the bottom line is education must be a greater priority in our state because if our schools are not the best, then we will fail our young people, and those young iowans who follow them. last week, lieutenant governor kim reynolds and i unveiled our updated education reform blueprint. it is a product of nearly a year of hard work. that work included an education summit that brought together the best minds from iowa, the nation and the world. then it was followed by a release of the initial blueprint to start a statewide conversation on how to give our kids the best education. at that point we hit the road to hold an unprecedented number of education town halls to engage students, parents, teachers, job seekers and other iowans in a

true give-and-take dialogue about the future of iowa's education system. with the final step being revising the blueprint into the actual reforms that are before you now. here are some of the steps we need to take together to turn iowa's good schools into world class schools. one, we need a great teacher in every classroom and a great principal in every building. that starts by being more selective in who becomes an educator a.p grade point average to iowa's teacher preparation programs is not asking too much. two, all prospective teachers seeking a state license should demonstrate content and teaching mastery to ensure they are ready for the crucial work of teaching our children. three, school administrator

programs should be provide for principals to be instructional leaders. other staff can take on some of the management tasks to free principals to observe and coach teachers in their classrooms. four, iowa department of education will continue to improve the iowa core, our state standards for math, science, english and social studies. well-rounded healthy students need more than just our core areas. the department will work with educators to develop new standards for music and other fine arts, character education, physical education, entrepreneurship education, applied arts and foreign languages. five, new kindergarten assessments will assure that students start kinger garden ready to learn and leave prepared to flourish in first grade. sixth, end of course texts in core subjects will demonstrate that high school students are

ready to graduate. these will be designed with teachers and will echl fa size not just content but being able to apply it. seven, all junior us should take a college entrance exam and the state will cover the cost. in addition, we should have the option -- they should have the option of taking a work skills readiness test. this will tell us whether iowa students are college and career ready for life after high school. eight, let's assure that children can read by the end of third grade. otherwise, they will fall further and further behind. an intensive focus on literacy means working closely with families and providing more support for reading and writing in schools, starting in preschool, continuing through kindergarten, first, second and third grade. because reading is so essential for later success in school, it's just unfair to promote an

illiterate child. [ applause ] nine, iowa has some highly innovative schools and we should encourage more schools to be innovati innovative. youngsters need more opportunities to engage in real life experiences including internships in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. doing well in these subjects is the gateway to fast-growing fields with some of the best-paying jobs. whether students are headed for career training or a two or four-year college. to encourage such efforts iowa should establish an innovation acceleration fund. schools and partners will identify education problems and innovative solutions, competitive grants will fund the best ideas which can then be scaled up statewide.

ten, online learning that compliments learning in the traditional classroom should be promoted. so should competency-based learning that personal lieses education for each child and begins the process of moving away from the time-based industrial model for education. let's do all of this and more for our children with a bipartisan consensus that will stand the test of time. [ applause ] >> don't iowa students deserve a world class education? we have a decade of hard work ahead of us. so let's get to work because

this is not about this administration or the next or the one after that. it's ability our children's future and our state's prosperity and growth. let's work together on a bipartisan basis to put in place common sense solutions that are sustainable by adapting best practices that work and by innovation to find new approaches that fit iowa. let's work together to continuously improve because that's what the highest performing school systems do to give their children a world class education. let's work together to continuously improve because iowas will hold us accountable. the solutions i've outlined today are about the future. they are about ensuring the american dream and the iowa way of life will be passed on to our children. imagine filling iowa's main streets with thriving businesses

and busy restaurants and happy customers. imagine creating the kind of long-term careers that keep young iowans home and attract those who left to come back to their roots. imagine schools among the best in the world providing our children and grandchildren with endless opportunities to pursue their dreams. these are not empty aspirations. rather they are part of a grand vision for restoring a healthy iowa. as the lieutenant governor and i traveled to all 99 counties last year, one thing was absolutely clear to us. iowa must strive to be the best. whether in -- where in other parts of the nation, uncertainty has become the new reality, it is imperative that we make iowa the center for stability and innovation. as we work -- [ applause ]

and let us never forget as we work together for these goals, iowans are going to hold us accountable. we have an obligation to exceed their expectations, to begin building on our phone dags for growth, i believe our aspirations for a better tomorrow can and will ignite or capacity to innovate. so let's be innovative today. let's provide the permanent tools our small businesses and hard working taxpayers so critically need. let's commit to new jobs and career opportunities for all iowans. let's give our children the best education in the world. let us, republicans and democrats, rural and urban, all iowans become a beacon of hope for the rest of the nation and show them how a motivated people working together with the best interests of our children in our hearts and as a set of new tools in our hands can solve our

