Democratic Presidential Candidates

As we get closer to the presidential primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, it only seems appropriate to take a peek at the educational platforms of the leading candidates. Over the next two days we will look at seven candidates, three Democrats and four Republicans based on the December 5th Rasmussen Polls.

On the Democratic side Hillary Clinton still leads nationally at 36%, Barack Obama at 25% and John Edwards at 15%. On the Republican side the same agency had Mike Huckabee at 21%, Rudy Giuliani at 20%, Mitt Romney at 13% and Both Fred Thompson and John McCain at 11%.

Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton,
the U.S. senator from New York from 2001 to present has earned the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The one time staff lawyer for the Children’s Defense Fund led a task force to improve education in the state of Arkansas as first lady in the state.

Clinton voted for the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 but now stipulates that the law is narrowing the curricula and is underfunded. Though she has pledged to “reform” the law, she has not yet offered any detailed reauthorization plan.

At the pre-K level, Clinton seeks to expand programming at a cost of about $10 billion in order that every four-year-old have the opportunity to attend such a program. In regards to higher education, she favors a significant expansion of the college tuition tax credit from the current level of $1650 to $3500.

Barack Obama
Barack Obama,
the U.S. senator from Illinois from 2005 to present is a member of the education committee. Prior to becoming a Senator, he assisted the Annenberg Challenge school reform initiative within the City of Chicago.

A critic of the No Child Left Behind law, Obama insists that he would make the teaching and learning of science a “national priority.” Stating that NCLB focuses too much on student testing, he also argues that the law is narrowing the curriculum by focusing on reading and math at the expense of science, music, and the arts.

Obama favors alternative-pay plans for teachers including monetary incentives for the teacher shortage areas of math and science. To recruit new teachers Obama would seek to pay the college costs of a college graduate who promises to teach for their whole careers. And at high schools where AP courses are not available for students, Obama wants to provide grants to pay the tuition for students to take college courses.

A strong proponent of early childhood education, the senator from Illinois seeks to increase federal involvement in education with implementation of numerous policies at the earliest ages possible. Obama seeks funds to expand the Early Head Start program that now serves 62,000 children age 3 or younger to serve 225,000 children. The candidate seeks to create a federal program to support state efforts to establish programs for the education of pre-kindergartners as well as an early-learning council to ensure the coordination of early-childhood programs at the federal, state, and local levels.

What sets Obama apart for this writer is his desire to create 20 “innovation districts” nationwide. These districts would receive extra federal funds based on the implementation of systemic changes aimed at boosting achievement. This innovative concept, almost a research and development type of approach, seeks to have those home districts develop proposals in consultation with their local teachers’ unions.

John Edwards
John Edwards,
the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2004 has little prior experience working with educational groups. Like Clinton, Edwards also voted for NCLB in 2001. As one change in the law, Edwards seeks to develop other criteria for evaluating schools rather than just test scores. The former Senator also wants to develop a process to identify 1,000 high-performing schools and facilitate the opening of new schools based on the methods used at the high-performing schools.

At the early childhood level Edwards seeks to create a preschool program with an emphasis on early academic skills that would be open to all 4-year-olds. Like Obama, Edwards seeks to increase teacher pay for demonstrated performances as well as for mentoring new teachers. Edwards also seeks a $5,000 stipend for teachers who earn National Board Certification.

At the rural school level, Edwards wants to expand student digital learning opportunities. In addition the former Senator seeks to offer college scholarships to students who promise to teach in rural school areas.

Tomorrow the leading Republicans.