Gary West issues education plan

Gary West, Democratic candidate for the state’s 94th House of Delegates District, issued an education plan this week saying he wants to make education the top priority in the General Assembly.

“The key to our future and our economy is education. We must provide our children with a world class education,” West said in a press release.

West’s education plan calls for fighting against budget cuts to education; the improvement of early childhood education programs; lowering class sizes in the K-12 system; increased focus on math and science curriculum; raising academic standards and increased investment in local community colleges and Christopher Newport University.

“Newport News needs improvements in our local schools. Our children’s future and our economy depend on it. We can’t afford to continue playing political games in Richmond; the legislature needs people who will stand up for our children and our schools,” West said. “I will not only work to improve our education system, but I want to be a champion for our children and our schools.”

West in running for the seat vacated at the end of August by longtime delegate Glenn Oder, R-Newport News, who left the House to take over as head of the Fort Monroe Authority. West is running against Republican candidate David Yancey, a Newport News businessman. West ran against Oder in 2009 and lost.

Here is West's education plan in its entirety as released by his campaign staff:

Gary West

Investing in our children, our future

The key to our future and a strong economy is education.  We must make the appropriate investments in our children and our future.  Having raised two daughters and putting them through our local schools, I understand the needs of our schools and the needs of our children.  I know the importance a parent can play in a child’s education as well.  I will take my life experience and my passion for better education to Richmond.  As Delegate, I’ll work to:

• Ensure education is a priority and fight against budget cuts that hurt our children's chances to succeed.
• Improve early childhood education so our children are better prepared for secondary and post-secondary education.
• Invest in our 2 year college programs and Christopher Newport University. Use our schools to focus on workforce development with area businesses.
• Lower classroom sizes and raise educational standards.
• Increase attention on subjects like math and science to keep pace with children in other countries.

Comments

[Citation Machine]

Plan is good but i am waiting for implementation.

[H. Scott Butler]

I like candidate West's emphasis on supporting teachers through lowering class size and avoiding budget cuts to education. By "raise educational standards" I hope he doesn't mean awarding merit pay, holding teachers responsible for every student's failure, and doing other things to manage teachers--practices that are actually counterproductive. Instead, I hope he means hiring good teachers with an academic background in the subjects they teach (and good grades), allowing experienced teachers to mentor new ones as well as evaluate them in the first three years, and then, once they've been vetted, giving them the freedom to teach to the best of their ability. This approach gives teachers the psychological and administrative support they need to do their demanding, sensitive, creative, labor-intensive, all-important work. It's time for public officials to admit that management-oriented practices haven't worked in education, as professor and historian of education Diane Ravitch has shown, and stand up for teachers.