To NAACP, Obama Stresses Parental Theme

Cincinnati

Parents and the federal government each have an important role to play in boosting student achievement, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois told the nation’s oldest civil rights organization on Monday.

In a speech at the annual convention here of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president said that, if elected, he would increase funding for the No Child Left Behind Act, invest in training teachers, and expand prekindergarten programs.

But those policy prescriptions won’t succeed unless parents are committed to becoming involved in their children’s education, Sen. Obama said. He said parental participation is key to realizing the goals of...