Penn for Obama The education candidate

Sure - he's a fresh face on the scene who talks about a new kind of politics for America. But Obama's popularity runs deeper than vague ideas about change. College students like Obama because he stands for the issues they care about.

One of those issues is education, and the American public school system needs reform. Thirty percent of new teachers quit within their first five years on the job. College costs have skyrocketed by nearly 40 percent over the last five years. And No Child Left Behind fell flat because of poor design, funding and implementation.

Obama's commitment to education goes back to 1985, when he became a community organizer in Chicago. In 1995, he was elected chairman of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which financed enrichment projects at 200 of the city's schools. It wasn't until Obama wrote two best-selling books a few years ago that he and his wife, Michelle, could pay off their own debt in student loans.

Drawing on all that experience, Obama is offering a 20-page plan for education reform. Here are some highlights:

• Reform No Child Left Behind - starting with adequate funding and better measurements of progress - so that teachers don't spend entire academic years preparing students to take standardized tests.

• Create 200 new teacher residency programs, which will supply 30,000 well-prepared teachers to high-need schools each year.

• Double federal funding for public charter schools and hold low-performing ones accountable.

• Put $10 billion into early childhood education, because every dollar invested in early learning yields a $7-$10 return to society, in measures such as decreased need for special education services, higher graduation and employment rates, and less crime.

• Make college affordable with a new American Opportunity Tax Credit, which will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free. And simplify the application process for financial aid by eliminating the current application - its five pages and 127 questions - altogether.

Those are all bold commitments, and they'd be enough in and of themselves to make Obama the "change," "youth" and "education" candidate in this election.

But what's most remarkable about Obama's education plan is its emphasis on the human spirit of public education - the teacher, the student, the parent - which could only have come from someone who has experienced the troubles of inner city schools and the burden of college debt firsthand.

Instead of measuring teacher quality based on the raw test scores of their students, for example, Obama's comprehensive reward system also recognizes teachers who serve as mentors to other teachers, work in under-served schools, have deep knowledge of subjects or offer additional skills.

Parents are written into the policy with the same seriousness as the funding proposals. A mandatory parent report card will help parents monitor their child's academics, a school-family contract will lay out expectations for attendance and behavior, and a new $500 million technology investment fund will finance not only learning in the classroom but also correspondence between teachers and parents.

Compare that to John McCain, who wants to keep No Child Left Behind's emphasis on filling in bubbles on standardized tests. McCain consistently voted against increased funding for after-school programs, providing grants to local education agencies and adjusting educational funding in 2005, in a bill which would have restored educational programs, increased the maximum Pell Grant and increased teachers' student loan forgiveness - and still reduced the deficit by $5.4 billion.

But that's what you'd expect from a candidate, who, during the primary season, didn't even have an education policy on his Web site.

The average college graduate's diploma comes at a price of more than $19,000 in debt. Barack Obama has a 23-year record of fighting for that student; his opponent has a 30-year record of indifference.

College students like Obama because he's the candidate who stands up for their issues, with a commitment that's grounded in real life.

FISC Lenders Commit to Offering Student Loans

Both banks and credit unions, in Maine, have renewed their commitment to student lending to ensure that Maine families have options in regards to Stafford and PLUS Loans for the fall 2008 semester.
During the past year, changes in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program have made the environment increasingly challenging for financial institutions. Recent changes to federal regulations as well as the on-going credit crunch has resulted in many large lenders scaling back their participation or dropping out of the FFEL Program altogether.

“Community lenders in Maine have always supported the FFEL Program through the Maine Advantage Education Loan Program and the HELPP Program,” said Jill Parker, Senior Vice President of Operations. “Through partnership with the Finance Authority of Maine, these lenders are truly making a difference to ensure that loans are available to Maine families in the fall.”

There are over 20 local lenders who currently participate in these loan programs. “These are loans originated in Maine, by Maine lenders and serviced by Maine people,” said Jill Parker. This commitment to the program is nothing new. The majority of these lenders have been participating in the FFEL Program for more than 20 years. “I just think it’s tremendous that when so many large national banks and student lending companies are backing away from this program due to profitability concerns, Maine lenders are jumping in with both feet. That’s what community lending is all about.”

To find out if your local lender participates in the program, visit www.maineadvantage.com

Headquartered in Lewiston, Maine with offices in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, FISC has provided services and solutions to financial institutions and corporations for more than 30 years. The company designs and implements full-service outsourcing solutions that make the operations of financial, insurance, government, not-for-profit, and other organizations more efficient and more affordable. FISC’s core services include item processing and electronic clearing, software solutions,

Student loan stocks mixed amid broader rally

Shares of student loan lenders and originators were mixed Friday even after a government plan to rescue the banking sector sent the broader markets surging on confidence that the credit markets will open up, allowing lenders to boost business.
Rescue plan would see the government buy, probably at auction, all of the bad mortgage loans that are clogging banks' balance sheets and spooking lenders from doing business with virtually any party because there is little transparency on which companies are affected and to what extent.

Partners LP Michael Taiano also noted that last night, the Senate voted in favor of the House bill voted on earlier this week to extend a government credit facility and put option for new Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loan originations by one year, effectively providing financing for FFELP loans originated for the 2009/2010 academic year. Which given the state of the credit markets, has become more critical," wrote in a note to clients. FFELP is a private sector student loan program, which includes Stafford, PLUS and other loans.

While the stock has rebounded since the credit crisis almost forced the company it out of business last year, but shares are still down more than 80 percent this year.

First Marblehead, for example, had trouble selling packages of student loans that it initiated because investors were leery of buying any debt. That took away a large part of the company's business. It differs from Sallie Mae because it does not lend money itself and instead collects fees for processing loans.

Nelnet Inc. also rose sharply at the market open was has since retreated 15 cents to $15.10.

The price volatility could also have to do with a quarterly event known as a "quadruple-witching" day. On quadruple witching days, investors often unwind positions in their futures and options contract before those contracts expire.