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State of the Union 2012

President Obama delivered his third State of the Union speech last night, lasting one hour and five minutes. According to a tweet from Politico, the #SOTU topics in order of popularity during and immediately following the speech last night were: 1. Education 2. Energy 3. Taxes 4. Jobs 5. Defense.

The overall theme was "Blueprint for an America Built to Last." The White House talking points and summary of the speech are attached in the PDF. Also, you can watch an "enhanced" version of the speech on the White House website. This version includes facts and graphs coinciding with the President's comments. www.whitehouse.gov/state-of-the-union-2012

NCAN SOTU College Access and Success Related Summary:

Specifically for education, the President addressed the need to have workers whose skills match the jobs that are available and the "daunting challenge of the cost of college." President Obama's proposals in the SOTU regarding the cost of college include:

  • Asking Congress to stop the interest rates on federal student loans for doubling in July,
  • Extending the tuition tax credit that saves millions of middle class families thousands of dollars, and
  • Doubling the number of work study jobs in the next five years.

In addition, President Obama said that the federal government can not continue to keep subsidizing sky rocketing tuition. The President's requests to control rising tuition include:

  • Asking states do their part by making colleges a higher priority in their budgets, and
  • Asking colleges and universities have to do their part by working to keep costs down colleges.

The President also said he was putting colleges and universities "on notice" that if they can't keep tuition from going up, the funding they receive from tax payers will go down.

Mr. Obama concluded his education portion of the speech by saying that, "higher education can't be a luxury; it is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford."

Other Areas of Interest:

The President also touched on immigration. He said that his administration has become tougher on illegal immigration at the border, but that children brought here when they were small are American through and through. He called for Congress to send him a bill that would provide a pathway for these young people to earn their citizenship through education or military service. He also called for a bill for students who study here from abroad to be given a pathway to stay, rather going back to their home countries to create new ideas and products. He did not specifically use the phrase "DREAM Act."

One of the final topics of the President's speech was the deficit and taxes. During this portion of the speech, Mr. Obama said that we must make a choice between continuing what was supposed to be a temporary tax cut for the wealthiest 2% of Americans or keeping "our investments in everything else like education and medical research, a strong military and care for our veterans."

Republican Response:

Governor Mitch Daniels of IN offered the Republican Response. You can watch and read it by clicking here. Governor Daniels commends the President for making overdue changes in public education, but does not address higher education specifically. Please note this is posted on the NBC Politics blog so any views expressed in the comments do not reflect those of NCAN.

Rep John Kline, Chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, offered his own response, which only touched on No Child Left Behind and no other education issues, is available here.

Closing the Achievement Gap!

In Marin, race, ethnicity and socioeconomics limit students’ access to educational opportunity.  Marin is number one in the state in educational attainment but in the bottom third of the state in terms of educational equity.

Scholars throughout the country are calling our attention to the alarming educational disparities and the detriment to our future if public policy decisions and infrastructure fail to address educational progress as an urgent priority.

We can close the gap in Marin and we invite you to join us to ensure that all people of Marin have equal access to the full range of educational opportunities.

Educational Equity in Marin

The State of Postsecondary Education

Monthly Equity Briefs

Other Resources:

Learn More

Third Annual Educational Equity Week Highlights

Many thanks to our community partners including Dominican University of California, College of Marin and Book Passage our third annual Marin Educational Equity Week was a success. Highlights included a book event with Brian Copeland, a College for Kids tour, and a very well attended Blueprint for Education Taskforce, along with the a number of exciting community sponsored events including a Marin City Educational Equity Forum and BBQ, a Grassroots Leadership Network panel on Educational Equity and a youth rally, as well as a special appearance by Senator Barack Obama (IL).

Blueprint for Education Taskforce/Close the Gap

Over 75 community leaders, educators and concerned community members gathered at Book Passage for the Blueprint for Education Taskforce/Close the Gap. The meeting began with the voices of students, interviewed about their experiences in the educational systems. The day continued with community members illustrating the cultural complexity of Marin. Linda Murray, Superintendent in Residence at the Education Trust West, presented keynote remarks. Her remarks “Raising All Student’s Achievement: What does it take?” highlighted data and examples from throughout California to illustrate the achievement gap and effective strategies to close the gap. For a copy of the presentation visit www.EducationTrust.org.

Brian Copeland spoke about his new book Not a Genuine Black Man. His personal stories, experience and passion were very inspiring and challenged the audience to think about their own assumptions about people.

College for Kids College Day Tour

On Friday, 65 third graders from Bahia Vista Elementary School rode Marin Airporter buses to visit Dominican University for a special College for Kids tour. Thrilled to have a new blue “College Bound” t-shirt, these boys and girls were greeted by Chilly the Dominican mascot and escorted on tours around campus by current students.

Marin City Educational Equity Forum & BBQ
On Saturday, the Marin City collaboration hosted the Educational Equity Forum, “Saving the Next Generation—It Does Take a Village to Raise a Child”. This was very well attended with community leaders, parents and students along with Marin City/Sausalito and Tamalpais Union High schools superintendents, school board members, educators and MCF Trustees and staff.

Senator Barack Obama (IL) Comes to Marin

Marin Education Fund and Book Passage hosted the only Bay Area appearance of Senator Barack Obama where he talked about his new book, The Audacity of Hope and signed nearly 1,200 copies of his new book, as Marin Educational Equity Week. Proceeds from the event went to benefit student scholarships through Marin Education Fund. Event Coverage.

Fact: 100% of students who attended the 10KD Institute in 2010 went to college that fall.