LOS ANGELES, May 5 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Speaking at a Cinco de Mayo celebration at Woodrow Wilson High School in Los Angeles today, Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry said he will strengthen America by ensuring every child from every corner of this nation has the chance to receive a quality education. "Today, when I travel across America and look into the eyes of young people, I see that they believe in their future," Kerry said. "I see hope. And I'll tell you what -- when I'm President, if you believe in yourself enough to work hard and do what's right -- your country will believe in you, and you'll be going to good schools, with good teachers and have every opportunity to succeed in America." On the second day of his three day swing through New Mexico and California to talk about the importance of a President who will fight for a good education for every child, Kerry reminded his audience how the President campaigned promising to "leave no child behind" and to end the "soft bigotry of low expectations." Unfortunately, as Kerry detailed, George Bush has broken his promise.
In particular, Kerry noted that Hispanic students face a number of challenges when it comes to education and that they have been let down by President Bush. Nearly 50 percent of Hispanic young people do not graduate high school, and Hispanic 13-year olds score significantly lower than other students in reading and math proficiency tests. These disparities in education present a serious, lifelong challenge, as Hispanic students are one-third as likely to graduate college and reap the rewards, like higher salaries, that come with a college degree.
Instead of helping to bridge this gap, Kerry said that George Bush has failed to fully fund No Child Left Behind (NCLB), proposed three freezes and one cut to bilingual education programs and failed to pass the DREAM Act, a bill Kerry co-sponsored which would allow high school graduates who are immigrants to attend college and get on the path to citizenship.
"Any parent, teacher, or student who's been in a classroom lately knows that when it comes to education in America, we can do better and be stronger," Kerry said. "But maybe President Bush has been playing hooky for too long, because he just doesn't agree. He thinks we're providing just enough opportunity for education in this country, and he's campaigning on the promise that he won't change a thing. The truth is, when it comes to education, we need to expand the reach of opportunity to young Americans of every color and every background from every corner of this country."
Kerry today pledged to strengthen education in America and said he will take steps to ensure all of our children receive a quality education that allows them to reach their God-given potential.
"We need real resources to back up real reform so that we can have real results," Kerry said. "No more crumbling schools. No more overstuffed classrooms. No more outdated textbooks. And no more calling for standards and reforms and sticking our states with the bill. We're going to get this done right because we know that empty rhetoric leads to empty dreams and we won't let that happen in our America."
To improve all of America's schools, Kerry will fully fund NCLB by investing in an education trust fund. This will give schools the resources they need to hire great teachers and reduce class sizes. Kerry will also take steps to involve parents in their children's education and make school construction a priority because so many of our schools are falling down.
To help increase high school graduation rates, Kerry has a plan that will increase graduates by 1 million students over five years. The plan will ensure students come to high school prepared to succeed, break up failing high schools into smaller schools and make sure students are properly challenged with a curriculum that prepares them for school and work.
And to make sure students have the chance to go to college when they graduate high school, Kerry will offer middle-class families $50 billion in tax cuts for college tuition and his national service plan will offer any student willing to serve their country help paying for school in return. Called "Service for College," Kerry's initiative will offer young people who agree to serve for two years in one of America's toughest and most important jobs four years of tuition at a public university in return.
Kerry was joined at today's event by Congresswoman Hilda Solis, Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa and his wife Teresa.
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As you can hear in the audio link below, this man who protested the Vietnam War and whose party has defined patriotism as requiring dissent, grumbled, "Obviously some young Republicans proving that they are very rude and they have no manners." Oh, the power, my friends! I am paralyzed here with how impressed I am by his retort. Why, what a way to shut them down! Not only calling them "rude" but "very rude!" This is so pathetic! 
