Advice on Education for the Obama Administration

I asked my social network the following question:

What education initiatives do you want to see from the Obama administration?

I'd like to get a and discussion going on what education initiatives people would like to see from the Obama administration, and then compile these for a blog article.

This isn't a question that can just be satisfied with a quick answer, and many pointed that out. But, here is a summary of the suggestions:

Who	Suggestion
David Marshall	Pull together the Education Department and Deans from the teaching colleges to first come up with an outline of the curriculum that should be taught, and second, come up with a two year plan to fund and implement that curriculum into schools.
Steve Taylor	Throw out NCLB and testing, and leave education decisions in the hands of the local communities and states.
Michael Hall	Base teacher pay at least partially on merit, reduce the emphasis on testing, do more for advanced students.
Al Meyers	Create a government investment fund for education technology, include higher level skills in NCLB testing, invest in teacher training, reward companies that help teachers learn to use their technology
Amanda Schwartz	Analyze all of the needs for early childhood and then create and offer a comprehensive solution where all of those needs can be met, instead of the disparate and incompatible patchwork that currently exists. And then apply that same methodology to elementary and secondary education.
Michael Ross	Getting state budgets approved with their education dollars intact
Steve Rowley	Specific language in state and federal legislation mandating professional development for educators that directly establishes the attitudes, beliefs, and skills needed for superior instruction, redirecting higher education to develop these as well.
Alan Zucker	Equalize per student spending, no more financial gaps due to student location. Create high speed access for everyone, including access to computers. Reinvigorate Community College education, with financial support for students. Tie math and science together with project-oriented curriculum
Aaron Balogun	Merit based pay, with some supervising body to ensure fairness. Level the playing field so that all schools have access to comparable resources and financing.
Jon Sims	End the corruption.
Trace Urdan	Maintain accountability, which was introduced by NCLB. Increase availability of federal (Stafford) loans to postsecondary students. Provide universal high speed wireless access.
Ray Miller	Increase resources and emphasis on Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM).
Julia Shirkey	Ensure life-long learning accounts: http://www.cael.org/LiLA/federal_policy.htm
Eric Axelson	Broaden Head Start. Phase out Middle Schools, so there is just elementary and secondary. Increase emphasis on world languages that are used in the workplace. Change to year-round schooling. Change teacher pay to merit plus tenure, with increased emphasis on professional development.
Rhonda Moskowitz	Support education for parents
Phil Mages	Make sure more of the top students go into teaching. Support teaching as a second career, making it easier for an effective transition. Find a way to keep the best teachers teaching and enthusiastic.
Terry Cochran	Let students and their parents have more voice in developing learning plans. Encourage art and creativity. Encourage more coaching and less teaching. Emphasize soft and higher level skills. Do more project work.

What I'd like to see?

I'd like the administration to

1. Set up forums for a dialog on what is important in education, with some limit to the amount of time for information gathering and discussion (perhaps two months).

2. Distill the conversation into a vision for education (in the next month or two).

3. Fund states to implement that vision in a very limited number of schools for two years, making sure that rural, suburban, and urban schools are all represented. Included in the implementation plan would be a way to measure the results, and how the changes would be implemented in a broader scale if they succeed.

4. Select the best methods, the ones that showed the best results that are sustainable, and develop a way to encourage states and local communities to implement the interventions that work best.

Please keep this dialog going. Please comment.