What would it take to improve public education in America? Gov. Ron DeSantis has given us the template, and that’s why I support him for president.
Students in Massachusetts rose to the top of the nation when they developed high-quality academic standards and tests prior to Common Core. Since Common Core, their quality of education has been in decline. (Source: NAEP)
Gov. DeSantis took on the difficult task of developing better-quality academic standards in Florida. They also now use one of the best tests to determine if your child is learning quality academic content. This is how you improve public education. You don’t ignore what children are learning.
Governors from both political parties are failing children across the country by ignoring the important need to improve academic standards and tests.
Democrats have done nothing to improve public education, and Republicans tend to only look at school choice as a solution. Gov. DeSantis did what all governors should do, work to improve the public schools, and if they are still not a good fit for some children, help those children find another option.
Gov. DeSantis prioritized public education, while many governors in both parties ignored this important task.
None of this is easy, but DeSantis got it done. DeSantis and the rest of the Republicans in Florida can make the argument that they care about the quality of education.
That is how all governors need to address education in their state.
Republicans should learn a lesson from Gov. DeSantis. He took a lot of hits on his education policies, but in the long run, he’s helping to return public schools to a focus on academic excellence versus dumbed-down indoctrination centers. This is a Republican success story that required leadership.
There is contempt for parents that will contribute to the downfall of public schools. Trust is at an all-time low, and enrollment is falling. Parents are embracing alternatives, and Democrats are doing nothing to stop this trend. They are the party that is hostile to parental rights. Their solution is to funnel more tax dollars into a failing system.
We need graduates who can immediately enter the workforce, but we also need highly educated graduates prepared for the medical, engineering, math, science, and technology fields. The standards we use in schools are not preparing our graduates for these fields. The graduates from lower-income families who want to be nurses are not able to pass the science and math pre-prerequisites.
We now have an example of someone willing to fight those powerful forces to improve public education. Gov. DeSantis has the record to prove it.