What Is K12 Education?
K12 education is the system of public and private education that spans the period of time when a child enters kindergarten until the time they complete high school, or twelfth grade. In most instances a person will enter kindergarten at five years of age and complete high school at 18 years of age. These ages can vary slightly as in some instances a student’s education will be delayed or they will accelerate their education and graduate from high school early.
Why Is K12 Education Important?
In the global economy that exists today, and education that is of high quality does not only provide opportunity, it is really a prerequisite in order to achieve success. Since educational achievement and economic progress are so tightly coupled, a thorough education that prepares every student in the United States for a career and for higher education is of great importance for the competitiveness of the nation. U.S. President Obama has described a goal for the U.S. to be a world leader once again in completion of college by 2020. All of the President’s efforts in education strive to achieve this overall objective.
In order to build an economy that will have lasting strength, we must furnish every child with a competitive and complete education that will provide them with the tools to be successful in an increasingly global economy that is based upon innovation and knowledge. In order to furnish American children with a education of high-quality, the U.S. President is pressing forward with reforms that are centered around 4 primary objectives:
1) Efforts to develop, prepare, and recruit teaches and administrators that are effective, particularly in classrooms where the are needed most.
2) Improved assessments and elevated standards to enhance student preparation for the workplace and higher education.
3) Improve instruction and student monitoring by the use of advanced computer systems.
4) Focus on improving the nation’s worst performing schools.
The current Administration has implemented and designed several programs to improved public education for students in each community across the nation. Here are two of the President’s most important initiatives that will help you to understand what is k12 education and the manner in which it is evolving.
Keeping Teachers Present In Classrooms
The President feels that children cannot make adequate progress if teachers are not where they are supposed to be, in the classroom, instructing our children. The educational system of the United States has traditionally been a source of great strength and improved the nation’s competitiveness as well as propelling technological advancements. To maintain the nation’s competitiveness for the high-skilled jobs of the future, the U.S. must invest in an education system that is world-class and to do so we need well trained classroom teachers.
However, educational budget cuts have placed at risk many education jobs. Budgetary cuts force local jurisdictions into tough decisions, which can include teacher layoffs, classroom overcrowding, and decreasing the length of the school year.
This is the reason why the Obama administration has made an investment in education, and provided funds to keep many thousands of teachers working over the past several years. The Administration is attempting to provide answers to what is K12 education by improving its effectiveness throughout the U.S.
