Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

Issue Position: Education

Education has been a priority in Phil's life. Phil's wife, Tricia, teaches 10th grade English at Rensselaer High School; Phil's mother, Roselyn, taught 7th grade at Hackett Middle School in Albany; and his father, Ernie, was a well-known football coach and Director of Athletics at Albany Academy.

Ending Bush's Failed Policies.

As a Congressman, Phil will continue to listen to teachers who tell him that No Child Left Behind has been a cruel joke played on students and educators by the federal government. Schools should teach a child how to learn and achieve, and provide them with the facts and substantive knowledge needed for success. Instead, No Child Left Behind too often forced schools to focus on teaching test-taking skills so that they can claim higher test scores without real substantive improvement in the quality of our children's education.

Reducing Class Size with Federal Support.

Phil believes smaller class sizes and smaller schools lead to a better education for our children. The Federal government needs to adopt policies to facilitate change at the State and School District level and fund schools properly. We have reached the limit of the property tax as the means of funding local education, and the burden of financing education should be shifted to the federal government.

Universal Pre-K Works.

Because an investment in early education pays huge benefits down the road, all children should have access to universal Pre-K and full-day Kindergarten.

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