March 1 - Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools

KMBC-9 News – March 10, 2009OBAMA: 'WE'VE LET OUR GRADES SLIP'President Wants Higher Education StandardsPOSTED: 6:35 am CDT March 10, 2009UPDATED: 10:05 am CDT March 10, 2009President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he wants the country to set higher education standards, including aquicker start for children in kindergarten and a much better high school graduation rate.Video: Obama On Education http://www.kmbc.com/video/18895713/index.htmlObama did not propose any specific legislative goals on education in his speech Tuesday to the U.S. HispanicChamber of Commerce. Instead, the president talked about how the United States must work much harder tokeep pace with international competitors."Other nations outpace us," he said, adding, "It's unacceptable for our children."He also didn't detail any requirements to change President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind program.Obama did say, however, that his administration will "finally make No Child Left Behind live up to its name."Obama called on people not just to educate their children, but also to educate themselves, urging them to makeeducation a priority and give the country the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by the year2020."We've accepted failure for far too long. Enough's enough," Obama said.He also said that where the so-called "charter schools" have been shown to be successful, they should beencouraged.Obama said that "America's place as a true global leader will be put at risk" if it doesn't substantially improveeducating "our sons and daughters." He said, "We've let our grades slip."Obama Urges Special Rewards For Best TeachersObama also said he backs the idea of merit pay for the best school teachers -- a position that his unionsupporters have fought."It is time to start rewarding good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones," the president said.Teacher's unions have strongly opposed bringing such a system to public education. But Obama said Tuesdaythat the time has come to do just that.He said that "too many supporters of my party have resisted the idea of rewarding excellence in teaching withextra pay." He said the resistance has continued "even though we know it can make a difference in theclassroom."