Washington, DC - Michael Bennet, Senator from Colorado, released the following statement on President Barack Obama's education speech.
As the former Denver Public Schools Superintendent, Bennet has long been an advocate for strong education reform. He successfully expanded full-day kindergarten for over 90 percent of five year olds for the first time in Denver's history. The district also dramatically expanded the full-day program for four year olds. Additionally, Bennet, working with the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, revolutionized teacher pay to reward driving student achievement, serving in a high poverty school, or bringing a special set of talents, like the teaching of math or special education. Student achievement also rose across the board in Denver.
"If we want to have a real impact on education, we need a bold, new approach, particularly for poor children. Our education system, as designed, will not work. That means moving past the same, tired partisan debate that has done nothing than waste our kids' time. Our children are not interested in blaming anyone for the current failures in our education system. They simply want the problems solved and the obstacles to their success removed.
"President Obama today laid out a strong education plan that puts resources where they are most effective and calls for transformational reform. I look forward to working closely with Secretary Duncan and the White House on this much-needed reform."