Sen. Harkin joins Secretary of Education for Cedar Rapids forum

CEDAR RAPIDS - Amid the tense words fired off daily over health care reform, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, says the push to improve public education should not become as tense.

“I have put together a team of Republicans and Democrats to work on this,” Harkin said Sunday afternoon, after he led a discussion on the updated Elementary and Secondary Education Act at Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School.

A crowd of about 200 people, including educators and school administrators from many districts, came to hear about the Obama administration's push to move from the No Child Left Behind Act to a revised ESEA.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan described the problems with No Child Left Behind, which the Senate and House overwhelmingly voted into place in 2002.

“Too punitive. Too prescriptive,” Duncan said. “We want to have a high bar and reward success.”

Over the weekend, the Department of Education released a 41-page “blueprint” for the new ESEA. The document does not go into detail on specific changes. However, Harkin indicated that education reform would be in place by the end of the year.

Duncan described early childhood education as “hugely important,” along with K-12 reform. He reiterated President Barack Obama's call on Saturday for public education to ensure that more high school graduates are ready for careers.

In his Saturday radio address, Obama emphasized focusing less on standardized tests and more on an individual student's total record.

“Our view is that it has to be more rounded than just one test at one time,” Harkin said Sunday.

Topics addressed in the Jefferson audience's questions included funding special education programs, gifted courses, emphasizing physical education and arts classes again, and trying to keep the most talented teachers from leaving the profession.

As many Iowa school districts face budget shortfalls and look at cutting courses, staff or buildings, Duncan's proposal calls for at least a $3 billion increase for educational programs.

“All levels of government have to step up to the plate on this one,” Harkin said. “We are not going to have a strong economic recovery in this country unless we focus on education.”

Dave Benson, superintendent of the Cedar Rapids school district, said the Department of Education's plan would allow the district to compete for federal grants for various programs.

“We need to find a way to fund our priorities,” Benson said after the forum. “Our priorities have to be what works and what enhances education for kids.”

-Chris Earl, KCRG-TV9 News

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