common problems and bring iowa unprecedented economic expansion, unparalleled economic and educational opportunities. that is our challenge. that is our mission, that is our obligation. thank you. god bless you. god bless the great state of iowa. [ applause ]

here is what's coming up. next more state of the state speeches. firgs, vermont democrat peter shumlin and his speech. them democrat christine greg war gives the washington state of the state address. from the recent conference of u.s. mayors a look at upcoming elections. c-span's road to the white house coverage takes you live to the candidate events in florida through the weekend leading up to tuesday's gop primary. >> by the end of my second term -- [ cheers and applause ] -- we will have the first permanent base on the moon, and it will be american. by the end of 2020, we will have the first continuous propulsion

system in space capable of getting to mars in a remarkably short time because i am sick of being told we have to be timid and i'm tick of being told we have to be limited to technologies that are 50 years old. >> when the founders said that the creator had endowed us with certain unailable rights, among them life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness, they laid out a path for america that was not temporary but enduring, a path that says in america we can pursue happiness as we choose. we do not need a government to tell us what kind of car to get. we don't need a government to tell us what kind of light bulb we can have or what kind of health care we're going to have. >> see what the candidates are posting on social media along with political reporters and viewers like you at c-span.org/campaign2012. >> i do believe that the west for all of its historical

shortcomings, and i'm scathing in my book in discussing these shortcomings because they have to be admitteded. for all of these shortcomings, the west still today represents the most acceptable and workable universally workable political culture. >> in 1991 the united states was the only global superpower, today how to restore its status in the world, from former national security adviser brzezinski on his vision saturday night on "after wards." also on book tv, did fdr use world war ii to create a more powerful executive branch saturday at 11:00 p.m. sunday night at 10:00, the new privacy is no privacy. lori andrews on how your rights are being eroded by social networks. book tv every week end on c-span2.

earlier this government democratic governor peter shumlin delivered his state of the state address, talking about the reconstruction and recovery efforts following hurricane irene. he discussed manufacturing job opportunities in the state. his speech is about 40 minutes, courtesy of wcax, the nbc affiliate in burlington, vermont. [ applause ] >> thank you. thank you so much. thank you. thank you so much. mr. president, mr. speaker, mr. chief justice, distinguished guests, my fellow vermonters,

thank you. it has been such a privilege to serve as your governor over the past year. our partnership of community, courage and common purpose that has empowered us through the unprecedented challenges dumped upon us by mother nature, combined with our willingness to make the tough choices necessary to grow jobs and economic opportunities for all vermonters has made us stronger. i want to recognize a few of the thousands of vermonters who have made us so proud this last year and serve as symbols of vermont at its best. we are so grateful to the dedicated women and men of our armed forces whose service bth overseas an during the irene recovery has been exemplary. please join me in honoring our

vermont troops and our vermont national guard led by general michael dubee, thank you so much. thank you. [ applause ] we deeply appreciate your service. the mag dude of devastation from tropical storm irene astounded general dubee and me as we landed in community of community

in the days after the storm. i knew that we needed effective, experienced leaders to help us cut through the bureaucracy and rebuild at break neck speed as we raced winter weather. i'm so grateful to our irene recovery officer, neal lunderbill who took a lead from his job to join our team in vermont's team of need. neal, all vermonters join me in thanking you for yourselfless service to the state you love. thank you, neal. [ applause ] .

>> this has been an especially tough year for vermont's local government leaders. i want to acknowledge four of our storm-tested, hard working mayors, tom lozon from barry, marty man hand from saint all bans, mary hooper from mon peel yar, please stand so we can acknowledge your service to vermont. thank you so much. [ applause ] i also want to acknowledge an outstanding legal mind and a pioneer in civil rights who made history this year by joining the vermont supreme court.

