DENVER -- A bipartisan coalition of political, educational and community leaders is sounding the alarm about the state of education in Colorado, and in the United States.

The group gathered on the west steps of the state Capitol Thursday to unveil its Strong American Schools program.

Former Gov. Roy Romer is spearheading the effort.

He said there are several critical issues facing the country this election: the war, economy and energy crisis.

"There is one issue that underlies all of them," he said. "That is education."

Romer, who served as superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District after being elected to three terms as Colorado's governor, said American kids are trailing their foreign counterparts in math and science.

"If we were to have an Olympics in math, do you know where the United States would be?" he asked. "We wouldn't be on the podium of three (medal winners), we'd be 25th in line."

Romer said the country needs to raise expectations.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper agrees. He said many families are paying the price of affluence. "The kids growing up, they have TV, they have music on demand and they don't feel that drive that poverty creates -- that people need to succeed."

Gov. Bill Ritter said the country's education system is losing its standing.

“It has really been the bedrock of our strength as a democracy,” The governor said, before pointing out a disturbing trend.

“Thirty-Seven percent of Colorado residents 50–65 years old have higher education degrees. If you think about the generation from 22–35, only 35 percent have a higher education degree,” the Ritter said. “We stand a chance of our children being less educated than we are, and that’s an absolute shame.”

Former U.S. Sen. and former CU President Hank Brown said many of the country's foreign competitors have higher education standards.

"And most of our competitors around the world would be ashamed to have the kind of grade inflation that we suffer from," he added.

"We need to do three things," Romer said. "We need to reach for a higher standard, at every grade level. We need to spend more time on tasks -- more time in school, and we need to improve the quality of our teaching."

But that may be easier said than done.

"I believe the children spend enough time in the classroom," said East High parent Dawn Gotlin. "But the time may not be used as usefully as it could be."

Gotlin said teachers spend too much time trying to instruct students who don't want to be in school.

Her son, Matt, said teachers need to do a better job of teaching "instead of just putting a bunch of facts and numbers on the board and having your students memorize them."

Dawn and Matt both say that parents are an important part of the picture.

They'll get no argument from Romer, who also said too many Americans are satisfied that their children are doing alright.

"I just need to tell them," he said, "that 15 years from now, when they want to get a job, they're going to be 25th in line if they don't improve their educational skills."

State Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Arapahoe County, is also part of the bipartisan group. She told 7NEWS, "This isn't about more dollars; this is about fundamentally changing the way we deliver education to kids -- having higher expectations, higher standards."

She is encouraging constituents and legislative candidates to visit school board members and to ask them what they plan to do differently.