Governor's Column by Dave Heineman

New Goals in Education August 28, 2009 Dear Fellow Nebraskans: Nebraska’s P-16 Initiative, a group that involves many education, business and policymakers involved with education from preschool through college and into the workforce, recently announced a series of goals designed to strengthen the education we provide to Nebraska students. I want to bring a strategic, action-oriented and accountable focus to strengthening and enhancing Nebraska’s education system. During the past few months, Nebraska’s P-16 members have developed eight education goals that will guide our work in the next several years.

Nebraska P-16 goals are as follows:

• Adopt a college and career preparation core curriculum that requires four years of English and three years each of math, science and social studies in Nebraska school districts by the 2014-15 school year.
• Eliminate the academic achievement gap between Nebraska’s K-12 Caucasian students and its African American, Hispanic, and Native American students.
• Develop an effective longitudinal data system which provides information on the Nebraska educational system from preschool through post-graduate degree attainment and entry into the workforce to help align resources with strategic goals.
• Improve Nebraska’s high school graduation rate to 90 percent.
• Improve Nebraska’s college-going rank to the Top 10 tier nationally.
• Provide affordable access for Nebraska students to attend Nebraska’s postsecondary institutions.
• Improve time to degree completion and increase graduation rates of Nebraska’s postsecondary institutions.
• Increase by five percent the number of teacher education graduates in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) within Nebraska postsecondary institutions.

An essential goal is to adopt a core curriculum focused on preparing students for college and their future careers by the 2014 – 2015 school year. Every student graduating from a Nebraska high school needs four years of English and three years of math, science and social studies.

We need to set more rigorous expectations for students to help ensure they graduate from our schools having mastered the essential areas that will help them succeed in life. This core curriculum is essential to helping our students compete in a knowledge-based, technology-driven, global, free market economy. We need to equip our students for success in this modern age where they will be asked to be critical thinkers, innovators and entrepreneurs.

Another challenge schools need to address is the academic achievement gap that exists for many students in our state. The gaps are very real and we have set our sights high. Our goal is to eliminate existing achievement gaps. We cannot afford to lose a generation of students.

If we can raise expectations and ensure students are mastering the essential skills needed for success in our K-12 schools, our next goal will be within reach, which is improving Nebraska’s high school graduation rate to 90 percent.

Several goals are aimed at ensuring success in higher education, starting with achieving a top 10 college-going rate. The National Center for Educational Statistics ranks Nebraska19th in the nation. We can do better. To compete in today’s workplace, every student needs at least two years of college. We will also be working hard to ensure Nebraska’s higher education institutions remains affordable for Nebraska families.

These goals are about preparing our students for the 21st Century. Today’s students are more likely to be innovators, critical thinkers and entrepreneurs. Academic rigor and high standards of academic excellence are very important.

Our work is just beginning. Our vision for providing a stronger education for students is critical to Nebraska’s future.