Reply #4: He seems like a smart and caring person. Education is his thing.

[Breeze54]

http://www.begich.com/issues

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'On the Issues

Education

Mark favors local control and accountability of America’s schools. Mark believes that the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind law has been a disaster in Alaska and as Senator will work to return to an education policy that respects community values. He will fight to return control to Alaska’s parents and educators and for the millions of dollars in federal support promised, but not delivered, to Alaska schools. Mark will also work for federally-supported voluntary pre-K education to ensure that Alaska’s children get a good start on learning for the earliest age. He also supports expanded support for higher education so Alaska students don’t have to graduate from college or vocational school in debt. As an Anchorage assemblyman for nearly 10 years and now as mayor, Mark has analyzed and approved more than a dozen school district budgets. The students in Anchorage schools, where more than 90 languages are spoken, continue to outperform the national average of college entrance exams. Sadly, America is no longer the best educated country in the world, with a dangerous “achievement gap” among U.S. students.'