As governor, I'll create and strengthen before, during and after-school programs as well as summer and Saturday school. These will provide a safety net earlier and reduce the need to send students to summer school. We must take care of the basics, such as reading, writing, math and computer skills, the first time around. That's why I'll fight to put reading specialists in every elementary school, add more math teachers in the middle grades and reduce class size. Just as we have raised academic standards, we must raise standards of conduct.
Students have to be held accountable for their behavior.
If they're not learning respect at home, we must demand it in classrooms. To achieve this goal, we must begin character education and implementing discipline standards in the early grades. To help teachers in that mission, we have to help them take back control over their classrooms by expediting the process of removing disruptive students from classrooms. But we have challenges other than education. My vision for Delaware is also about common-sense health care.