Yesterday, former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee announced that he’s running for president. He became the fourth Democrat in the race for the party’s nomination—a group that’s doubled in size in the last week. He’s also the subject of the thirteenth installment of the Eduwatch 2016 series chronicling presidential candidates’ stances on education issues.
Chafee entered politics back in 1992, when we was elected as the (and this isn’t a typo) Republican mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island. In 2000, he became a one-term U.S. senator—after which he left the Republican Party and won the 2010 Rhode Island gubernatorial election as an independent. In 2013, two years into his governorship, he switched parties and became a Democrat. He didn’t run for reelection, deciding instead to try for the White House. He hasn’t said an awful lot about education, including where he stands on the Common Core. But here’s a sampling:
1. National standardized testing: “Nationally, I do think it’s a good idea to have some kind of standard testing—some parameters to see how everyone’s doing at various grade levels.” September 2006.
2. Charter schools: “The debate is ongoing on whether charter schools are in the best interest of our educational system....I want to take all the data that's being presented and make good decisions.” November 2010.
3. STEM education: “Certainly, here in the state of Rhode Island, we want to continue to support education in all capacities, particularly in science education and mathematics.” May 2011.
4. Closing the skills gap: “I consistently said, ‘Invest in education, invest in our infrastructure, and invest in workforce development....We’re closing the skills gap.' Those are the pillars, the foundations of building a good economy.” July 2014.
5. Early childhood education: “Should only the children of the wealthy have access to early education?....The answer is absolutely no.” September 2012.
6. Federal education programs: “We believe in using the tools of government to help Americans help themselves. For instance, programs such as Head Start and Pell Grants have brightened the future of countless American young people and given them a hand up into the middle class.” September 2012.
7. The greatness of American education: “American education is still the wonder of the world.” September 2012.
8. The importance of educating the middle class: “A strong, educated middle class is what made America the greatest country in the world.” September 2012.
9. College access: “Should only the children of the wealthy have access to a college degree? No.” September 2012.
10. School closures and teacher terminations: (On possible school closures and teacher terminations in Rhode Island) “We certainly have a budget deficit, a huge budget deficit, and that means tough decisions have to be made.” September 2012.
11. Funding higher education: (Speaking to the Community College of Rhode Island) “Unfortunately, during the downturn of the economy, our public institutions of higher education kind of took it on the chin with cuts. But I was determined to reverse that coming in, despite having to raise the revenue elsewhere. But I always thought that's the best place to make these investments—in these great institutions.” November 2014.
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That’s it for Lincoln Chafee. Next I’ll cover Rick Perry, who just announced today. Then I’ll move on to Bobby Jindal (who plans to declare later this month) and anyone else who decides to run. See you then.
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Read what Hillary Clinton, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Bernie Sanders, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum, George Pataki, Martin O'Malley, and Lindsey Graham have said about education.
