Before I was a Gator, I was a ‘Cuda.
From 2007 to 2011, I was fortunate enough to attend Coral Reef Senior High in Miami, home of the Barracudas.
Coral Reef is consistently ranked as one of the top high schools in Florida — No. 13 last year.
In previous years, Coral Reef has been ranked in the top 20 high schools in the entire United States.
Coral Reef, an all-magnet school, is divided into six academies: Agriscience and Engineering, Business and Finance, Legal and Public Affairs, Health Sciences, International Baccalaureate, and Visual and Performing Arts.
Each of these academies focuses on preparing students for successful professional careers while also providing them with a holistic liberal education.
At Coral Reef, the teachers are both well qualified and caring, classes are reasonably sized, and the administration takes its educational mission seriously.
As a student in the piano division of the VPA academy, I received phenomenal instruction not only in traditional subjects like history and math but also in music performance and theory.
Participating in the piano program allowed me to both express my passion for music and expand my horizons.
Such opportunities should be fundamental components of every American student’s education.
Unfortunately, the excellence of Coral Reef is an exception among American high schools and certainly not the norm.
Recent evidence suggests that American students are falling behind their peers around the world.
The results of the 2012 PISA, an exam taken by high school students worldwide, are the clearest evidence yet that the education system in the United States is failing.
Among the 34 member countries of the Organization on Economic Cooperation and Development, the U.S. ranked 26th in math, 21st in reading and 17th in science.
Even at Coral Reef, budget constraints have resulted in cuts to educational programs and increased reliance on online education, which is a poor substitute for the meaningful interactions between teachers and students on which the school prides itself.
Last Friday, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama visited Coral Reef to promote expanded access to higher education.
“We heard great things about your school,” Obama said during his speech in the jam-packed Coral Reef gymnasium. “We wanted to come down here and see what was going on.”
The president announced a new program to increase the number of students who complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
The FAFSA helps connect high school seniors around the country to nearly $150 billion in federal and state student aid.
Obama also called on Congress to approve $1 billion in education initiatives included in his most recent budget proposal.
Although Obama’s emphasis on improving access to higher education is a welcome step in the right direction, the problems the American education system faces require bold action and fundamental reforms.
According to the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities, only 14 states increased education funding between 2009 and 2014.
Florida cut its education budget by 3.9 percent during those years.
In many states, education funding has been increasingly directed toward charter schools, which are highly unaccountable and have not improved educational outcomes.
According to a Washington Post report, 56 percent of charter schools nationwide produced no significant effect on reading proficiency among American students.
In addition, 40 percent of charter schools had no demonstrated effect on the students’ math skills.
In many cases, the charter schools produced significantly worse results than in traditional public schools.
Online education, pioneered by profit-seeking business owners like Neil Bush, has also become a favorite pet project of lawmakers across the country.
While politically well-connected charter school owners and online education executives siphon off a growing share of these budgets, the public education system continues to languish.
In the new global economy, the countries that do the best job of educating their citizens will be the ones that experience the greatest prosperity, stability and peace.
Every American student deserves a world-class education of the kind I received as a student at Coral Reef.
If our federal and state governments make the necessary investments in education, the United States will maintain its position as a global leader and role model through the 21st century and beyond.
[Elliot Levy is a UF political science and public relations junior. His columns appear on Wednesdays. A version of this column ran on page 7 on 3/12/2014 under the headline "Obama visit to Coral Reef highlights importance of public education"]
