FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry describes his education proposal at gathering at Colton High School.
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LOS ANGELES - The 335,000-member California Teachers Association voted today to support Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts as its choice for president in the November 2004 election.
"Sen. Kerry has shown himself to be a strong advocate for public education and teachers," said CTA President Barbara E. Kerr. "He believes the best way to improve our schools is supporting teachers, reducing class sizes and rebuilding crumbling classrooms, all things we have been advocating for a long time."
The vote was taken Saturday by the CTA State Council of Education, comprised of nearly 800 democratically elected teacher representatives from across the state, at its regular quarterly meeting in Los Angeles.
Kerry supports changing the one-size-fits-all approach of the federal No Child Left Behind Act and has stated that President Bush has broken his promise to students and to schools by not giving them the resources they need to meet the standards of this law.
"Learning is more than taking tests," Kerr said. "John Kerry believes as we do that individual states must have greater flexibility to build programs that work for their schools."
Sen. Kerry opposes school vouchers because they drain scarce funds from public schools. He supports programs to help students come to school ready to learn, including expanding Head Start and providing health insurance to all children.
"We will be urging our members statewide not only to support his candidacy, but also to get out and campaign for him in this very important election," Kerr said.