U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will end his three-day tour of the region on Thursday, May 2, highlighting the need for more high-quality early learning programs and innovative teaching strategies. On Thursday, Secretary Duncan will tour, convene a roundtable discussion and host a media availability at Everett Middle School, a School Improvement Grant recipient.
Following the visit to Everett, Secretary Duncan will deliver remarks at the Education Writers Association's National Seminar. He will examine the major issues facing students, educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders in today’s education environment.
Throughout his trip, Duncan will continue to highlight the Department of Education's newly-released blueprint for RESPECT (Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence and Collaborative Teaching) — the result of an unprecedented national dialogue for reforming and elevating the teaching profession. Among other things, the RESPECT blueprint calls for teacher salaries to be competitive with professions like architecture, medicine and law, more support for novice teachers and more career opportunities for veterans.
President Obama is committed to making significant investments in early learning from birth through age 5. Building on the state investments in preschool programs, the President is proposing $75 billion over 10 years to create new partnerships with states to provide high-quality preschool for all 4-year-olds. An additional $750 million will provide competitive grants to states to strengthen their early learning systems. Combined, the proposal will raise the quality of all early learning programs and will align current investments, including home visitation, to create a birth to age 5 pipeline of services and support that prepares children for kindergarten and beyond.