Monday, April 14, 2008
Chat With Chet
Senior Year Plus, STEM and Model Core Curriculum
As the only Governor in the nation who has taught in the classroom in the last 20 years, I am deeply committed to ensuring that all Iowa children have access to the best education possible. Working closely with the legislature, the Culver/Judge administration has implemented several important education initiatives in our first 15 months in office.
Recruiting and retaining the best educators in Iowa classrooms is key to providing an excellent education for the next generation. Working with Republicans and Democrats in the legislature, we gave our Iowa teachers the largest increase in pay in our state’s history in an effort to bring Iowa teacher pay from 42nd in the nation up to the national average.
Because we know that a quality early childhood education provides great dividends later in life, we have expanded access to pre-school programs. By 2010, every Iowa school district will offer education programs for 4-year olds that meet high standards.
To make college more affordable for high school seniors, we created the needs-based All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship. In 2007, the scholarships provided an average of $5,000 to nearly 180 Iowa students attending a Regents university, private college or community college. Without this needs-based financial assistance, many of these outstanding young people would not have access to post-secondary education which is critical for preparation for 21st century jobs.
To further support our state’s institutions of higher learning and to help keep college tuition affordable, I signed a budget which included record funding for Iowa’s Regents institutions and community colleges.
The Culver/Judge administration is proud of our accomplishments, yet additional steps must be taken to strengthen our schools and better prepare our students for the workforce. We owe it to our students to give them the tools and resources to reach their full potential.
I believe there are three initiatives that can help make the highly regarded Iowa education system a leader in the nation, and I urge lawmakers to help pass these important measures. First, I am calling for passage of Senior Year Plus legislation allowing students across the entire state to earn up to 30 hours of college credit while they are still in high school. Accessibility to and affordability of higher education, matters of fairness, and opportunity are directly addressed by this legislation. Let’s make sure that all Iowa students receive the same educational opportunities, regardless of geography, family income, or school district.
Second, we must strengthen our workforce to avoid a potential statewide workforce shortage. We must have skilled employees to continue attracting employers with quality jobs to Iowa. For this reason, I am calling for a renewed emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education. I have proposed establishing a $4.7 million dollar STEM program at the University of Northern Iowa to double the number of math and science teachers in our public schools and make sure every high school graduate is prepared for the jobs of the future. I believe the best way to address workforce challenges is to better educate more Iowa students, and the STEM program will lead the way and make Iowa a model for the nation.
Finally, I am working with lawmakers to pass legislation making Iowa’s Model Core Curriculum statewide by 2012. We must raise the bar on expectations for our students’ learning. I believe that all students in Iowa should have access to the same great educational opportunities whether in smaller rural communities, like McGregor, where I spent summers as a boy, or in large school districts, like Des Moines, where I taught and coached. Our goal is simple; to teach our kids to “love to learn” – to love to learn more chemistry, more physics, more algebra and more trigonometry. When implemented, this program will assure that the same curriculum is available to students from Cherokee to Chariton, from Denison to Des Moines. Let us create a strong foundation to give all of our children a brighter future.