Education played a big role in Governor Sandoval's State of the State Address last week so we sat down with Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dale Erquiaga for his take on the governor's proposals.
For Face the State this week, I went over the governor's whole list of proposals with the superintendent. He says Sandoval came to him months ago and asked what it would take to really change Nevada's education system... and pull us out of last place.
The long list we heard in the address was largely Erquiaga's list of priorities starting with expanding free early education. "It's really critical for students at risk. Of mom and dad or grandma and grandpa at home don't have books, preschoolers don't have somebody reading to them. So what happens then is they start kindergarten or first grade behind and they never catch up."
From there Erquiaga says Nevada needs better programs-- meaning more money-- dedicated to literacy to have kids reading by third grade and more funding to help English language learners become proficient.
He wants to boost grad rates by aligning graduates with jobs and boosting the number of AP classes offered.
And starting in middle school, the proposal is $50 million for new technology, that will allot one device- like a tablet- per student to get kids ready for the increase in STEM careers. "It's what this century is all about. It's what the governor calls the new Nevada. These are STEM workers, future engineers, we have to get them online and with an iPad learning as quickly as we can."
Of course the whole budget will have to pass this session of the legislature. And a big sticking point could be funding as well as a few other major changes to the state's education system.
We'll go over more of that tomorrow, but to see the whole interview, tune in for Face the State this weekend.