justice robinson, thank you for your service to justice in vermont. [ applause ] >> today i report to you on the state of the great estate in the nation, one that has demonstrated over the course of the past year what it means to be united as one community, to over come tragedy. in the wake of a deep recession, two spring storms and a tropical storm that devastated our infrastructure and exacted an

unimaginable toll on the lives of thousands of vermonters, i can tell you without reservation or exaggeration the state of our state is strong, vermont, strong. [ applause ] from halifax to hartford, wilmington to water bury, roxbury to richmond, the hundreds of individual actions of bravery and courage in the days and months after irene will be forever etched in my memory. i want to schaeffer one of them with you. rutland mayor chris lloris who like most local leaders was working long days without sleep after irene called me hours with progress updates on

the unfolding tragedy. the search for mike garfano and his son, who went missing during the storm. route 4 was nothing but a stream bed in sections where roadway once ran. and i came in by national guard helicopter to join mayor lorris and give son tommy garfano a bear hug from all vermonters. tommy's dad, mike, sr., grew up in rutland and went to work for the city for over 30 years, rising to become the manager of the water plant, a job to which he dedicated his life. mike and his wife sally had two sons, mike, jr., known also as little mike, and tommy. mike also had a son robbie. robbie lost his life in a tragic accident in 2010. and little mike and tommy's

tight bond with their mom and dad helped them all in the face of such extraordinary adversity. on the evening of irene with n mendenbrook raging, mike and little mike raged through the storm to check the valve that mike had closed the previous day to make sure polluted water would not enter the city's reservoir. it was a risk, but they were determined to protect rutland's water supply. with mendenbrook creating solid waters where banks once stood, gave way. mike's body was retrieved the next day, but the search for little mike went on for weeks. while sally was comforted by family and friends, tommy

heroically joined the search and rescue effort, digging through mountains of irene's debris, looking for his brother. today on behalf of our state, we honor two vermont heroes, michael garfano and michael garfano, jr. with the promise that we will never forget. joining us in this chamber are sally and tommy garfano. to sally and tommy and the families of six other vermonters who lost their lives as a result of tropical irene, our admiration and support will never cease. thank you, on behalf of all vermonters. [ applause ]

>> as mayor lorris and i gave what comfort we could to tommy that day at mendenbrook, something else happened that characterizes vermont strong. with route 4 shut down and community after community, isolated islands where roads and bridges once served, brothers

john and doug casella had an idea. doug said, governor, you get the department of motor vehicles to lift the ban on hauling heavy equipment across what's left of our roads and get us permission to retrieve some of the rock and gravel that irene washed from our roads into our streams, and we'll partner with other private contractors like belding company, mosier excavating, wilk paving and the national guard, and we can have route 4 open in three weeks. as soon as i got high enough in the chopper to actually have cell service in vermont -- [ laughter ] >> -- i called several people, and within hours, our team complied with doug's request not just to rutland but to the whole state of vermont. and guess what?

guess what? nine days later, route 9 from wilmington to bennington opened. eight days later, route 4 open. and today all roads destroyed by irene, open. [ applause [ applause ] >> members of our team are here today. i would ask you to please stand.

you represent many of vermont construction companies who, along with aot and vermont national guard and the guard troops from around the country, we built us vermont strong and vermont honors you. stand up, team, we need you. thank you so much. [ applause ] >> in this public private partnership with winter looming, we did it right with vermont ingenuity, fiscal prudence and common sense. we rebuilt, for 35 cents on the dollar, bringing total estimated damage down to 250 million for

state roads and infrastructure and 140 million for town roads thanks to the skill of the best congressional delegation in america, senator leahy, senator welch, the leahy amendment became law to make sure we would get federal aid in our time of need, bringing the general fund to $30 million. please recognize me in the great work of senator leahy, senator welch and the partners at fema. [ applause ]

>> there are two lessons we must add to our experience in the past four months. it is clear that after irene, if we can build 35 damaged roads and 34 damaged bridges for a fraction of the normal cost with dwindling resources in our future. we must apply those same lessons to maintaining and rebuilding vermont's transportation infrastructure from this point forward. we will build faster, smarter and more economically. [ applause ] >> instead of having state workers bunkered in their individual agencies processing

paper, we broke down the silos, formed a partnership between atr, contracting companies. procedures were modified, access to stone and gravel was expedited, dangerous debris was removed from brooks and streams as engineers worked together with environmental experts to get the job done. projects that pre-irene would have taken years got done in months. environmental quality was preserved, taxpayer dollars were saved and roads and bridges were built to withstand the assault of extreme weather that looms even larger in our future. [ applause ] >> the second lesson comes from the remarkable ten acity of the hundreds of sma