Obama Calls for Longer School Year

President Obama called for students to have a longer school year and for the worst teachers to be fired in an interview on the Today show Monday. The president said that more money can’t solve the U.S.’s education problems alone—reform has to go along with it. Obama said the worst-performing teachers have to go if they haven’t improved after getting training and time to get better; nevertheless, he still wants to work closely with teachers unions. The Race to the Top program, in which states compete to have the best education innovations for $4 billion in extra funding, has been a powerful tool for reform, the president said.