Ethan has always been smart and good with words — much better at a quip than anyone I know. He has never been a bully and is completely honest. Meaning he is not Don Young. He understands people and how to reach agreements that get things done. He has the nerve to think big and jump into large projects. I support Ethan because he is the best person to help a grown-up Alaska. He is our man for the next twenty years.”

“My husband, Norman Vaughan, and I have always had a special bond with Ethan. Not just because of our Antarctic bond, particularly the year he was the “ice cop,” but because Ethan is forthright, down-to-earth, and really cares about Alaska and Alaskans. No matter the consequences, he stands up for what is right and is in the best of interest of our state and you and me. If Norman were still here, he’d be out there going door-to-door with him across the state if he could. And he was a Republican! Ethan is the breath of fresh air that we need representing us in D.C.!”

For our Anchorage volunteers, please join us in volunteering at the Creek Cleanup on Saturday, May 10, from 9 am - 12 pm. Join Ethan at the Westchester Lagoon, or find a site closer to your neighborhood at www.anchoragecreeks.org. Please join us and wear an Ethan Berkowitz button while you’re out there!

If you’re interested in keeping up-to-date with our volunteer needs, please sign up for our volunteer Twitter feed. You can also find an up-to-the-minute list of ways to get involved at our website.

Our current volunteer opportunities include:

• Develop yard sign locations. Sign up here to display one of Ethan’s signs, and contact me if you’re interested in helping us recruit more locations.
• Assemble signs and pound in stakes. Our “spring bloom” of yard signs will happen in June. Help us by picking up signs from our local coordinators and distributing them in your community.
• Update our database. Drop by the office and help us keep our list of supporters current.

If you’re in Anchorage, stop by the office anytime, and we’ll put you to work. If you’re outside of Anchorage, give me a call at 563-8426 or an email at Kelly@ethanberkowitz.com, and we’ll get you involved!

Best wishes,

Kelly Meeker
Berkowitz for Congress — Volunteer Coordinator

Early Childhood Education

Success starts early, in pre-school. Starting early, when brain development is at its most receptive, we can break the cycle of low test scores, of students being left behind, and of unacceptably high dropout rate. When children enter school better prepared, they are able to learn from the very first day – which translates to greater achievement and greater satisfaction.

Alaska is one of 10 states that does not fund pre-Kindergarten education. Only 19 percent of Alaskan 3-4 year olds attend public pre-schools. Pre-school education can be an effective tool in reducing the gaps in educational achievement among Alaska’s students. In addition, studies show that high quality pre-Kindergarten education can have many positive social results, including reduced rates of teen pregnancy, better health, lower drug use rates, reduced criminal activity and increasing lifetime earnings.

As your representative, I will work to expand access and quality in federal early childhood education programs. Programs such as Head Start and Early Head Start are but one of many existing programs that hold great promise for our children.

K – 12 Education: Prioritize Quality Education and Decrease High Drop-Out Rates

The standardization central to “No Child Left Behind” has done injury to the basic notion that we develop individual potential by teaching students as individuals. It has insulted the principle of local control – that communities and parents know better than Washington how to educate our own kids. And it is yet another unfunded federal mandate. As your Congressman, I will fight for federal reforms that focus on teaching, not testing, and that respect local control over education policy.

Millions of American middle and high school students read significantly below grade level. Alaska’s high school graduation rate is 60 percent, ranking Alaska 42nd in the United States. That statistic is worse for rural students in our state – only 40 percent finish school.

The impacts of low graduation rates ripple through our economy: Alaskans who graduate from high school earn one-third less than those who do graduate from high school, and college graduates in our state make three times as much income as those who do not graduate.

Adopting commonsense policies and practices can make a difference from kindergarten through high school. First, class size matters. Too many kids in a room compromise the quality of education. Second, qualified teachers make a difference. That’s why recruiting and retaining the most qualified teachers is a cornerstone for quality education. Third, we must expect safe schools. It isn’t fair to expect kids to learn and teachers to teach when their physical safety is jeopardized, either because of crime or because the buildings themselves are run down and unsafe.

