December 2012

Promise Neighborhoods and the Importance of Community

Thanks to the Chavez Middle School band and the Thomas Elementary school children's choir. Thank you for that beautiful music.

It's a bittersweet day today. We need to listen carefully to the voices of children at this moment. We need to savor their innocence, and applaud their unquenchable appetite for self-expression and renewal.

Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to Teachers, Principals, and School Administrators in the Aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shootings

At this time of unbearable grief over the senseless slaughter of 20 first-graders and six school staff members, I want to take a moment to thank the extraordinary educators, school leaders, and school staff who protected children at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Remarks of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to the Inter-American Development Bank

As I listened to [IDB] President Moreno's remarks, I was struck not by how different the U.S. education system is but rather by how many educational challenges the U.S. shares with Latin America and Caribbean nations.

Remarks of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at the Fourth White House Tribal Nations Conference

Thank you, Mr. Hill, for delivering that wonderful opening invocation. I can't tell you how pleased and honored I am to join you again for the fourth White House Tribal Nations Conference.