Titus Unveils Education Plan to Improve Schools and Make College More Affordable

Press Release

Titus Unveils Education Plan to Improve Schools and Make College More Affordable

Third Congressional District Candidate Dina Titus unveiled her plan today to improve education in Southern Nevada and across the country. As a teacher and lifelong educator, Titus knows the value of education and the opportunities it provides for our nation's children.

"Education is the key to our children's future. It gives them a chance to build better lives and it provides the skills and knowledge that are the bedrock of our economy," said Dina Titus. "As a member of Congress I will work to prepare Southern Nevada's children for success in school by making early childhood education more widely available. I will fight to make No Child Left Behind a reality instead of a slogan for failing legislation. And I will build on my efforts in the Senate to make a college education affordable and accessible."

For 20 years as a State Senator, Dina Titus has fought to improve Nevada's schools by leading the fight for smaller classes in elementary grades and pushing for full-day kindergarten. She worked across the aisle with Republicans to build and protect the Millennium Scholarship program that has given thousands of Nevada high school graduates the means to afford a college education.

Specifically, Titus' plan will:

· Improve Early Childhood Education: Titus will continue to advocate for full-day kindergarten in all Southern Nevada schools and improve the quality of the kindergarten experience. She proposes a "master teacher corps" in Nevada of experienced elementary school teachers who will mentor and help new teachers develop teaching materials and methods focused on getting children ready to succeed in the early grades.

· Fully Fund and Augment No Child Left Behind: Titus believes the concept behind No Child Left Behind of holding schools accountable to the children they teach has merit, but she knows that our efforts must be focused on classroom teaching instead of administrative compliance. She will work to achieve adequate funding for NCLB and dedicate more federal funding to science and technology classrooms.

· Attract and Retain the Best Teachers: Titus will encourage high-achieving college graduates to teach in their field of study for a number of years in exchange for forgiveness of all or a portion of their student loans. This "American Teacher Corps" will help the Clark County School District fill the hundreds of teaching jobs it must recruit for each year to keep up with enrollment growth. She also proposes a "teacher performance award" program for local school districts to receive grant funds to reward teachers who have demonstrated the ability to improve individual student achievement.

· Expand Student Financial Aid and College Opportunity: Titus will advocate for expanded student aid through direct lending to students which is less expensive than loans made through for-profit banks that carry higher interest rates. With the current financial and credit crisis, many qualified students are facing difficulty securing loans from for-profit lenders.

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