A fundamental component of the AFT’s presidential endorsement process is the questionnaire the union sends to all of the candidates. It is designed to elicit their positions on issues that are important to members. Other factors in the endorsement process include meetings with the AFT president and executive council.
At press time, the following candidates had not returned the AFT questionnaire: Sen. Sam Brownback, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former Sen. Mike Gravel, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, Rep. Duncan Hunter, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Sen. John McCain and former Gov. Mitt Romney.

Here is one of the questions the AFT asked, followed by excerpts from the responses of
candidates who have returned the questionnaire.

“What do you believe are the opportunities and challenges facing public education, and how would your administration deal with each?”

SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN
“The gap between graduation and college attendance is widening between affluent and poor students instead of shrinking. These are our challenges. They are significant. But we can overcome them. My vision is to set four goals to get us there: (1) start earlier by making preschool accessible for all; (2) put a well-paid, effective teacher in every classroom; (3) reduce class sizes; and (4) graduate every student from high school and help those that are qualified to go on to two or four years of college.”

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
“As president, I will reform and fully fund No Child Left Behind in order to provide schools and teachers with the resources necessary to make improvements. I will work to reduce the teaching to the test and bring back a well-rounded curriculum, and change the one-size-fits-all approach to addressing the challenges facing struggling schools. I will also continue to focus on aggressively supporting efforts to recruit and retain thousands of additional outstanding teachers and school leaders, especially in schools with the greatest needs. And I will provide prekindergarten for all 4-year-olds.”

SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD
“All too often, whether an American child is taught by a high-quality teacher, has access to the best courses and instructional materials, goes to school in a new, modern building, and otherwise benefits from educational resources that have been shown to be essential to a quality education, depends on where that child’s family can afford to live. This is unacceptable. America’s leadership, [and its] economic and national security rest on our commitment to educate and prepare all of our youth to succeed in the global economy.”

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS
“There is no shortage of work to be done. We should invest in our teachers, the most important resource for our children’s success at school. We need to do more to recruit them, train them and pay them, particularly in math and science and other places where there are teacher shortages. We should give more support to new teachers and let successful teachers serve as mentors. We need to expand preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds. We need a serious, sustained effort to turn around struggling schools.”

SEN. BARACK OBAMA
“As president, I’d launch a campaign to recruit and support hundreds of thousands of new teachers across the country, because the single most important factor inside the school building for a student’s achievement is the person standing in front of the classroom. I will treat teachers like the professionals they are, making sure they get the pay they deserve, while working with them to develop the high standards for learning our students need. We must create real career opportunities that reward successful teachers, motivate them to stay in the profession, and take advantage of their skills to help mentor new teachers.”

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON
“Our schools must have the appropriate level of funding to meet the demands expected of them. Nothing is more important to the future of this country than education, and that starts with having the best teachers. In New Mexico, we raised teachers’ salaries and teacher accountability by creating a three-tiered licensure system that increases compensation along with increased performance and accountability. We need to provide federal incentives to states that increasingly focus on recruiting and retaining quality teachers.”