WASHINGTON (AP)-- The NAACP says it is mobilizing volunteers to lobby at the state and local levels for its biggest push to overhaul public education since the 1954 Supreme Court decision that integrated the nation's classrooms.
The historic civil rights organization unveiled a plan Thursday for salvaging U.S. public education. It advocates having children spend more hours and days in school, extending the number of years devoted to school, improving teacher training and preschool programs, and routing a greater share of school funds to the neediest students.
The NAACP says such changes for all children, not just minorities, are the only way to ensure an educated American workforce and a thriving economy.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan supports the initiative. He says the nation has an education crisis on its hands.
