Read my Education Reform Strategy here.
Read the text of my keynote on Education Reform at the Public Policy Institute of California here.
In the 60s, when I was in school, the California public school system was the gold standard--a national model that complemented our State's image as a land of opportunity.
Today, our schools rank in the bottom third among all states, we are out-spent by $2,400 per pupil, and we fail to graduate a full quarter of our students. What happened?
Well, I've spent an entire career fighting to fund and reform our public schools--first as a teacher union organizer, then as an Assembly Member and Speaker, and now as a Mayor.
In the past five years, I've partnered with students, parents, non-profits, business groups, higher education, charter organizations, school district leadership, elected board members, and teacher