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for 2006 Pennsylvania Primary Election Legislative Candidates
1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Pennsylvania's system of funding public education? What should the Pennsylvania Legislature do, if anything, to improve the system of funding public education? (75 words or less) The Commonwealth does partially fund our schools. However, we do not know how much it costs to effectively educate our children. We cannot agree what it costs to meet federal and state mandates. Thirty -seven other states have done a costing out study to get a handle on this number. The Pennsylvania legislature should pass legislation instituting a "costing-out" study. 2. How should the Pennsylvania Legislature assist school districts to meet the requirements of Pennsylvania's regulations for academic standards and graduation requirements as well as the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that expects every student to demonstrate proficiencies on state assessments in reading, math and science by 2014, and for all schools to demonstrate "adequate yearly progress" (required by NCLB) toward that goal? (75 words or less) The NCLB should require "job-embedded" professional development. We need to find out if the way we are teaching to fulfill these requirements works. Early childhood education would help. 3. How should the Pennsylvania Legislature assist school districts to close the academic achievement gaps that exist among groups of students in schools and school districts across the Commonwealth? (75 words or less) We need to adequately fund Special Education, English as a Second Language and minority populations. The Department of Education should share "state of art" or "best practices". Our educational system needs to focus on summer, before and after school and weekends as time to offer more remedial and enrichment programs. The legislature should support this philosophically and financially. Quality health care for all children would also help close the gap. 4. What, if anything, should the Pennsylvania Legislature do to increase access for young children in Pennsylvania to high-quality pre-K programs and full-day kindergarten programs? (75 words or less) The legislature needs to supply additional funding for pre-K programs. We need to adopt standards (perhaps National Association for the Education of Young Children) for programs that ensure the funds will be spent in an effective way. 5. What is your vision of the public education opportunity that should be available to every child in Pennsylvania and what will you do to accomplish that goal? (75 words or less) I would promote funding and policies that children need, i.e. highly qualified teachers, adequate resources, up to date libraries and technology. 6. Is there anything else that you will do to strengthen Pennsylvania's public education system? (75 words or less) There should be a universal accountability system for all schools, public, private, charter… so parents that have a choice, can have an informed choice.
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