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Both George W Bush and Vice President Al Gore have been visiting schools and staking out their positions for one of the key election battlegrounds.
While George W Bush has called for the cutting of federal funds from failing schools, Al Gore has promoted a number of policies that have much in common with New Labour initiatives in the UK - such as cutting class sizes, repairing crumbling schools and recruiting more teachers.
Public education and the opportunity it creates are still worth fighting for, still worth the full attention of a president.  |
George W Bush
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George W Bush, who had to hastily distance himself from the racial attitudes of a private university which he visited early in the campaign, took the opportunity to assert his commitment to the needs of black pupils.
The country needed to address the "tremendous gap of achievement between rich and poor, between white and minority," said George W Bush.
"Forty-three years ago, the right of nine students to a good and equal education was something worth fighting for, worth the full attention of the president of the United States, worth the full exercise of his power," he said.
"Public education and the opportunity it creates are still worth fighting for, still worth the full attention of a president.''
Vice-President Gore's campaign has featured a number of "school days", in which he has emphasised his longstanding commitment to raising standards in schools.
Following the lead set by President Clinton, the Democrat candidate promises to spend $115bn over 10 years to cut class sizes and hire an additional 70,000 teachers.
Education Secretary Richard Riley has also suggested that if the Democrats remain in power there could be national tests for basic skills such as reading - although this would not be allowed to threaten the autonomy of education systems in individual states.
George W Bush has promised to spend $5.5bn on education over five years - which would include funding tax-free education savings accounts in which parents could save for their children's school and college expenses.
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