How you compare
Barack Obama shares a 67% similarity with your beliefs on Education
I strongly support increased funding for public schools
Money does matter in education. But there is no denying that the way many public schools are managed poses at least as big a problem as how well they're funded. Our task is to identify those reforms that have the highest impact on achievement, fund them, and eliminate those programs that don't produce results.
The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.161-163 Oct 1, 2006
"It is going to be necessary for the federal government, under an Obama administration, to come up with a capital program to rebuild schools all across the country. States are going to have to step up because right now too many states are neglecting rural areas because they don’t have as much political clout."
Voted YES on $52M for "21st century community learning centers". Voted YES to increase appropriations for after-school programs through 21st century community learning centers. Voting YES would increase funding by $51.9 million for after school programs run by the 21st century community learning centers and would decrease funding by $51.9 million for salaries and expenses in the Department of Labor.
Amendment to Agencies Appropriations Act; Bill S Amdt 2287 to HR 3010 ; vote number 2005-279 on Oct 27, 2005
Voted YES on $5B for grants to local educational agencies. Voted YES to provide an additional $5 billion for title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Voting YES would provide, 1.$2.5 billion for targeting grants to local educational agencies. 2. $2.5 billion for education finance incentive grants.
Elementary and Secondary Education Amendment; Bill S Amdt 2275 to HR 3010 ; vote number 2005-269 on Oct 26, 2005
I strongly support renewing No Child Left Behind
"We won't have a law called No Child Left Behind that leaves the money behind. We're going to change how that law works so that teachers don't just have to teach to a standardized test, because we want our students learning art, and music, and literature, and foreign languages and all the things that make an education worthwhile."
"I've had a lot of discussions with teachers. And they feel betrayed and frustrated by No Child Left Behind. We shouldn't reauthorize it without changing it fundamentally. We left the money behind for No Child Left Behind, and so there are school districts all across the state and all across the country that are having a difficult time implementing No Child Left Behind."
2007 Democratic primary debate on "This Week" Aug 19, 2007
"Don't come up with this law called No Child Left Behind and then leave the money behind. Don't tell us that you will put high-quality teachers in every class room and then leave the support and pay for those teachers behind. Don't label a school as failing one day and then throw your hands up and walk away from it the next."
"It may not be popular to say in Democratic circles, but there were good elements to this bill -- its emphasis on the achievement gap, raising standards and accountability," Obama said then. "Yes, it's a moral outrage that this administration hasn't come through with the funding. . . . But to wage war against the entire law for that reason is not an education policy, and Democrats need to realize that."
I strongly support across-the-board pay raises for schoolteachers
"And I won't just talk about how great teachers are, I will reward them for their greatness by giving them higher salaries and giving them more support."
"Teachers across the board have to be paid more."
"As president, I will launch a campaign to recruit and support hundreds of thousands of new teachers across the country--because the most important part of any education is the person standing in front of the classroom. It's time to treat teaching like the profession that it is. It's time to pay our teachers what they deserve. Pay them more money."
Take Back America 2007 Conference Jun 19, 2007
There is no reason why an experienced, highly qualified teacher shouldn't earn $100,000. In exchange for more money, teachers need to become more accountable for their performances, and school districts need to have greater ability to get rid of ineffective teachers.
The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.161-163 Oct 1, 2006