Innovation and commitment to education abound in Alaska. Charter schools, immersion programs, and a variety of choice for study provide opportunities for students to match their talents to their educational choices. We must make sure this innovation extends to extracurricular and in-school activities. Extracurricular activities – from arts to sports and clubs of all kinds – provide educational enrichment and foster social skills. They provide an outlet for student energy and help develop positive character traits like perseverance, discipline and teamwork. Studies also show that expanding career and technical educational opportunities for high school students keep more Alaska students in school and prepare them for jobs after graduation.

Recruit and Retain Qualified Teachers

During my ten years in the State Legislature, I fought to protect the retirement plans of teachers. Because we want our children to succeed, we need to make sure that they have the best instructors and best instruction. Our teachers don’t get paid what they should and we need to change that, but at the very least, we should honor the deal we made with them that in exchange for spending their lifetime building our children’s future, we’ll take care of them when they retire. That’s why I led the fight in Juneau to stop those who wanted to erode the guaranteed retirement benefits our teachers earned and our government promised.

It is time to restore the fair deal with teachers – which includes making sure that working for Alaska doesn’t lead to the loss of Social Security benefits — and it is time to make the national debate on education focus on teaching, not just testing.

Post-Secondary Education

Vocational training opportunities are integral to Alaska’s economic future and to the opportunities we afford our people. Workforce development has a major impact on the economy and on the ability of Alaskans to get good jobs. Where will the workers come from to fill the jobs being vacated by Alaska’s aging oil field workforce? We can answer that question – and similar questions for every skill and industry – if we train today’s students for tomorrow’s jobs. It is enough that we export our resources — we should not have to import our labor force. Expanded training programs and expanded training opportunities will lead to more and better jobs for Alaskans.

Alaska’s university should be strong enough to compete for Alaska’s students and give them the education they need to succeed. The University of Alaska can and should be on the cutting edge of research and education for subjects that matter to Alaskans, and it should help fill the ranks of jobs that require university training.

Skyrocketing tuition puts college out of reach for many Alaskans. As your Congressman, I will work with the State Legislature and the University of Alaska system to expand the UA scholars program and need based scholarships. I will push hard to continue to increases to federal Pell Grant funding and access to federal student loan programs.

And I will work to make college and vocational education fully tax deductible because I don’t think we should saddle those who want to build a future for themselves with greater debt.

As the parents of a public school student, nothing is more important to Mara and me than making sure all Alaska children receive a good education. A quality education is the key to success in today’s global economy. Here in Alaska, we need to set a new direction for many of our schools. We rank 42nd in graduation rates – 40 percent of our children don’t graduate high school and it’s 60 percent in our rural communities. This is unacceptable and in Congress, I will work to make sure Washington supports the right changes to our schools, rather than getting in the way of progress.

A good education means teaching our children how to think critically, to solve problems and develop the skills they need to get a good job. I cannot say it often enough – in spite of all the focus on standardized testing, I have never met a standardized kid, or been to a standardized school or a standardized district. We are a state that prizes individuality — accepting an educational system based on standardization and conformity just does not work. When my own children are in the classroom, I want their teachers to know them for who they are and teach them for what they can be. These next years can be a turning point for Alaska education. We can have accountability without sacrificing education – schools exist to teach, not to test. Accountability is important if it leads to better teaching, but it is dangerous when the focus and funding shifts primarily from teaching to testing.

Here are some of my education proposals:

• Expand access to early childhood education.
• Teach kids to think and solve problems, not just to take a test
• Intense drop-out prevention initiatives
• Recruit and retain the best and brightest teachers
• Make college affordable and accessible to all Alaskans
• Expand vocational education and skills training for those who don’t go to college

By setting high standards and delivering an education that our students want and the state needs, we can prepare the next generation of skilled and educated leaders.

Click here to let me know what you think.