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Feb 10, 2004 -- Chattanooga teaching experiment works!

Clark tends to make people mad when he talks about public education because of his strong beliefs. The No. 1 tax expense we have is education. And some people don’t realize it but everyone pays these taxes. Even if you don’t have kids in school, you’re paying for the schools. So, it’s been a long frustration that kids are not doing anywhere near the level they should be with all of the money we’re paying. He has long advocated vouchers, charter schools and experiments in education. Even in Washington, D.C., where there has been longstanding opposition and some of the worst public schools, there has been a huge change in attitude toward the education system. They want change because nothing is working. Another area that is facing change is Chattanooga, Tenn. The town has started a new method of rewarding teachers whereby pay raises are based on performance. Bonuses are as high as 30 percent for high performing teachers, and private donors have given money to support this initiative. The Washington Post analyzed the test data from the kids, and – after just one year – there was an exceptional rise in academic performance. We need to educate our kids better. If we don’t do a good job of this, we don’t create an educated work force and our jobs will disappear. There is no one school that is right for every child. That’s why we need innovation and competition.

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