SAN ANTONIO -- Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison made a campaign stop in San Antonio Monday afternoon to focus on her education plans.

The Republican candidate is challenging Rick Perry for his spot as Governor of Texas.

Hutchison told the students at the KIPP Aspire Academy they can do what ever they want to do in life as long as they do well in school first.

Former First Lady Barbara Bush was traveling with Hutchison to help her make the case for better education in Texas.

"I have you as one of the top ten schools in Bexar county. Are you better than Barbara Bush Middle School?" the former First Lady playfully asked the students at the event.

Bush has been a big proponent of education particularly when it comes to making sure all kids can read.

Hutchison, who said education will be her top priority if she's elected governor, didn't take any swipes at opponent Perry but she did say it was unacceptable for Texas to continue to have a 30 percent high school drop out rate.

While she didn't get specific, Hutchison said her education plan would help lower that rate by creating accelerated middle schools for students who are falling behind. She said she believes those schools could help the students catch up to their peers by the time they reached high school making them less likely to drop out.

She said she also favors more charter schools like the KIPP Academy because they do a better job of preparing students for college.

"I like the early college high schools as another way to show students who might think, 'Oh, gosh, I don't want three more years in high school,' you've got to have three more years. You've got to graduate from high school to get your start in life," Hutchison told the students.

Hutchison said she will continue to lay out her education plans for Texas in the coming days.