“It is the Governor’s job to ensure North Carolina’s education system is preparing our students for the 21st century, by training them for jobs that allow them to compete on a global stage.”

Our students are North Carolina’s most valuable asset. They are our future doctors, lawyers, business people, teachers and world leaders. As Governor, I will work hard  to ensure a brighter and more productive future for our students and our State.

As governor, I will improve North Carolina’s education system in the following ways:

• Decrease Bureaucracy.
  Too many outstanding teachers are leaving the profession due to frustration with the overwhelming amount of bureaucratic red-tape. Our teachers are burdened with needless busy-work forced on them by inflexible school bureaucracies that contribute little or nothing to quality education. We need to reduce bureaucracy by bringing the decisions closer to the students.  Local administrators should have the ability to set wages as market conditions dictate.
  

• Re-define a means for assessment.
  The current method of standardized testing is not working. While I believe in assessment, standardized tests are not necessarily the best way to prepare our students for 21st century jobs. Many classrooms have stopped teaching complete subjects, and now only teach test items. This forces teachers and students to concentrate on memorizing isolated facts while ignoring higher-order thinking; which is used in any true job situation. A new means of assessment must be developed to ensure our students readiness for global competiveness.
  

• Prepare students for future job markets.
  While students should always try to increase their education, an education at a four-year university is not necessary for every job out there.  I will work with the private sector to increase the availability of, and enrollment in, vocational schools.  These schools traditionally provide a useful education that will easily allow a graduate to readily find a good job in his/her selected field. In addition, our children need to be prepared for the jobs of the future that will result from new technological developments. By increasing funding for the latest technology possible, our students will compete against some of the greatest minds in the world.
  

• Get Back to the Basics
  Focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic.  Making sure children know these basics by an early age – especially solid reading skills by third grade – means that they will be able to more easily master other subjects their entire lives.