Speeches

Smart Investments in Early Learning

Rolling Terrace Elementary School represents so much of what we want our country to be like and aspire to. Many of the students at Rolling Terrace grow up in poverty and the children speak as many as 35 different languages—it's a baby United Nations! But the children are thriving. They have great adults who take care of them and are excited to work with them.

Supporting and Strengthening School Leadership

It's a pleasure to speak again to principals, and to be back before the NASSP.

I'm going to keep my remarks relatively brief. I want to speak first to the impact that sequestration could have on educating our children and youth. And then I want to talk about three elements of our second term agenda that will especially impact principals.

Testimony by Secretary Arne Duncan to the Senate Appropriations Committee on the Possible Impact of Sequestration

(As submitted to the Committee. The Secretary deviated from these remarks.)

Madam Chairwoman and Members of the Committee:

No Child Left Behind: Early Lessons from State Flexibility Waivers

(As submitted to the Committee. The Secretary deviated from these remarks.)

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.

Remarks of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at the Education Trust Conference

This is a day of celebration in so many ways. I'm thrilled for our nation, and I'm thrilled for our nation's school children, that President Obama has been re-elected.

Remarks of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at the TIME Higher Education Summit

It's great to be at the TIME Summit on Higher Education with such a distinguished group of leaders. All of you have thought long and hard about the future of higher education. And I'll try to be brief before we turn to the panel discussion.