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Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Super Tuesday States Haven't Heard Candidates On Education, Say Teachers, School Leaders

Super Tuesday States Haven't Heard Candidates On Education, Say Teachers, School Leaders:

Super Tuesday States Haven't Heard Candidates On Education, Say Teachers, School Leaders

It's Super Tuesday, and Ohio kindergarten teacher Nicole Kessler is frustrated. Budget cuts turned her life upside down this year: To save money on bus routes, her district turned half-day kindergarten into two full days a week and every other Monday. Her school can't afford field trips or professional development, and her classroom supplies were cut in half.

But, as Kessler puts it, you wouldn't know it from watching the Republican presidential campaign. As teachers, parents and education officials in the 10 states that head to the polls today struggle to make it through a distinctly rough patch in education, they, like Kessler, have heard virtually nothing on the topic from the presidential candidates.

So far, the candidates have only discussed education to bolster their conservative credentials, rarely addressing the academic well-being of the country's students or education's impact on the future of the economy. According