Our public education system is in crisis. Inconsistent funding, misguided mandates such as No Child Left Behind, and years of neglect have burdened our once-proud schools. From standardized testing to literacy, our teachers are caught between preparing students for an increasingly uncertain world and shaping well-rounded citizens who might just as easily become plumbers as entrepreneurs. Bold and innovative leadership is required to chart a successful course in the 21st century.

To boost education in California, Dominic Caserta proposes:

• Creating a public-private partnership to provide college money to students who contribute community service.
• Starting classes no earlier than 8:30 a.m. to boost grades and reduce lateness, behavioral problems and dropout rates.
• Expanding on Senate Bill 1660 — which offers incentives to draw math and science teachers to low-performing districts — to include all teachers who choose to work in such schools
• Ensuring, through whatever legislative means necessary, that Prop. 98 represents a minimum, not maximum, for school spending.
• Offering online classes in each discipline for grades seven through 12 to better engage our generation of Web-savvy students and accommodate those whose circumstances compel them to learn off-campus.
• Making career and technical classes a graduation requirement to lower absenteeism and help the next generation of workers feel more secure in the global economy.
• Establishing a data-managing system to monitor spending, ensuring that taxpayers’ money is being used properly.
• Increasing the money delineated for the Quality Education Investment Act, which helps low-income, minority and English-learners close the achievement gap.
• Banning junk food and sodas in school cafeterias and vending machines while providing healthy menus and snacks based on the FDA’s food pyramid.
• Reducing obesity and promoting walking and overall exercise by giving each fifth-grade student a low-cost pedometer.

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