Texans For Kay

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison Lines Up Education First In Campaign Priorities
Darren Meritz, El Paso Times

EL PASO -- Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison called education the top priority in her bid to become Texas governor while at a campaign stop in El Paso on Wednesday.

Hutchison spoke to school administrators and students during a morning presentation at the El Paso Independent School District administrative offices.

Texas, she said, will not have a successful future unless high-school dropout rates improve and more high-school students go on to finish college.

"I will never be a governor that says status quo is good enough," she said. "I think it is so important that we have an overall education system that says at a minimum we are going to graduate our young people from high school."

Statewide, 78 percent of students graduated from high school within four years during the 2007-08 school year. In the El Paso region, 72 percent graduated in four years, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Hutchison praised El Paso school district administrators for implementing programs designed to identify students at risk of dropping out and providing them with alternative learning methods.

She named specifically middle school immersion programs that identify students falling behind in the seventh and eighth grades and help them learn key basics before starting high school.

She also touted El Paso early-college high-school programs as statewide models. The programs allow average performing students with potential to take a dual college and high-school curriculum before graduating.

Students in those programs can graduate with associate degrees and high-school diplomas at the same time.

Hutchison also lauded programs that allow students who work to participate in flexible class time so they can attend school early in the morning or in the evening. She also praised e-curriculum, a program that allows students to participate in online classes.

Hutchison is in a three- way race for the Republican nomination for governor against Gov. Rick Perry and conservative activist Debra Medina. On Wednesday, the senior U.S. senator said that success in Texas high schools will depend largely on finding qualified teachers and retaining them.

As governor, Hutchison said, she would require colleges of education at Texas public universities to offer UTeach, a program that allows college students and graduates to become educators with degrees in fields such as science and math.

Hutchison also said she would "enhance the teacher experience" by providing educators with customized benefits plans. Teachers using their spouse's medical insurance, for example, could more easily participate in retirement plans such as IRAs, could set aside money for child care or could more easily save for their children's college tuition, she said.

"It is encouraging and enhancing our teachers that I know will make the difference for our education quality," she said. "They are the front lines. They are the ones that will nurture the children and make sure they have the capability to succeed."