Political Quotes

“I am a former schoolteacher. I taught the seventh and eighth grades in an inner city school in Cincinnati. There is perhaps no greater argument for education reform than the school system right here in Washington, DC. The numbers and the statistics are shocking. The District spends 76 percent more per pupil than any other jurisdiction in the Nation. Yet its students rank last in eighth-grade math proficiency, last in fourth-grade math proficiency, and last in fourth-grade reading proficiency. Washington, DC teachers are among the best paid teachers in the entire country, and they have a very favorable student-teacher ratio. But even with these advantages, the District ranks 49th in on-time graduations. Despite these shortcomings, the liberal special interests continue to block any meaningful reform of Washington schools, including school choice. Let us improve educational opportunities and the lives of the children here in Washington and across the Nation. Even more importantly, let us pass the Back to Basics Education Act, which takes the power and the money away from the bureaucrats here in Washington and gives it back to parents and teachers and local school boards where it ought to be.”