Education

As the son of a postal worker and a school teacher, the value of a strong education was instilled in me at an early age.  Today my wife and I work hard to pass these values on to our three children.  We understand that the path to better opportunities, a healthy economy, and a stronger America must begin with a solid education.

As our country continues to work through the greatest economic crisis of a generation, we cannot lose sight of our responsibility to prepare future generations to compete in the global economy.  We need to commit to new investments in math and science education so that we can train the next generation of innovators who will develop the technologies that will shape our future.  In order to achieve these goals, Congress must provide the necessary federal support to our education system so that communities across the 20^th District can prepare our young minds to tackle these great challenges. 

By providing necessary support for our education system we will not only create better outcomes for our children, but we will also strengthen our communities.  Like many of you, my wife and I want our children to receive a quality education and find good jobs right here in Upstate New York.  In order to achieve these goals, the federal government must be a partner with our schools, providing the resources necessary to improve educational outcomes.  That is why I support efforts to reform No Child Left Behind to ensure that our schools have the resources they need to teach effectively and the flexibility to educate our children rather than worrying about teaching to one size fits all tests.  In addition, we must make sure that federal mandates are met with federal funding.  One of the reasons we have seen a spike in property taxes is that the federal government imposes new requirements on schools without providing the money to meet those goals.

By providing strong investments in education through Head Start programs, our K-12 curriculum, and by working to make college more affordable, we can ensure that our children are prepared for the future.  Only by investing in our children’s education will we strengthen our economy here at home and ensure that Upstate New York remains competitive in a rapidly changing global economy.