The Sacramento, California, school district has launched a very promising program in this area. The students are doing better, and their parents feel more connected to teachers and education than ever before. And that's so important, because I believe that all parents need to slow down their lives and spend at least 30 minutes every day getting involved in their children's education. I'm convinced that would revolutionize American education. We must reduce class size in the early grades to no more than 18 students per class and focus on reading .
Smaller classes lift student achievement, particularly for minority and disadvantaged students.
We must have small classes with teachers who are experts on reading and who can help all children to become good, independent readers by age 8. If we accomplish this one goal, a lot of our other education problems in the later grades will go away all by themselves. Research shows that a combination of the two is the best way to go. So let's stop fighting about reading and start teaching reading. The arts must become a part of every student's basic education.