Since public education is one of state government's central responsibilities, improving public schools has naturally been an important topic in many Democratic governors' State of the State addresses. Even as Congress begins to consider reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, governors are moving forward with their own initiatives on school investments, standards and accountability measures.
A number of governors focused on efforts to keep kids learning through and beyond high school. Govs. Janet Napolitano (AZ), Jennifer Granholm (MI), and John Lynch (NH) called for raising the mandatory school attendance age from 16 to 18 in order to reduce dropout rates. Gov. Brad Henry (OK) set a goal for his state of achieving the nation's highest graduation rate within five years.
Aside from his dropout initiative, Gov. Lynch also called for an expansion of New Hampshire's "Project Running Start" to allow more students to take college level classes in high school, and Gov. Jim Doyle (WI) launched the "Wisconsin Covenant," which guarantees eighth graders a spot in higher education and a way to pay for it if they stay in school, participate in their community, and maintain a "B" average. Similarly, Gov. Henry called for expanding "Oklahoma's Promise," which pays for the college education of students who take challenging classes and get good grades, while staying out of trouble. Additionally, Gov. Martin O'Malley (MD) proposed freezing in-state tuition rates for college students. Finally, this week, Gov. Mike Easley called for expanding his state's "Earn and Learn" program, which allows students to take college level classes in high school and earn an associate's degree with one additional year of study, to every high school in the state, and called for a work-study grant for low- and moderate-income families to pay for two years of college education.
Several governors addressed the need to to expand early learning opportunities in their states, including: Mike Beebe (AR), Kathleen Sebelius (KS), Granholm (MI), Bill Richardson (NM), Eliot Spitzer (NY), Easley (NC), Ed Rendell (PA), Henry (OK), Phil Bredesen (TN), Tim Kaine (VA), and Christine Gregoire (WA).
In terms of school curriculum, Gov. Napolitano called for raising high school math requirements from 2 years to 4 years, while Gov. Doyle proposed a mandatory third year of math and science for high school graduation. Gov. Gregoire called for reducing math and science class sizes to the nationally recognized standard and recruiting 750 new math and science teachers.
Boosting teacher resources was another frequent area of interest in State of the State Addresses. Gov. Napolitano proposed a pay raise for teachers, while providing incentives for teachers in special needs areas, and Gov. Doyle proposed bonuses for teachers who upgrade their skills, become certified, or take on challenging assignments. Gov. Beebe called for a "Traveling Teachers" program so schools can pool their resources to share teachers in specialized areas; recommended improvements in his state's teacher mentoring system; and proposed a pilot program for comprehensive alternative pay. Gov. Joe Manchin (WV) suggested a salary bonus for teachers who earn National Board Certification.
Three governors proposed new school accountability measures. Gov. Richardson announced a New Mexico School Performance Review to conduct audits of how schools are performing, matched with a proposed teacher pay raise. Gov. Spitzer proposed a major increase in his state's education budget, in exchange for a new system to measure and reward results, an effort which we recently highlighted. And Gov. Manchin called for a new public-private partnership to transform struggling schools through use of business practices such as time management, goal setting, and measurement of performance.
All in all, Democratic governors appear determined to make 2007 a landmark year for education activism, no matter what happens in Washington.
