By Aminah Khan, Arts & Entertainment Editor, & Karen Phan, Staff Writer
Democrat Gavin Newsom and Republican John Cox champion their final campaigns as the race for California governor comes to an end this Tuesday. Their political agendas include an important topic concerning families, students and teachers alike: education.
Democrat Gavin Newsom
Newsom’s primary educational goal is to ensure all California students have the same opportunity to achieve success. He has proposed the California Promise, an educational program that closes the opportunity gap and emphasizes education as a lifelong goal.
According to Newsom, our role begins when babies are in the womb and end when they’re prepared for a quality, successful career. Focusing on the earliest years are critical to creating a solid “foundation of every child’s future potential”. Newsom aims to establish universal preschool so students are prepared to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. He also plans to launch college savings account for incoming kindergarteners to relieve the financial burden of tuition and assure higher education is possible.
Newsom also recognizes the importance of science, technology, math and engineering (STEM), the shortage of STEM workers in California and the disparity of students in STEM classes. Many California schools lack curriculums that include STEM, and the wide racial and gender gap in the STEM field remains. To combat these issues, Newsome plans to equip all students with access to STEM education.
Because not all students are able to go to college due to the high cost of tuition, Newsom promises his first budget will go toward UC and CSU systems to prevent tuition from increasing. The California Promise also includes two years of free community college and reduces debt for students pursuing bachelor’s degrees.
And those who decide to not attend college still have the opportunity to secure a quality job. As governor, Newsom plans to create 500,000 apprenticeships with businesses and community colleges by 2029. These apprenticeships will teach Californians the skills needed in a particular sector of the workforce so they can become high-skilled workers and find jobs.
For more information about Newsom’s educational goals, click here.
Republican John Cox
A leading point in Cox’s campaign is his enthusiasm to increase charter schools and offer vouchers for low income families so that they have the same choice of education as wealthy families.
Along with planning to give all students the opportunities to attend public schools of their choosing, Cox is also a strong advocate for affordable college.
“Today’s kids are leaving school with $200,000 debts hanging over their heads. I had no debt,” said Cox.
Although he has addressed this issue that many college students face, Cox has not shared his plan for how to overcome this problem that leaves many students financially unstable after graduating from college.
As governor, Cox plans on removing politics entirely from schools by reducing the power of teacher unions and interest groups, and hopes to get more parent involvement.
Cox did not respond to a questionnaire about education issues that EdSource sent to leading primary candidates in July.
To learn more about Cox’s educational goals, click here.
