Hillary Clinton on school reform

I asked Hillary Clinton the following question a week and half ago:

"I was in Washington DC yesterday and heard a story from one of Senator Kerry's education policy advisors during his Presidential campaign.  At one point during the campaign, the Senator wanted to say something bold about education, so at a speech in Harlem, he proposed the most benign reforms imaginable: paying math and science teachers more than gym teachers, and paying more to teachers willing to teach in the toughest schools.  Within hours, the NEA put enormous pressure on Sen. Kerry and he never said another word about education reform the rest of the campaign.  Things haven't changed much since then. 

 

"I'm trying to find a Presidential candidate who will put the interests of children trapped in failing schools above those of union bosses.  Can you comment?"

After the applause died down, her answer was that (from memory; also based on a few things she said when I spoke with her at the cocktail party before the event):

- she agrees that the system isn't working

- she is very independent from the teachers unions and WILL put children first

- the union's been moving on this issue because they realize that maintaining the status quo is no longer an option

- she's long been a champion of charter schools

- she favors differential pay

- we have to focus on programs that work (she lit up when I mentioned my association with Teach for America and KIPP)

- NCLB needs to be renewed and strengthened

- when NCLB is renewed, the money should be tied to states spending it ONLY on programs with proven track records

- as part of NCLB's renewal, she favors making a few cities test cases for a comprehensive package of reforms like KIPP (I told her what KIPP was doing in Houston and also suggested Newark)

- she believes that teacher quality is critical and said that when Bill was first elected governor of Arkansas, she proposed a program to test teachers to make sure they knew their subject material (which, I heard, so angered the union that they helped make Bill a one-term governor (if anyone knows the full story here, please tell it to me))

 

I wish I could believe this, but some of it doesn't seem very consistent with what she said to the NY State teachers the union, made only days later...