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The Right's Successful Vision for Education Reform

Submitted by Dan Lips on Thu, 01/08/2009 - 10:26
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If we're going to successfully renew popular support for conservative ideas, the right must capitalize on opportunities to demonstrate how we offer a better vision for America than the left. Florida's success story with education reform is a good example.

Since the 1960s, liberals have backed a failed strategy for improving education -- increasing government spending, growing the federal bureaucracy, and largely resisting serious reform efforts at the state and local level.  Over time, per-pupil spending has doubled and the Washington bureaucracy has ballooned.  But we’ve seen little improvement in student learning.  Millions of kids continue to pass through the nation’s public schools without receiving a quality education.  

Unfortunately, we should expect more of the same from the new administration and congressional majority.  But this will give conservatives a real opportunity to offer parents and taxpayers a more compelling vision for improving education.  A vision based on conservative principles -- limiting Washington’s ineffective role and offering a broad reform agenda at the state and local level.  Growing evidence shows that unlike federal intervention, aggressive-state level reform can deliver real progress.

Thanks to the leadership of former Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida is proving that conservative education reforms work. Over the past decade, the Sunshine State has enacted sweeping reforms, including quality testing and transparency reporting, ending social promotion, improving classroom instruction, and strengthening teaching by offering performance pay incentives. Florida also leads the nation in offering parents the power to choose the best school for their children.  

These reforms have led to dramatic improvement. Since 1998, Florida students have made impressive gains on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, far outpacing the national average. Importantly, the biggest strides have been made by Hispanic and African-American children. In fact, Florida’s Hispanic students now have higher NAEP reading scores than the statewide average of all students in 15 states (see map below).

Florida Education Gains for Hispanics

 

A New /Old Face?

Submitted by SteveB on Mon, 12/08/2008 - 19:50
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Crossposted at The Rockefeller Republican

 

After two terms as governor, he had cut taxes, enacted the most extensive public school reform in any state, restructured health care and, after dealing with some three dozen natural disasters of varying degrees of severity, earned praise for crisis management. In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans, he held an approval rating of 63%. Friendly, self-deprecating, well-read and articulate, he stood in a strong position to capture the 2008 Republican nomination for president—but his last name is Bush.

Jeb Bush, knowing full well that the nation would not elect another member of his family this time around, went into political hiding, coming out only occasionally to give a speech, or host a diner. One of the most interesting and innovative republican governors was effectively off the playing field.

But he may already be eying a return to the political spotlight. With the recently announced retirement of Mel Martinez there is going to be an open senate seat in Florida, and Jeb is seriously considering a run. With his still-potent popularity, he has to be considered a prohibitive favorite for the seat. Does this portend a possible run for national office in 2012? He certainly has a lot to offer.

*He is an intensely practical politician, which would endear him to the business wing of the party as well as moderates.

*He is a man of faith --raised an Episcopalian, later a Roman Catholic --Bush would reassure religious conservatives without scaring the more religiously centrist among us.

*He could help expand the GOP brand top Hispanics. Married to a Mexican, he speaks fluent Spanish, and he insists that legal immigration is good for the nation. Hispanics are "as American in their pursuit of traditional dreams ... as any other group."

*He has a more accomplished resume than most other possible candidates as well as current office holders.

President-Elect Obama has yet to make a single executive decision and the list of potential 2012 opponents is already starting to gel, Palin, Huckabee, Gingrich, Jindal, Pawlenty & Romney to name a few. Should we be adding Bush to the list? Maybe.

 

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