News

President Obama Speaks Out

Early learning begins at birth

“…it will be the goal of this administration to ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education -- from the day they are born to the day they begin a career. That is a promise we have to make to the children of America”.

 “We've dramatically expanded early childhood education and will continue to improve its quality, because we know that the most formative learning comes in those first years of life.”

"In the end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a parent – for a mother or father who will […turn off the TV, put away the video games,] read to their child. I speak to you not just as a President, but as a father, when I say that responsibility for our children's education must begin at home. That is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. That's an American issue."

Speech by President Barack Obama to the Joint Sessions of Congress, Feb. 24, 2009, bold added.