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Education
Congressman Mike Castle believes all children should have
access to a quality education. When he served
as Governor of Delaware (1985-1992), he reduced class size in elementary
grades, worked to improve teacher education and advancement, raised teacher
salaries and challenged institutes of higher education to lower their
tuition. Mike Castle has continued his commitment to education as Ranking
Member of the Education and Labor's Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary
and Secondary Education, where he has been active in some of the most important
education and school nutrition initiatives of our time. He was recently honored by the Association for Supervision &
Curriculum Development (ASCD) with the ASCD Whole Child Leadership Award in
recognition of his leadership on behalf of students.
No Child
Left Behind
- Republicans and Democrats collaborated to develop this
landmark education proposal.
- Federal funding for education in Delaware has increased by
more than 68.7 percent since the inception of this law in 2001.
- NCLB has many successes in DE. Rep. Castle believes NCLB has helped disadvantaged
students raise their level of achievement, and can continue to do so by giving
states flexibility.
- The Vision 2015 proposal in Delaware compliments NCLB and has
the potential to help every child to reach proficiency. An important part
of NCLB is that it allows states to remain flexible, and Vision 2015 is a good
example of this.
Head Start
- In December
of 2007, Congress passed and President Bush signed the "Improving Head Start for School Readiness
Act" (H.R. 1429), which provides low-income children with
access to educational, health, nutritional, and social services.
- Congressman
Castle has authored Head Start bills for several years with his colleagues
Reps. Miller (D-CA), Kildee (D-MI), and McKeon (R-CA). These bipartisan laws have produced the
successful Head Start program so more children are able to benefit.
- Since
1965, Head Start has served nearly 20 million low-income children and
their families and currently serves over 900,000 children every day across
the United States. In Delaware,
Head Start programs serve over 2,000 children, with over 800 additional
three and four year olds receiving assistance through state government
funding.
- Congressman
Castle has advocated for Head Start teacher quality and improved fiscal
management of Head Start programs.
He strongly supports Head Start and its potential to equip children
for school.
Higher
Education
- As a senior
Member of the subcommittee overseeing higher education legislation, Congressman
Castle has worked for over a decade on behalf of students and families in the
effort to solve the college cost crisis, where tuition is outpacing annual
family household income.
- He voted
in support of legislation (H.R. 4137) which addresses the
soaring price attending college and removes other obstacles that make it
harder for qualified students to attend institutions of higher education.
- Congressman
Castle voted in support of legislation the President signed into law last
year (H.R. 2669) which provides funding for programs including; incentives for low
tuition, funding for Minority Serving Institutions, and loan deferment for
members of the Armed Forces at no new cost to taxpayers.
- He is
outspoken on the skyrocketing cost of obtaining a college education or
advanced degree and has advanced legislation to increase the transparency
of college costs to ensure colleges and universities are being held
accountable for tuition increases, to help students and schools keep
textbooks accessible and affordable, and improve the efficiency of the
financial aid process.
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