Perhaps there is no bigger civil rights issue of our time than education reform. The achievement gap between high and low-income children born in 2001 is 40 percent higher than it was in 1976, according to a Stanford report.
The Alliance for Excellent Education states Wisconsin is home to 13 (eight more teeter on the edge) of the nation’s almost 1,600 drop out factories, schools which the graduating class is comprised of less than 60 percent of the students who entered freshman year. More than one-in-ten schools in the nation can be categorized as “drop-out factories.” Each lost diploma translates in $8,100 earned per individual or $1.8 billion in lost revenue per year for Wisconsinites alone.
One thousand six hundred dropout factories is 1,600 too many. That is why Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) is so vital to improving our education system. The countries that out-educate us today will outdo us tomorrow. DFER comes with the expectation that we, as a nation, can do better to educate our children.
DFER recognizes that the status quo for many schools is working and we should not change that. However, for the schools that the status quo is failing, DFER demands that we improve schools to ensure American primary and secondary schools are the best in the world because it is the right and moral action.
An outstanding education is one of a handful of rights that regardless of party preferences, Americans agree is a fundamental right of every American child. President Obama proposed an ambitious plan to achieve a 90 percent graduation rate by 2020. While progress has been made through Democrats and Republicans working together, more action is required as 25 percent of students in America today still do not receive high school diplomas.
DFER offers a path to close that gap by integrating ideas from both sides and then implementing them into the classroom. The naysayers like to blame this group or that group for the underachieving schools. However, America faces the current education situation because communities made up of students, parents, teachers, principles and neighbors have not shared collective responsibility to ensure we get it done right.
Perhaps what draws us closest to DFER is their sense of eternal optimism. It is their audacity to expect better out of each and every one of us. It is their unique conviction to demand change by collaboration that brews possibility and hope.
Please join us tonight to hear from state Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, and DFER.
Alex is a sophomore majoring in poiltical science and economics. The Bipartisan Issues Group provides a platform to discuss and solve our nation’s issues. If you are interested in the work of the Bipartisan Issues Group and want to get involved, send an email to themadisonbig@gmail.com. Beau is a 5th year senior majoring in international studies. Students for Education Reform aims to mobilize the next generation of leaders in education. If you are interested in the work of the Students for Education Reform, please send an email to beau@studentsforedreform.org. Senator Lena Taylor will speak this evening in room 212 of the the Educational Sciences building at 7 pm.
