I have a personal investment in our state’s education system. I attended Needham Public Schools. My three children are products of Swampscott Public Schools. I served on the Massachusetts Board of Education, where we implemented the Education Reform law that has produced extraordinary gains for our kids.

To meet tomorrow’s economic challenges; Massachusetts must put students and teachers first. I believe our school system must put aside the politics, and promote accountability, flexibility, performance and innovation.

I believe education is a civil right. As Governor, I will focus on closing the educational achievement gap among underprivileged and minority students, because every student deserves the opportunity to compete and succeed in the future. Not one, single child in Massachusetts should be trapped in an underperforming school.

We should expand public school choice by increasing the number of charter, magnet, and alternative schools, because meeting the promise of our next generation begins with strengthening Massachusetts’ public schools.