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A Message from the Executive Director Debra J. Horton
America’s ability to compete in the world going forward hinges to a large degree on how our education system stacks up with our global competitors. We need to do better. At the NC Chamber Education Summit last week, Dennis Bega, senior policy advisor at the US Department of Education, presented some alarming statistics on our competitiveness. The US ranks 17th out of 29 developed counties on scores among 15-yearolds. In math, the US ranks 24th out of 29 developed countries on scores among 15-yearolds. China and India graduate 950,000 engineers every year, compared with 70,000 in the US. The US ranks 10th in the world for 25-34 year-olds in college completion. Finally, and this one really moved me, if we were to increase the graduation rate by 5% for male students alone, our country would save nearly $8 billion each year in crime control.
There has been a focus in the media on destructive
negativity and finger-pointing. How often do we
hear creative ideas that actually
are focused on solving problems
instead of political squabbling?
As Executive Director of the
North Carolina PTA, I ask what are we as parents
and caregivers doing to address the implications
resulting from the statistics shared by Bega? Can
we focus on these problems and use our combined
efforts and ideas to move our country back to
number one in education, a place that we enjoyed
not so long ago? Someone once described PTA
as a sleeping giant that once stirred could make a
tremendously positive impact for our children.
Imagine what we could accomplish if we as
parents and caregivers across the state combine
our efforts and become the greatest advocates not
only for our children but for children across North
Carolina. As Bega said, quoting U.S. Education
Secretary Arne Duncan, “if it takes a village, the
village needs to wake up.”