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Weekly Address: President Obama – Ensuring Every Child Gets a Great Education

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The President’s Weekly Address post is also an Open News Thread. Feel free to share other news stories in the comments.

 

From the White House – Weekly Address

In this week’s address, the President reiterated his commitment to expanding access to education, and to spreading the joy of reading to more children and young adults.

Earlier this week, the President announced two new efforts that, building on the progress already made by his ConnectED initiative, will do just that: a challenge to mayors, libraries, and school leaders to help every student get a library card; and commitments from libraries and major publishers to provide more than $250 million in free e-Books for low-income students. In his address, the President also previewed his upcoming commencement speech at Lake Area Tech, in Watertown, South Dakota, where he will discuss his plan to make two years of community college as free and universal for every American as high school is today.

The President is working to ensure every child has the access to the education and resources they need to be successful.

Transcript: Weekly Address: Ensuring Every Child Gets a Great Education

Hi everybody.  I’m speaking with you from the DC Public Library in Anacostia, where I just met with a group of promising middle school students.

We spent some time talking about their lives, and how we all care about their success – and how that starts with a good education.

So one thing I announced here in Anacostia is a new project by libraries and major publishers to provide more than $250 million in free e-Books for low-income students.

We also issued a challenge to mayors, libraries, and school leaders to help every student get a library card, so they can expand their horizons in a place like this.

It’s all part of our ConnectED initiative to connect 99% of America’s students to high-speed Internet.  Because no matter who you are, where you live, or how much money you’ve got, you should be able to access the world’s knowledge and information just like anyone else.

In a global economy, we’ve got to help ensure that everyone, of every age, in every zip code – urban and rural – has the chance to learn the skills that lead directly to a good job.

That’s also why I’ve put forward a plan to make two years of community college as free and universal for every American as high school is today.  It’s something I’ll talk about in my commencement address next week at Lake Area Tech, in the small town of Watertown, South Dakota.  It’s a community college with a graduation rate that is nearly twice the national average.  They’re proving that a great education can be within everyone’s reach.

All of us have a responsibility to not only make sure our own children have pathways to success but that all children do.  And a great education is the ticket to a better life like never before.  Making sure all our kids receive one is the surest way to show them that their lives matter.  And it’s the smartest way to prove to them that in communities like this, and in a country like ours, we believe in opportunity for all.

Thanks, everybody.  And have a great weekend.

Bolding added.

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  1. JanF

    From the White House ConnectED: Open Books and Open Doors

    Two years ago, President Obama launched ConnectED — a bold initiative to connect all of America’s schools and libraries to the digital age, to jumpstart learning technology, and to ensure that America’s young people can benefit fully from new advances in digital content and connectivity.

    As part of the ConnectED effort, today the President traveled to the Anacostia Neighborhood Library in Washington, D.C. to announce new partnerships to expand access to free books for America’s students, and to ensure every student has easy access to their local library and the wealth of knowledge and resources it can provide.

    Education technology and Internet access have the potential to unlock a universe of learning, placing new knowledge and experiences within reach of all children, and their teachers and families. It has the potential to connect students with rich, relevant learning environments; new opportunities for exploration and discovery; and the ability to access everything from the latest news cycle to the oldest books.

    It is our responsibility to ensure that all children and their teachers have access to these networked tools and resources — which means closing an equity gap that can be as profound for digital content as it is for Internet connectivity.

    Since the launch of ConnectED, public and private partners have joined with the Obama administration to take action to connect America’s schools, libraries, and students to educational opportunity. The Federal Communications Commission is delivering billions in new federal funding for connectivity in classrooms and libraries. Private-sector partners are delivering billions in free technology commitments for schools, teachers, and students. And superintendents and teachers around the nation are rising to the challenge and committing to connect their classrooms and make educational technology easily available and accessible for their students and teachers.

    More at the link.

  2. JanF

    Bernie Sanders Plans To Dramatically Alter Social Security

    Sanders hopes to inject his solutions into the national political conversation and shift the Overton window on a host of domestic and international priories.

    Chief among them is Social Security, a program he describes as one of the “most successful government programs in American history.” However, without changes – benefit cuts or tax increases – the fund that maintains Social Security won’t be able to pay-out all of its obligations by 2033, leading lawmakers to propose a series of solutions to extend the program’s solvency. Sanders has long warned against prescriptions that would cut benefits or slow their growth, upending Washington’s consensus that government needs to cut entitlement programs to keep them sustainable. Instead, he has proposed legislation to expand the program.

    Chris Christie’s plan to raise the retirement age only works for people in Chris Christie’s socio-economic class: upper middle class folks who sit at a desk all day as they consider where they will power lunch. For everyone else, working until 65 (or 66 which will be the new retirement age soon) is a struggle.

    The 2016 Candidates:


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