Presidential Candidates Questionnaire

Senator John Edwards Response

What are your views on the needs of young children (birth to kindergarten) and what specific steps would you take to address those needs?

To ensure that every child is prepared to succeed, I will lead the way toward universal preschool.  In addition to expanding support for programs like Head Start and the child care block grant, I will provide resources for universal, high-quality “Great Promise” preschool for four-year-olds.  Great Promise will start in needy communities and develop children’s language abilities and early academic skills. 

I will also help states duplicate North Carolina’s Smart Start program, which links health care, child care, education, and family support services for children under five.  Smart Start addresses all aspects of young children’s development.

What are your views on the ways in which our nation can close the education achievement gap with a particular focus on the early elementary grade years?

I believe every child should have the same chance to get a great education.  As president, I will give all teachers in successful high-poverty schools a $5,000 raise.  Teachers in high-poverty schools could earn $5,000 more by proving their effectiveness – through earning national certification for excellence, for example – or by serving as mentors.  I will also provide significant new resources to reduce class sizes by hiring more teachers.  Finally, I will launch a “School Success Fund,” an effort to rebuild and restore America’s schools.  Teams of experienced educators will spend a year at struggling schools helping launch reforms.

What kinds of expertise and experiences will you be looking for in people when filling the senior Administration positions that have responsibility for the key federal early childhood education programs, such as child care and Head Start?

When I’m considering appointees, I will carefully consider the importance of classroom and child development experience.  We need to listen to teachers.  One of the first mistakes President Bush made was abolishing the “teacher in residence” position in the office of the Secretary of Education.  I will bring it back to ensure that someone with classroom experience has a voice in shaping and implementing my education policy.

What do you consider the appropriate federal investment in programs that support young children’s early care and education (such as child care and Head Start)?  Please be as specific as possible?

All children deserve to have caregivers who are trained in early childhood development and can create a nurturing, individualized, developmentally appropriate learning environment.  I’ve supported expanding Child Care Development Block Grants and Early Head Start and as president I will provide the resources necessary to provide universal pre-school to every American child and help states establish Smart Start programs.  

What are you views on raising the compensation of child care workers and what steps would you take to make attracting and keeping quality educators in the early childhood education field?

Research shows that the most effective preschool teachers have at least a bachelor’s degree.  Lead teachers in Great Promise preschool programs will have four-year college degrees and be paid commensurately.

I know how important increasing the minimum wage is to many child care workers.  As president, I will set a national goal of a minimum wage that equals half the average wage.  To accomplish this, I will raise the minimum wage by 75 cents a year until it reaches $9.50 in 2012.  To ensure continued rising wages, I will index the minimum wage to automatically rise along with average wages.

As President, what would be your top 4 priorities for legislative action in the first 100 days of your Administration?

We must re-establish America's leadership in the world, starting in Iraq. I will immediately withdraw 40,000 to 50,000 American combat troops, with the rest to follow within about a year.

Too many Americans lack health insurance or adequate coverage.  I will enact truly universal health care while bringing down costs. 

We can end poverty through an ambitious agenda to reward work, create opportunity, and strengthen families.  Strengthening schools is an important part of my poverty agenda.

We must halt climate change. Capping and reducing pollution and investing in renewable energies like can stop global warming while revitalizing our economy.