Speeches

Partners for Success

It's my pleasure to be here today. Thank you for rescheduling my speech. As you know, when the president calls and asks you to be with him on an important trip, you go.

A Call to Teaching

It is a great honor and thrill to be here speaking to you today at the University of Virginia, at the university that Thomas Jefferson founded and in the famous Rotunda that Jefferson designed.

Make No Small Plans

Thank you, Terry, for that kind introduction. I've known Terry for years—and the work of the Chicago Community Trust was absolutely invaluable to me during my time as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools.

Building Safe and Healthy Communities

In recent weeks America has seen a side of Chicago that we all wish didn't exist. The graphic video of Fenger High School student Derrion Albert being fatally beaten is terrifying, heartbreaking and tragic. It shocks the conscience.

This bright and happy young honor student had his whole life ahead of him – but now it has been cut short by senseless violence.

Reauthorization of ESEA: Why We Can't Wait

Good morning and thank you so much for coming today.

As you know, this is the first of a series of public conversations our department is holding here in DC on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Under Secretary Martha Kanter’s Remarks to Women Administrators in Higher Education

I am thrilled to be here today at WAHE conference and to address a group of women who share my priorities.

First I would like to start with the story of how I got my present job at the US Department of Education.

Remarks of Joanne Weiss to the Annual Meeting of the American Diploma Project Network

Thank you for inviting me here today.

HBCUs and Higher Education: Beyond the Iron Triangle

Thank you very much, John. John Wilson is a forceful and thoughtful advocate for HBCUs—and he already has begun to reinvigorate the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

From Compliance to Innovation

Good morning. It's a pleasure to speak to America's Choice Superintendent's Symposium. The National Center on Education and the Economy, which helped father America's Choice, has been at the forefront of efforts to develop school improvement models that align rigorous standards and assessments.

Secretary Arne Duncan's Remarks to the National Council of La Raza

I realize that I am speaking at the end of a conference where you've already heard from a roster of impressive speakers. I am going to try to keep my comments brief. Adlai Stevenson once said that the best after-dinner speech he ever heard was: "Waiter, I'll take the check."