Liberal Groups Lead Effort to Modernize, Improve Public Education
By Susan Jones CNSNews.com

Public education in America starts too late; ends too soon; and is in dire need of updating, according to liberal groups that are organizing nationwide discussion groups to come up with solutions.On Sept. 22, tens of thousands of people across the country are expected to take part in small-group discussions -- hosted by parents, teachers and others -- in living rooms, schools and churches in every state, the liberal groups announced.The groups involved in the "National Mobilization for Great Public Schools" include the National Education Association; Campaign for America's Future; MoveOn.org; the NAACP Voters Fund; the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute; and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now."Participants will watch a video that outlines the challenges facing schools and step up pressure on the White House and Congress to provide the right to a high-quality public education to every child in America," said a press release announcing the Sept. 22 gatherings.Those gatherings include the following:-- Oscar-winning actress Helen Hunt and author Arianna Huffington plan to attend a gathering where guests will watch a video that outlines the challenges facing schools and discuss the future of public education with other notable guests at a Hollywood residence in Los Angeles, Calif.-- Iowa's First Lady Christie Vilsack will host an education party at her Mt. Pleasant, Iowa home. Attendees include teachers, parents, students, business owners, school officials and elected officials of both parties.-- Constance Higginbotham, a teacher in Clay County, Fla., is hosting a "Community Education Party"; school employees, school board members, business leaders and members of the community are expected to attend.-- At the Waipuna Chapel in Maui, Hawaii, special education teacher Karolyn Mossman is inviting 100 colleagues, school board and other community members to attend.-- Jerry Brooks, a retired high school government teacher in Santa Rosa, Calif., will host an "AM House Party" with retired seniors, stay-at-home parents and community members who work nights and evenings. -- Education students at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., are hosting an on-campus discussion with faculty and students.-- Susan Grimm, a teacher from Lancaster, Pa., is hosting a party at the local Methodist church.-- In San Antonio, Texas, teacher J.B. Richeson is inviting more than 200 Independent School District employees. Discussions will be in both English and Spanish.Media coverage of those Sept. 22 gatherings is welcome, the press release noted.Problems and recommendationsThe National Mobilization for Great Public Schools is part of a national task force launched earlier this year by the Institute for America's Future (an organization founded to advance a populist economic agenda for the U.S.) and the Center for American Progress (led by John Podesta, former chief of staff for President Bill Clinton).The goal of the task force is to come up with a "series of concrete recommendations for modernizing and renewing public education in the United States."The task force leaders -- Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, Philip Murphy, senior director of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., journalist and historian Roger Wilkins; John Podesta; and Robert Borosage, head of the Institute for America's Future -- say America's public schools "have not kept up with the times." The task force, in its written charter, says public schools revolve around an "outdated agrarian model," in which students get summers off.It says high schools prepare only a small proportion of students for college; and it notes that schools depend on single teachers lecturing to dozens of students -- "reflecting the production-line model of the Industrial Age, rather than the technological demands of our Information Age."The task force also finds fault with America's aging school buildings. It says schools "must respond to changes in the American family and the social structure since the 1950s" -- and that means greater access to after-school and summer programs.The task force charter criticizes "disparities in resources" among different racial and ethnic groups; and it says instruction should respond to each child's individual needs.The task force recommends a "P-14+" initiative, rather than the K-12 model. "We will explore and outline a realistic plan for creating such a system," the task force charter said. P-14+ would include preschool through at least two years of post-high-school education.It advocates higher "teacher quality," including approaches that "attract and retain gifted teachers." It plans to examine the idea smaller classes, smaller schools, classes of multiple grade levels; the possible elimination of middle schools; and school days that flow into after-school child care."Not every student will choose to attend college, but every student should be able to do so," the charter says. "We must ensure that students who require financial assistance have access to at least two years of college. At the same time, we should expand support for students seeking four year and graduate degrees."The task force said it expects to call for "significant" reforms: "Some of them will challenge our capacity for change and some will be costly," the task force said, but "we cannot afford to fail," the task force charter concludes.The task force rejects the idea of school vouchers, a plan endorsed by many conservatives.