Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) vowed to support community colleges in a speech at the Boston Mariott Copley Place yesterday.
Addressing several hundred community college faculty and administrators, Kennedy discussed the role of community colleges in the No Child Left Behind Act, an education reform measure signed by President Bush in January.
“We need investment in those policies,” Kennedy said. “Resources without reform is a waste of money, and reform without the resources is a waste of time.”
Calling community colleges a “national resource to meet the many challenges of our time,” he said the main two challenges are helping workers keep up with today’s dynamic economy and ensuring all Americans have access to quality education and training.
To meet these challenges, Kennedy suggested partnering with local school districts, giving qualified teachers adequate compensation, making technology available to everyone and customizing training programs.
“Skills today can be obsolete tomorrow, requiring that workers constantly update and adjust their abilities,” Kennedy said. “Our community colleges are a modern lifeline for those workers.”
Kennedy said the colleges can work with the community to promote economic development and also attract new businesses, as well.
“You are the entry ramp to opportunities for so many in our community,” Kennedy said. “Your flexibility and creativity help you to respond in so many ways, including K-12 education, offering adult basic education, providing English language instruction for new immigrants, granting degrees and certifications, exploring new ways to use technology and responding to the needs of the workforce.”
For community colleges to continue performing these roles, states and federal governments must provide funding and support, Kennedy said. He vowed to work on extending the Hope tax credit so that it covers not only tuition, but also transportation and childcare costs.
“It is dead wrong for your budgets to be cut at a time when the nation’s workers depend on training,” he said. “I look forward to being in the trenches with you in the battles that lie ahead.”
Kennedy was the keynote speaker at the Innovations 2002 Conference, sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College.
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