'We can't accept failure,' Obama says in defense of education reforms
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President Barack Obama gestures while delivering remarks at the National Urban League 100th Anniversary Convention in Washington, Thursday, July 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP)
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Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 29, 2010; 11:56 AM
President Obama pushed back Thursday against critics of his policy of forcing staff shake-ups and other major interventions in struggling schools, asserting that "something needs to be done differently" when schools fail year after year, according to excerpts from a speech to a civil rights organization.
Obama said he wants to help educators raise achievement, not punish them.
"Still, sometimes a school's problems run so deep that better assessments, higher standards and a more challenging curriculum aren't enough," the president said in advance excerpts of his speech to the National Urban League. "If a school isn't producing graduates with even the most basic skills -- year after year after year -- something needs to be done differently. If we want success for our country, we can't accept failure in our schools."
This year, the Obama administration is distributing $3.5 billion in grants for perennially low-performing schools, with conditions that rile some educators. To qualify for the aid, local educators must choose one of four options: replacing the school's principal and at least half the staff; converting the school to a charter school or a similar alternative;
Fairfax principal apologizes for yearbook ad, stops selling weight-loss products
"Still, sometimes a school's problems run so deep that better assessments, higher standards and a more challenging curriculum aren't enough," the president said in advance excerpts of his speech to the National Urban League. "If a school isn't producing graduates with even the most basic skills -- year after year after year -- something needs to be done differently. If we want success for our country, we can't accept failure in our schools."
This year, the Obama administration is distributing $3.5 billion in grants for perennially low-performing schools, with conditions that rile some educators. To qualify for the aid, local educators must choose one of four options: replacing the school's principal and at least half the staff; converting the school to a charter school or a similar alternative;
Fairfax principal apologizes for yearbook ad, stops selling weight-loss products
An advertisement that Principal Nardos King placed in the Mount Vernon High School yearbook, for weight-loss products she sold in her free time, surprised and upset many parents this summer, and prompted an apology.
