President Obama Race to the Top | High School Commencement Winner

By: T. Cahill

Washington, D.C. (May 4) – The White House announced the winner of the Race to the Top Commencement Speaker contest today. President Obama will be the commencement speaker for the graduating class at Kalamazoo Central High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Narrowed from a field of over 1000 to just six finalists, America was asked to vote for the winner. The final six entries included Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, KS, Clark Montessori in Cincinnati, OH, Denver School of Science and Technology in Denver, CO, Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale, CA, Kalamazoo Central High School in Kalamazoo, MI and MAST Academy in Miami, FL.

The remaining five schools are winners, too. “The Obama Administration will work to provide a Cabinet secretary or senior adminstration official to deliver the commencement address at each of the five schools not selected as the national winner.”

Awarding the winner was no easy task. High school requirements for entry included such aspects as adopting standards and methods to assess and prepare students to succeed in college, the workplace, and compete in the global economy. Schools were also required to build data systems to measure student growth and success, as well as the ability to inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction.

Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and turning around the nation’s lowest-achieving schools were included in the guidelines outlined by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Posted by on May 4, 2010. Filed under Education,National News,WorldNewsVine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.