Shriver on Education

By Bobby S. Shriver

Bobby Shriver Policy Paper on Education

Bobby Shriver on Education

Every child has a right to a quality education.

Bobby Shriver is running for LA County Supervisor to provide a voice for kids and families - and to help them develop their own voice.  Bobby will bring new energy to the difficult problems facing our schools and focus on giving students in foster care and the juvenile system the chance to graduate and climb out of poverty.  

Historically, a good public education has been our country's great equalizer of opportunity. Many people remember when California was the place where being poor did not mean you received a second-rate education. Sadly, that is no longer the case for many students in LA County. The poverty gap in education has grown, so it is not surprising that the gap between the rich and poor has also grown. Yet research shows that we can battle these trends with early education, parent involvement, smaller class size, and other programs that provide intensive mentoring and support for students in need.

Education is largely seen as a state and local school district issue, but the county plays a significant role. The Los Angeles County Office of Education's annual budget is over $700 million.  Much of this funding supports early education, job training, special education and education for youths in the juvenile detention system. The county oversees the nation's largest Head Start grantee program and reviews the budgets of all public school districts in the county--about $23 billion in funding.  

Bobby's Education Priorities

Lower the dropout rate.

The single most urgent education issue is the high dropout rate in the county.  Many schools have made significant progress, but we are still at tragic numbers, with about a 66% graduation rate overall and less than that in many programs.  Boys are falling behind girls in graduation rates particularly African American and Latino boys.  This is why I proudly support President Obama's My Brother's Keeper's Campaign and his effort to get private funding and government to commit to pull young men out of poverty.  I look forward to working with the White House and the California Endowment on this important work.

In addition, kids in poverty, and kids in foster care or the juvenile system have significantly tougher struggles.  This is especially true for English learners.  And yet, research shows that strategic early investments can reverse these statistics and improve graduation rates by reducing class size, increasing parent involvement, early education, and special education.

Ensure adequate, stable funding for our schools.

Insist on full funding under Prop 98 and using part of that funding to reduce class size. Bobby will lobby our state legislators and Governor to make sure that we continue this effort to reverse the drastic cuts from the recession.  This is an important issue throughout the county, but in particular, the county directly oversees 13 community schools that serve kids at high risk of dropping out.

Help parents get involved with school.  

When parents are involved, they improve their own children's education - and the whole school. Every child and every parent must have that opportunity. Programs like Parent College to teach parents about their rights and responsibilities can cut absences and improve results for students.

Promote access to early education.

Research shows that ninety percent of a child's brain develops before age three and therefore access to high quality early education has a direct impact on academic and life success.  Early education raises achievement across all grade levels, resulting in higher graduation rates.  My father founded Head Start and LA County is the largest Head Start grantee in the nation.  I want to work to improve the quality and access to early education.  As Supervisor, I look forward to continuing the work of First 5 LA, LACOE and others committed to building high quality early education that reduces the "word gap" and prepares students for the 21st century job market.

Support Special Education.

With rising rates of Autism, ADHD, and many other forms of learning challenges, we need to focus on ways to support parents and families to get the resources they need for early intervention and support.  Our current system burdens parents who must make extraordinary financial decisions to get their kids the resources they need to access special education and medical services for which they are entitled.  Bobby will work with the County Health Department, special education administrators, parents and special needs advocates to find innovative solutions to address the bureaucratic system of care.  Specifically Bobby will work to change the culture of doing the least and fight for access to early intervention.  He will also support grassroots programs such as UCLA Autism Cart, Westside Regional Center, Autism Speaks, Special Needs Network, the Help Group and others that empower kids and families.

Include arts education in the curriculum.

Art is more than an extracurricular activity. Researchers agree, which is why STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) is now called STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math).  We have cut the arts in state and LA by over 70%, and we have left behind creative minds and abandoned the best tool to reach them and, in some cases, to keep them in school. Bobby's wife, Malissa Feruzzi, is a statewide advocate for the arts; arts education is important to them as a family.

Support and expand after-school programs.

Kids need help with homework and access to enriching programs after school.  Wealthier families take this for granted, with sports and art and music all happening after school.  We have to make it possible for working families to provide the same kind of enrichment.  These programs are proven to improve performance and attendance at school.

Prepare more kids for career and college.

Several strong programs work to cut the dropout rate and increase the college graduation rate in LA County.  College Track supports struggling kids, starting in grade school and continuing through college.  Bobby will support programs like City Year, which combines the civic engagement of AmeriCorp with mentoring and tutoring to cut the dropout rate, and programs like Posse and the Fulfillment Fund that work to graduate kids from high school and college.   Regional support and attention will increase the number of students that these partnerships serve. These programs must be available to kids in foster care and other systems.  

Kids need more than one path. We must support a strong path to a career, whether it involves college or not.  Apprenticeships for trades and public sector jobs that do not require a college degree but still require good math, engineering, and technology skills are what used to be the backbone of the middle class.  We must make sure students graduate with strong skills and job training.  Shriver will promote job training that actually results in a job that pays well.