EDUCATION

An Educated Workforce Equals More Jobs

The most important investment we can make as a society is to prepare our children for future success.  This happens in two ways: Build better homes through a stable employment environment and offer the finest education in the world.

Statistics tell the story.  A more educated workforce is a key factor in a company’s decision on where to grow or relocate, bringing more jobs and opportunities to states with higher student achievement.   A person’s level of education is also directly tied to their level of income, overall health, and the stability of their home life.  In short, an educated community is a stable community.

Unfortunately, government programs are too often measured by how much we’re spending rather than whether the money is achieving results.  When it comes to federal government expenditures, there is no more profound gap than the one between our commitment to funding education and the comparative success of our students.  Over the last 30 years, we have witnessed a 443% increase in the U.S. Department of Education budget without any measurable improvement in student achievement.

Furthermore, the achievement gap between whites and their minority counterparts remains too great.  By the time they reach 10th grade, Hispanic students in Oregon lag behind their white peers by 28 percentage points in math and 33 percentage points in reading.  The same gap can be found between black and white children in Multnomah County.  If we are going to commit resources to education, we have to change our approach.  Too much money is going into administrative costs instead of to the students.

Unfortunately, federal education reform efforts too often rely on top-down solutions that are forced on local school administrators and educators.  These centralized efforts will never succeed because they lack the knowledge and creativity that can be offered by those at the local level who are motivated to improve their own schools.

Teachers are not the problem; they are the answer: Every study points to the quality of the classroom teacher as the most important indicator of student success.  Yet too often, our teachers lack the support to access quality professional development, leadership and career opportunities to expand their role in the school or district, and effective evaluations that can help them improve their practice.   In Oregon, it is estimated that 40% of new teachers drop out of the profession within the first three to five years, forcing us to spend millions to hire and retrain their replacements.  While some of this is normal attrition, some is due to them feeling isolated in their practice. Let’s reapportion our resources to support teachers with mentoring, professional development and effective evaluations so that they can improve their practice and help our kids learn more. If there are some teachers who consistently underperform in the classroom, then we also need the flexibility to move them out of an instruction role.

The teachers and administrators I speak with are hungry to build a culture of success and excellence in their schools.  Let’s allow Oregon communities to develop that culture and quit looking to a city 3000 miles away for answers.

Additionally, we must understand that institutional learning is not the only way to improve our kids’ education.  Just like adults, kids absorb information and gain knowledge differently.  This is why the dialogue about improving our educational outcomes must include choice in educational delivery – whether it involves home schooling, charter schools, etc.  Our central concern should be for the welfare of each unique child, not a cause or organization.

Technology as a tool to help kids learn: Over the last hundred years, not much has changed in the classroom environment.  Kids file into the classroom, sit at desks, open textbooks, and listen to a single teacher give a lesson. After school, however, kids re-enter the 21^st century and demonstrate technology proficiency far in excess of their parents and teachers.  Why aren’t we doing more to integrate technology into their learning experience?

Classroom lessons necessarily are about teaching to the median learning level of the kids.  Technology, however, has the ability to individually tailor lesson plans to help kids who struggle in math but excel in reading to learn their grade-level math and advance beyond grade-level in reading.  Kids are extremely comfortable with technology and would easily interface with programs that help them learn.  The efficiencies this would create would save time and money, and our kids’ ability to compete globally would accelerate.  Also, those needing individualized attention would get it through a more customized approach.  We do it in health care and exercise, why not education?

There is also no question that the future of Oregon – and the First Congressional District specifically – will be directly tied to our ability to capitalize on the information economy.  We need kids who are not only proficient in technology, but who also have access to a STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).  Integrating technology into the learning experience and giving students a foundation in these subjects will make them better prepared to enter the job market.

Higher education: As the founder of the Oregon-based Game Face Executive Academy, I have firsthand experience in helping college graduates who were unable to find meaningful work and provide them the requisite education necessary to compete in a crowded marketplace.  My company’s success rate in training and placing more than 500 individuals into full-time jobs with a career track gives me a unique perspective on how to prepare our college graduates for successful futures.  This passion for career-making will go with me to Congress.

Whether it’s a 4-year university or a community college, Oregon’s high school graduates need a place where they can receive a quality, affordable post-secondary education.  They want and we need them to find a job here in Oregon where they can build a career.

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