'We can't accept failure,' Obama says in defense of education reforms
PHOTOS
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.