Visiting Miami Central Senior High School yesterday, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment that by 2020, “America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.”
Miami Central used to be a low-achieving school, but under the leadership of a new principal and with support from teachers, unions, students, and parents, the school has begun to turn around. Addressing students yesterday the President said:
I decided to come here to Miami Central to kick off Education Month because you’re doing what I challenged states to do shortly after I took office, and that’s turning America’s lowest-performing schools around. This is something that hasn’t received as much attention as it should. But it could hardly be more important to our country.
Right now, there are about 2,000 high schools in America—about 12 percent of the total number of high schools in America—that produce nearly half of the young people who drop out of school. You’ve got 2,000 schools—about half the dropouts come out of those 2,000 schools. And we know these schools are often found in rural areas or in big cities like Miami. Many of these schools have lots of Haitian Americans and African Americans, Latino and other minority students.
Here’s what I say. I say I am not willing to give up on any child in America. I say I'm not willing to give up on any school in America. I do not accept failure here in America.
Since taking office, the President and his administration have been pursuing policies and working with schools and states to find solutions to the problems that our lowest-performing schools face. Through programs such as Race to the Top, which has seen 40 states raise their standards for teaching and learning, for less than 1 percent of the education budget.
As the President said, Miami Central exemplifies many of the changes necessary to turn a school around:
So outstanding teachers and principals, a common mission, a culture of high expectations—that’s what it takes to turn a school around. That’s what accounts for progress here at Miami Central. And that’s why we are going to support you with what we call School Improvement Grants. You’re one of nearly a thousand schools across America that we’re helping turn around by spurring reform from the bottom up. The bottom up. And the approach that we’re taking with School Improvement Grants and school turnarounds is the same approach that we’re taking on all our education reform efforts.
Throughout March, the President and Education Secretary Arne Duncan will be traveling around the country talking to parents, students, and educators about how to achieve reform, promote responsibility, and deliver results when it comes to education—helping to ensure everyone has a chance at the American dream.