The education initiative laid out by Gov. Peter Shumlin in his State of the State address is at the same time encouraging for its breadth.
The governor continues a welcome and necessary focus on beefing up the stateís public education system from preschool through college.
Shumlin is all about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, the STEM disciplines. He wants more emphasis on math and the sciences. He calls for making algebra and geometry mandatory for a high school degree.
Standardized test scores from 2011 show only 36 percent of 11th-graders are proficient in math ó a figure that should embarrass and set off alarms. Yet only 47 percent of Vermont high schools require algebra and 31 percent require geometry.
Clearly, thereís plenty of room for improvement.
The governorís welcome and necessary emphasis on math and the hard sciences must also raise the standards for what it means to be proficient in those subjects.
Once Vermonters graduate from high school, Shumlin wants to help them pay for a college degree, promising to seek more money to the University of Vermont and the Vermont State College for financial aid and scholarships.
The governor also takes a broad view of whatís necessary for improving Vermontís public education system.
By talking about affordability, he says the capacity to dream and explore your potential should be more than the privilege only of the wealthy or gifted.
Shumlin hits the mark with his recognition that a foundation for a sound education starts with making sure children are prepared to learn on the first day they walk into kindergarten. That preparation can happen in the home, but increasingly calls for participation in preschool programs.
By stating, ďstudents canít learn when they are hungry,Ē the governor recognizes success in education is more than whatís taught in the classroom.
The governor articulates the need to address the achievement gap found among students coming from low-income families.
The governor even has a plan to pay for some of his plans, although heís sure to run into opposition in the Legislature.
His push for a math mandate also challenges local control of what is taught in schools and takes the first step toward a statewide curriculum.
Gov. Shumlin talks about employers with good jobs forced to go out of state for workers because they fail to find suitable candidates in Vermont, while Vermonters go wanting for jobs.
The governorís decision to make education the main theme of his first speech to legislators this year underscores the importance of getting education policy right.