WASHINGTON, DC, March 11, 2009 – President Obama visited the Council of Chief State School Officers’ (CCSSO) 2009 Legislative Conference in Washington, DC, yesterday to highlight the importance of our nation’s public education system to the economy. President Obama addressed the top state elementary and secondary public education officials from across the country, pressing states to transform the national education agenda during challenging economic times. Click here to view video footage from the conference.
”The economies in states all across the country are hurting, and that’s putting a lot of pressure on you. We’ve tried to provide some relief here, but what we don’t want to do is put more money into the same old system. We want to see if we can also use this crisis as an opportunity to turn things around,” stated President Obama in his address to CCSSO members and invited guests.
President Obama’s focus on the importance of state education officials in leading necessary change in states is clear. CCSSO Executive Director Gene Wilhoit stated after the President’s address, “President Obama agrees there is a need for change, and he has clearly challenged us to deliver. We are ready, as states, to deliver on that promise. We owe it to this Administration and we owe it to every student in this country.”
Chief education officials attending the conference additionally engaged in discussion with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and his top staff on issues of stimulus fund distribution and reporting, and four key opportunity areas where innovation and reform are to be focused: standards, assessment, and accountability; data systems; teacher quality and distribution; and school improvement. These four key areas are aligned with issues CCSSO and its members—the state leaders of education—have identified as priorities in transforming public education for students. This was the third conversation Secretary of Education Duncan has had with state education leaders and is in follow-up to the chiefs’ February 25 visit to the White House.
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The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. CCSSO provides leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance on major educational issues. The Council seeks member consensus on major educational issues and expresses their views to civic and professional organizations, federal agencies, Congress, and the public.
