MIKE BARRETT









                           GOVERNOR '94






                P.O. Box 2193, Cambridge, MA 02238
               (617) 623-9494, (617) 628-0940 (FAX)



               AN AGENDA FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE

The next wave of education reform in grades K-12 must have two 
basic thrusts: development of a world-class curriculum for our 
public schools, and extension of the traditional school year and 
school day to accomodate that new curriculum.

As governor, Mike will convene a working group of school 
teachers, university thinkers, software developers, and textbook 
publishers -- all of whom are abundantly present in Massachusetts 
-- to create the new curriculum our kids so desperately need.

The focus of this project will be to create state-of-the-art 
instruction in math, science, English, history, the fine arts and 
foreign languages.

This world-class curriculum will fit within the framework of 
extended learning time.  Mike will address the difficult question 
of affordability by phasing in change -- by school, by grade, and 
by degree of consumer demand.  Depending on a community's size, 
one, two, or a handful of institutions will become extended-time 
schools.  One school might decide to extend the overall number of 
school days, another the number of hours per school day, the 
third, some combination of the two.  Extended time will first be 
featured in the early grades and include a child-care component 
for working parents.  Parents will then opt into an extended-time 
school voluntarily, as will teaching faculty.

Mike has been a national leader on these issues.  He wrote the 
1990 Atlantic Monthly cover story on lengthening the American 
school year.  In 1991 he was appointed by the U.S. House of 
Representatives to the National Commission on Time and Learning, 
which conducted hearings around the country and made its report 
to President Clinton in May 1994.  He also serves on the 
governing board of the New Standards Project and the executive 
board of the National Consortium for Policy Research in 
Education, an education reform network linking six major 
universities.

Mike will also help restore our public higher education system.  
He is committed to increased funding and reduced tuitions and 
fees for state colleges and universities and will expand the pool 
of low-cost student loans.  He will also work to connect our 
state colleges and universities with Massachusetts' regional 
economies using the Centers for Excellence and other 
research-oriented programs. 

Finally, Mike is committed to leading the state across the next 
frontier in learning: The organization of an education system for 
the rest of us -- those of us who thought we had all the 
education we'd ever need -- the people in their 30's, 40's and 
50's, many of us professionals and many of us skilled blue-collar 
workers, who face mid-life changes in what we do for a living.  
He will push to:




    Nurture "long-distance learning" -- audio-visual teaching 
     hook-ups between businesses and universities that enable 
     employees to attend extension courses right at the work 
     site.               

    Create a revolving fund for low-interest loans to businesses 
     to provide training and education courses to employees.

    Extend eligibility for state higher education loan programs 
     within the state scholarship office and the Massachusetts 
     Educational Finance Authority to employees enrolled in or 
     seeking to enroll in job training or education programs.