President Obama traveled across the Potomac River to Arlington, Virginia, yesterday to speak about how America can win the future by out-educating the rest of the world. He explained:
"The best economic policy is one that produces more college graduates. And that's why, for the sake of our children and our economy and America's future, we¹re going to have to do a better job educating every single one of our sons and daughters—all of them."
In order to do so, we have to reform No Child Left Behind. Teachers, students, parents, and communities have agreed that although the goals of No Child Left Behind—providing every child with an excellent teacher, promoting accountability, shining a light on the educational achievement gap—were right, important parts of the law simply aren't working. He said:
"But what hasn't worked is denying teachers, schools, and states what they need to meet these goals. That's why we need to fix No Child Left Behind. We need to make sure we're graduating students who are ready for college and ready for careers. We need to put outstanding teachers in every classroom and give those teachers the pay and the support that they deserve.
"We need to not only hold failing schools accountable, we need to help turn those schools around. In the 21st century, it's not enough to leave no child behind. We need to help every child get ahead. We need to get every child on a path to academic excellence."
Saying he was proud of the bipartisan commitment to fix No Child Left Behind, President Obama called on Congress to send him an education reform bill that he can sign into law before the next school year begins this fall:
"I want every child in this country to head back to school in the fall knowing that their education is America¹s priority. Let's seize this education moment. Let's fix No Child Left Behind."
Watch the President's full speech or read the remarks.
