Quality Education
Maria believes quality education is essential to success in the quickly changing global economy. She knows we must seek out, encourage and support the quality teachers and schools our kids need and deserve. We need to invest necessary resources, use the best technology, and implement a comprehensive strategy not only for K-12 education, but for higher education and lifelong learning.
Fighting to Keep College Affordable
Maria believes that all Americans should have access to the dream of a college education. With the help of a Pell Grant, Maria became the first in her family to graduate from college. Maria has fought to protect millions of students from Pell Grant cuts and believes that funding for this program should be increased and extended to workers seeking new skills. Maria helped lead the Senate to restore funding for the Perkins Loan program. She has fought to make the tax deduction for college tuition permanent, and to expand it to $12,000 a year.
Investing in Kids
Maria has fought to fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act and worked to protect important education programs from Republican cuts. Maria knows math and science skills are particularly important in Washington's strong high-tech economy, so she has worked to deliver needed support for these critical programs. Because a hungry child can't learn, Maria helped pass a program providing $10 million a year in grants to feed hungry kids with locally-produced food at school.
Supporting Early and After-School Learning
Maria believes that early education is essential to helping our kids live up to their full potential. She has worked hard to expand and improve Head Start while providing loan forgiveness for low-income Head Start teachers. Maria has fought to expand access to after-school programs that work, like the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and 21st Century Community Learning Centers.
Protecting Community Colleges
Maria has been honored for her outstanding leadership promoting community colleges and workforce development. Maria led the fight to restore funding to Adult Basic Education programs. In 2002, Maria won $68 million in job retraining funds, helping overburdened community colleges and technical schools serve 4,000 more people in our state.