ENTRAL FALLS, R.I. - Vice President Al Gore yesterday brought a simple message to the schoolchildren of this struggling, largely Latino city: I care about you. That other guy does not.
His unnamed target? Texas Governor George W. Bush, who not only touts a plan to shut off federal funds for failing schools - a plan Gore derides - but also skipped a planned visit to the Ella Risk School earlier this week, so as not to be late to a $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser.
''Now, you're getting a lot of attention at this school,'' Gore told the 160 pupils and their teachers who were gathered in the same gym where they'd awaited Bush the other day. ''And you know why? Because your education is the most important thing to the people who came here.''
And what about Bush's plan to penalize underperforming schools, providing vouchers for private school tuitions and tutors in the troubled districts?
Gore was blunt.
''Some people have said that if a school is falling behind, all the money ought to be taken away and the school should be shut down and the parents should be given a little bit of the money to hire tutors or to make a down payment on private schools,'' Gore said. ''I think that would be a disaster.''
Both Gore and Bush have made education a centerpiece in their presidential campaigns. The subject is one that most Americans say is more important to them than any other, according to surveys.
Gore has proposed making preschool available to every child, and limiting classrooms to 18 pupils per teacher in the early grades and 20 per teacher in high school. He also would test new teachers before they enter the classroom and give bonuses to good teachers.
In contrast, Bush said he prefers to let local communities decide how to run their schools, rather than dictate to them from the federal level. He also said he thinks federal funding should be redirected from chronically failing schools.
A spokesman for Bush, Mindy Tucker, said the governor's plan would help public schools improve, not shut them down.
''It's actually a plan that ensures we will have success in our public schools,'' she said.
Gore clearly wowed the children here as he answered and asked questions and spoke a few words of Spanish, eliciting oohs and aahs. The majority of the children in the school speak Spanish; many others speak Portuguese or Creole.
Gore was asked four times what he would do first if he becomes president. Three times he said he would work on improving schools and education. The fourth time, he told the pupils that the economy is important, too, and he would work to keep the nation's prosperity going.
When Gore asked the pupils how many go home after school with no one waiting for them, many raised their hands. When he asked who is afraid of violence in their neighborhood, all raised their hands. And most indicated that they have heard gunshots in their neighborhoods.
''Sometimes when I'm home alone I get really scared because someone could break in and hurt you really bad,'' one young girl told the vice president. ''I usually lock the door so no one can get in.''
The children asked Gore if he has a guard at his house, if he has a butler, and what kind of car he owns. The vice president said the Secret Service protects him and that he does not have a butler. He said he owns a Mercury Sable.
He also was asked what he liked about school when he was young.
''I like to read,'' Gore said, in another dig at Bush, who recently replied that he didn't know when asked what his favorite book was as a child. ''I loved to read books. One of my favorite books was `Mr. Popper's Penguins. ' ''
Gore was asked if he liked being vice president.
''I do like it; it's fun,'' he said, before heading off to campaign stops in Nashua and Manchester, N.H. ''But I think being president would be better.''
