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Newark Mayor Cory Booker Enraptures Crowd at AFC's 2012 National Policy Summit
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (May 4, 2012)—Newark Mayor Cory Booker today struck an enthusiastic tone and called for a renewed engagement in the fight to give educational options to families in need during the American Federation for Children’s third annual National Policy Summit.
Mayor Booker, a second-term Democrat, told the hundreds in attendance that the future of the country depends on effectively educating today’s children.
“We cannot have a leading democracy if we have a lagging school system,” Booker said. “I stand here today as a guy who does not accept that we will not be the leading nation on the globe.”
Booker has been a longtime supporter of the Opportunity Scholarship Act—which would create a scholarship tax credit program for New Jersey students in failing schools—and he once again today voiced his support for the legislation’s passage. The mayor said that his strong support for school choice stems from the options that he has been afforded in his own life.
“I cannot ever stand up and stand against a parent having options, because I have benefitted from my parents having an option,” he said.
The rousing speech came at the end of the American Federation for Children’s two-day Summit, which brought together leading advocates, policymakers, and business leaders in the fight for school choice.
The Summit began today with an address from noted author and commentator Juan Williams, who spoke of the importance of empowering parents with the right to choose the school setting that best fits their child.
“Nobody knows better than a parent what’s best for their child,” Williams said.
On Thursday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie opened the Summit with a speech to over 350 attendees stressing the need for comprehensive education reform. That same evening, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal echoed that call for his own state, just weeks after he signed into law a bill that will expand private school choice to as many as 380,000 students statewide.
The event also included panels featuring a bipartisan group of state legislators, as well as business leaders, public school officials, and the nation’s leading school choice researchers.
Mayor Booker, a second-term Democrat, told the hundreds in attendance that the future of the country depends on effectively educating today’s children.
“We cannot have a leading democracy if we have a lagging school system,” Booker said. “I stand here today as a guy who does not accept that we will not be the leading nation on the globe.”
Booker has been a longtime supporter of the Opportunity Scholarship Act—which would create a scholarship tax credit program for New Jersey students in failing schools—and he once again today voiced his support for the legislation’s passage. The mayor said that his strong support for school choice stems from the options that he has been afforded in his own life.
“I cannot ever stand up and stand against a parent having options, because I have benefitted from my parents having an option,” he said.
The rousing speech came at the end of the American Federation for Children’s two-day Summit, which brought together leading advocates, policymakers, and business leaders in the fight for school choice.
The Summit began today with an address from noted author and commentator Juan Williams, who spoke of the importance of empowering parents with the right to choose the school setting that best fits their child.
“Nobody knows better than a parent what’s best for their child,” Williams said.
On Thursday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie opened the Summit with a speech to over 350 attendees stressing the need for comprehensive education reform. That same evening, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal echoed that call for his own state, just weeks after he signed into law a bill that will expand private school choice to as many as 380,000 students statewide.
The event also included panels featuring a bipartisan group of state legislators, as well as business leaders, public school officials, and the nation’s leading school choice researchers.
Governors Christie, Jindal Urge Broad Support for Educational Options at AFC's 2012 National Policy Summit
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (May 4, 2012)—New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal yesterday renewed their commitment to school choice and the expansion of educational options in their respective states during the American Federation for Children’s third annual National Policy Summit.
In front of a crowd of nearly 350 advocates, reformers, parents, and lawmakers, Governor Jindal highlighted the recently-passed statewide school choice expansion in Louisiana while striking a bipartisan tone in calling on both parties to embrace a broad slate of education reforms.
The governor late last month signed a comprehensive education reform package that will expand eligibility for the state’s highly-successful New Orleans voucher program to as many as 380,000 students across Louisiana.
“You’ve got the truth and the American people on your side,” Jindal told the crowd. “The truth and the people are winning when it comes to education reform.”
Earlier in the day, Governor Christie—appearing at his second National Policy Summit in three years—spoke in favor of the Opportunity Scholarship Act, proposed legislation that would create a scholarship tax credit program for students in the state’s lowest-performing schools. Though the legislation has bipartisan support in both chambers of the state legislature, it has yet to receive a vote, a fact that Christie emphasized in chastising legislators who have stood in the way of reform.
“We are fighting for this with the very people who are supposed to be elected advocates for the children who are getting the shaft,” Christie said.
“If you are ready to fight with me, I’m ready to fight with you,” Christie told audience members.
Both governors’ remarks came during the first day of the Summit, which is the nation’s premier school choice gathering and a leading national event in the intersection of education, politics, and public policy.
In front of a crowd of nearly 350 advocates, reformers, parents, and lawmakers, Governor Jindal highlighted the recently-passed statewide school choice expansion in Louisiana while striking a bipartisan tone in calling on both parties to embrace a broad slate of education reforms.
The governor late last month signed a comprehensive education reform package that will expand eligibility for the state’s highly-successful New Orleans voucher program to as many as 380,000 students across Louisiana.
“You’ve got the truth and the American people on your side,” Jindal told the crowd. “The truth and the people are winning when it comes to education reform.”
Earlier in the day, Governor Christie—appearing at his second National Policy Summit in three years—spoke in favor of the Opportunity Scholarship Act, proposed legislation that would create a scholarship tax credit program for students in the state’s lowest-performing schools. Though the legislation has bipartisan support in both chambers of the state legislature, it has yet to receive a vote, a fact that Christie emphasized in chastising legislators who have stood in the way of reform.
“We are fighting for this with the very people who are supposed to be elected advocates for the children who are getting the shaft,” Christie said.
“If you are ready to fight with me, I’m ready to fight with you,” Christie told audience members.
Both governors’ remarks came during the first day of the Summit, which is the nation’s premier school choice gathering and a leading national event in the intersection of education, politics, and public policy.
The National Policy Summit
American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice
1660 L Street NW Suite 1000
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 280-1990
American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice
1660 L Street NW Suite 1000
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 280-1990
