Candidates for Governor speak to PSEA members at public forum

PSEA kicked off the 2010 election campaign for governor by meeting with six of the seven candidates, and hearing directly from the candidates on their ideas to make a difference for students and quality education.

Democrats Chris Doherty, Joe Hoeffel, Tom Knox, Dan Onorato and Jack Wagner, and Republican Tom Corbett, candidates for the state’s top office in 2010, spoke at a two-hour forum today, hosted by the Pennsylvania State Education Association. The event held at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center, Camp Hill, was streamed live on PSEA’s website.

The forum will be broadcast next week on PCN-TV. Air times will be posted at www.psea.org/Gov2010 as soon as they are available.

Republican candidate Samuel Rohrer, citing “last minute schedule changes,” cancelled his participation at the forum on Jan. 15.

PSEA recently released a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive document that uses educational research and decades of practice to outline the association’s vision of how to improve teaching and learning in Pennsylvania schools. The report is titled “The Power of A Great Education: PSEA’s 20/20 Vision for the Future – Strong Schools, Successful Children, Vibrant Communities,” (available online at www.psea.org/vision) and includes dozens of specific recommendations for building on already works in public schools.

“Public education policy must be at the center of debates about priorities for the next governor,” said James P. Testerman. “This forum is about giving a chance for the candidates to share their vision for education, and asking the candidates to respond to our vision, backed by our members and by research on what improves teaching and learning.”

Testerman cited Pennsylvania students’ impressive academic gains, and emphasized the association will work with candidates and elected officials.

“PSEA members know what works in public schools, and we will be reminding the candidates about how to continue improving on our students’ academic success during the campaign,” Testerman. We invite current and future policymakers to partner with us to reach our goal of strong schools, successful children, and vibrant communities.”

The candidates offered their own blueprint for Pennsylvania, and responded to questions about PSEA’s 20/20 Vision for the Future report:

“We need to make sure school districts are operating in a sound way. That requires funding, but we also need state government to take a leadership position,” said Wagner.
 
“Pennsylvania’s teachers and education support professionals are on the front lines of preparing students high-skill jobs and to be informed members of our society and it is the state’s basic responsibility to make the investments necessary for our educators and schools to be successful,” said Onorato. “There is a reason that Pennsylvania is the only state in the country that has seen scores go up in every grade. It starts in the classroom.”
 
“Education shouldn’t just be something for the privileged,” said Knox. “We have a moral imperative to provide a quality education for children and the next generation.” Knox noted that Pennsylvania was recently cited as the only state to demonstrate improved student academic progress at all levels.
 
“Everyone wants to improve education; I want to change how we frame the issue,” said Hoeffel. “Education is an investment with a tremendous return for the Commonwealth. It is not a spending program, and the best path to long term improvement in education is to fully fund programs that work, not trim spending for short-term savings.”
 
“I believe children should not pay a price for the zip code they live in. All children have a right to a good education,” said Doherty. “There is nothing more important than investing in education and that means universal pre-K. When funds are invested in education, it works and kids flourish. That’s what I’ll do as your governor.”
 
“Public education has to be a top priority, even in tough economic times,” Corbett said.  “I promise you I will fight very hard to find funding to support public education.  I will fund research-based programs such as those mentioned in PSEA’s 20/20 Vision document.”

The PSEA 20/20 Vision for the Future report (available online at www.psea.org/vision) outlines clear strategies in four areas:

• Full and fair state funding for public education;
• Proven, research-based strategies for increasing student achievement;
• Teaching and learning conditions that make student achievement possible; and
• Support and respect for education professionals in order to recruit and retain a quality workforce into the future.

Pennsylvania students have demonstrated considerable academic progress by several measures: 

• Pennsylvania students are the only ones in the nation to make gains in all academic categories from 2002-08; 
• Students’ reading and math scores are among the nation’s best for the years in which they are tested; and
• More Pennsylvania students are going to college than ever before.

“All of this success builds to a turning point in the events of 2010 and beyond,” Testerman said. “We are at a critical moment. Federal funds expire in a year and a half; for the next several years, our state funding formula will need additional revenues to continue to attain goals of equitable state funding and academic proficiency for all students.”