Jay Challa - Minority Enterprise Executive Council

6. Support College Outreach Programs—Obama seeks to help more poorstudents prepare for college byfocusing on programs such as UpwardBound, GEAR Up and TRIO.7. Support College Credit Initiatives—The “Make College a Reality”initiative seeks to increase thenumber of students taking AdvancedPlacement (AP) courses by 50%by 2016. Additionally, the Obamaadministration supports grants forstudents to attend a local communitycollege if their school system doesnot offer AP or college prep classes.8.Support for English LanguageLearners—Obama will continue tosupport bilingual education and holdschools accountable for ensuringthat limited English proficientstudents can complete school.9. Teacher Recruitment—This initiativeincludes the creation of TeacherService Scholarships that will covera four year undergraduate programor help pay for a two year teachertraining program at the graduatelevel. It will also recruit mid-careerprofessional into the field.10. Teacher Preparation— The planincludes creation of a voluntarynational performance assessment,requires that all schools of education atthe university level be accredited, anddevelops a teacher Residency Programto provide highly qualified teachers inthe neediest communities.11. Teacher Retention—Obamafavors the expansion of mentoringprograms for new teachers andincentives to provide more planningtime and opportunities to collaboratewith colleagues for the sharing ofbest practices.12. Reward Teachers— Initiativesinclude increasing teacher pay,encouraging school districts todesign programs that rewardaccomplished teachers, appointingmentor teachers, and rewardingteachers who work in underservedrural and inner city areas.Higher Education:1. Creation of the AmericanOpportunity Tax Credit—Obamaplans to create a new AmericanOpportunity Tax Credit. It willbe fully refundable and ensurethat the first $4,000 of a collegeeducation is completely free formost Americans. It will cover thecost of two-thirds of the cost of apublic college and make communitycollege tuition completely free formost. In exchange, recipients willbe required to complete 100 hoursof community service.2. Simplify the Application Process forFinancial Aid—The administration willstreamline the process by eliminatingcurrent financial aid applications andallowing families to check a box ontheir tax forms, thus authorizingthe use of their tax records andeliminating redundancy.By any stretch, the Obama administration’sgoals are ambitious. We pray that hopedoes not turn into despair yet again.Given the dismal economic condition ofthe nation today, I have to wonder wherethe funding will come from for thesegreatly needed initiatives.The truth about 2008 is that WallStreet lost more than one-third of itsvalue, joblessness is increasing eachmonth, corporate failures are rampantdue to hard to obtain capital, andthe economic stimulus package hasnot born fruit. With promises of yetanother bailout to the tune of a dizzying$800 billion, manufacturing down, retailsales down, the continued financing oftwo wars, and the erosion of consumerconfidence, most Americans are wary.Added to this situation, housing valuescontinue to decline. School systemsare financed, in large measure, bylocal property taxes. The fact that taxrevenue is also down due to the highforeclosure rates around the countryprovides a glimpse into the near future.School systems are already bracingfor teacher layoffs for the upcoming2009-2010 school year.This picture does not inspire unyieldingconfidence for the short term prospectsfor public education. Although most ofus are clamoring for change that we canbelieve in, the truth may be that real reformand change in a field so desperate for anew direction and, as a result, our abilityto appropriately prepare our children tocompete in a global environment, maywell be placed on the back burner onceagain. Dare we hope? I say yes!Al Porter is President/CEO of PorterEducation & Communications a Marylandbased education services firm.32 Minority En t e r p r i s e Adv o c at e • January / February 2009