MANCHESTER, NH - At an event in Manchester this afternoon, the New Hampshire affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA-NH) officially announced its endorsement of Senator Hillary Clinton for President. With 16,000 members, NEA-NH is the largest union in the Granite State.
"I am honored to have earned the support of this incredible organization," said Senator Clinton. "Together we will work to strengthen America's public education system, ensure that every child has the opportunity live up to his or her potential, and provide our educators with the resources they need."
As an advocate, First Lady, and United States Senator, Hillary has fought to raise the education standards in our nation's schools. Hillary is committed to both fully funding and reforming No Child Left Behind (NCLB). She is also working actively to secure additional funding for early childhood education programs, such as Head Start, that help prepare children to succeed in school.
"We are extremely proud to announce our support of Senator Clinton for president today," said Rhonda Wesolowski, NEA-NH President. "Senator Clinton has been working to improve education for 35 years. She has laid out a plan to establish universal pre-kindergarten, and is committed to reforming and fully funding the No Child Left Behind Act. We believe that Senator Clinton will be a president who advocates on behalf of our nation's educators and works to improve our public education system."
As an advocate, First Lady, and United States Senator, Hillary has fought to raise the education standards in our nation's schools. Hillary is committed to:
Closing the Early Achievement Gap by:
- Investing in innovative nurse home visitation programs to help first-time mothers prepare for, and care for, their newborn children.
- Expanding access to high quality child care by increasing funding for the Child Care Development Block Grant to keep pace with rising costs.
- Expanding Early Head Start, which Hillary helped to create when she was First Lady.
- Providing $10 billion in funding to states to establish high-quality pre-K programs. States would provide pre-K at no cost to children from low-income children and/or limited English homes, and could use the funds on a range of early childhood programs once they had reached that benchmark. Programs will be administered through existing community-based preschools to ensure that parents have a range of options.
Cutting the drop out rate among African American and Hispanic students in half over the next decade through:
- Expanding mentoring and support programs to help one million at-risk youth aspire for college and job success.
- Launching a $100 million Public/Private Internship Initiative to give at-risk middle- and high-school students job skills and work experience during the summer.
- Investing in innovative initiatives like early college high schools and multiple pathway programs.
- Doubling federal support for GEAR UP, an early intervention and college preparation program for at risk students.
- Providing financial incentives to recruit and retain outstanding teachers in high-need areas.
Making college accessible and affordable for all Americans by:
- Lowering the cost of college through a $3,500 tuition tax credit, enough to cover more than 50% of the cost of tuition at the average public institution for many families.
- Increasing the Pell Grant.
- Providing $500 million to strengthen community colleges.
- Providing $250 million to improve college graduation rates.
- Providing a $10,000 scholarship for people who complete a full years of public service.
- Simplifying the federal student aid process.
- Providing clear information about the real cost of college well in advance to help families plan.
This agenda builds on Hillary's long record of support for education. In Arkansas, Hillary chaired the Arkansas Educational Standards Commission, which improved schools; as First Lady of the U.S., she helped grow the federal afterschool initiative from a $1 million pilot program to $1 billion program, reaching children in every state. As Senator, she created programs to recruit and retain teachers and principals to underserved areas; enacted legislation to eliminate environmental toxins in schools; helped write legislation to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act; championed successful efforts to expand the number of math and science teachers and provide math and science educators with innovative teaching tools; and enacted legislation to create income-contingent repayment programs for student loans and to reduce student debt for teachers, child care workers, and other service professionals.
The New Hampshire for Hillary campaign has announced the names of over 500 educators from across the state who are supporting Senator Clinton. In addition, Dr. Lyonel Tracy, New Hampshire Commissioner of Education, recently announced his endorsement of Hillary for president.
Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton Campaign Press Release - NEA-NH Endorses Senator Hillary Clinton Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/293012