Democrats Abroad France
Education Policy Group
Mission Statement and Welcome 

An Education Policy Group has been formed to address President Obama's commitments to improve the quality of education for all Americans, young and old alike. It will also address the ways the United States participates in and influences international cooperation for education through bilateral and multilateral means, international exchange programs and public-private foundations, NGOs, and voluntary bodies.

• Top priority on President Obama's education agenda is a critical re-examination of the bipartisan program "No Child Left Behind" initiated by President Bush. This program offers federal funding to states which agree to increase standardized testing in schools as a means of ensuring accountability for results. This approach to school improvement has generated considerable criticism in the education community, while creating a climate of competition among private testing companies for lucrative markets. It is linked to ongoing debates on "school choice" and "equality of opportunity".

  Can DAF contribute to this educational quality and accountability debate?

• A second major priority is the expansion and improvement of early child education and care. Early child development in terms of health, language and learning opportunities are key to further school success. Programs such as Head Start will be given greater support as will other community-based pre-school programs.

  Can DAF members contribute their direct knowledge and experience of a successful comprehensive early childhood system to the new Administration?

• A third major priority is the upgrading of basic infrastructure in terms of school buildings and teaching/learning materials. Part of President Obama's stimulus package is intended to begin to address the great disparities among United States schools.

  How can alternate models of educational funding and use of public facilities (such as libraries) contribute to this outcome?

• A fourth broad area that includes international relations and foreign policy also concerns education. International and development educationists and international cooperation professionals are keen to see a more constructive and respectful image of the United States abroad. In the field of education, the new Administration is committed to reforming our bilateral cooperation through USAID and the multilateral agencies of the United Nations system, including OECD and UNESCO.

  In what ways would that reform be most effective in the views of the DAF Education Policy Group convening with the Foreign Policy Group?

We will keep abreast of debate on these issues with key readings, guest speakers and our own discussion. At a later stage, we hope to contribute position papers to education policy debates in Congress, in the Department of Education, the State Department and the U.S. missions to the international organizations as members of Democrats Abroad. Finally, we will provide input to the next Democratic platform based on this Administration's progress in mobilizing Americans for improving education for all.
We would be happy to hear from anyone interested in this new DAF Group with suggestions for the agenda, scope and participation. We all have more to learn on these subjects so that we can offer sensible advice on improving the quality of U.S. domestic and international education policies.

Contact:
Leslie Limage (Chair)
Tel. 01 46 51 31 81