High school students vie to get President Obama as 2011 commencement speaker
Students across the country have the opportunity to score a commencement speaker that will almost guarantee a snooze-free graduation ceremony: President Barack Obama. At the beginning of the month, the White House opened up the application process for the 2011 Race to the Top Commencement Challenge. The program, open to public school students, allows high schoolers to send in entries showing how their school prepares its students for college. The winning entry will win the honor of having President Obama as their commencement speaker for this year's graduation ceremony.
“I’m looking for the school that’s doing the best job of preparing students for college and careers,” said President Obama. “The winning school will understand that their number one priority is making sure that our kids are learning what they need to succeed in this 21st century economy.”
The application process for the Commencement Challenge calls for the answering of essay questions as well as statistical information that "illustrate[s] how schools are promoting college and career readiness for all students while establishing a culture of student success and academic excellence," according to a press release announcing this year's challenge.
Last year's winner, Simone Boehme, who is a now a freshman at the University of Michigan, visited the White House to shoot a video to promote the challenge. Boehme was the salutatorian of her high school, Kalamazoo Central High, which was the first school to win the Race to the Top Commencement Challenge. More than 1,000 schools applied to the first annual challenge last school year.
School officials say the challenge is a great opportunity for students to show school pride while also highlighting noteworthy curricula.
“Success happens in schools across the country every day,” said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “The Commencement Challenge is an extraordinary opportunity for students to share their school’s story and be rewarded for their commitment to preparing for college and careers.”
For the second year in a row, the White House partnered with the Get Schooled Foundation and Viacom to kick off the challenge. The deadline for submissions is February 25, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST. More information on the 2011 Race to the Top Commencement Challenge can be found on WhiteHouse.gov.
