1st White House Summit on Community Colleges: Increasing Competitiveness

In line with his aim to improve the U.S. educational system and increase its competitiveness in the global arena, President Barack Obama announced last Tuesday that he expects to see community colleges producing 5 million more graduates by year 2020. This is in line with his belief that schools are equally important in maintaining the future competitiveness of America especially in the field of economics and finance. Pres. Obama, while at the East Room during a White House summit on community colleges, said that his purpose is to boost the schools that provide millions of students with skills training and knowledge.

With today’s academic institutions facing high dropout rates, Obama is devising ways to improve the education system. The president tagged community colleges as “unsung heroes of America's education system”. Though they may not be as attractive as other universities and though they may not receive more funds just like the others, these colleges are in fact the gateway for millions of Americans unto getting jobs and earning a source of living. He also used the event to accuse congressional Republicans of planning to cut education spending which will deprive community colleges of the needed resources to provide quality education millions of Americans.

Vice President Joe Biden, who used to taught the English subject at community colleges for 17 out of the his 30 years as an educator, said the following words “Community colleges are entering a new day in America” and “For more and more people, community colleges are the way to the future. They're giving real opportunity to students who otherwise wouldn't have it. They're giving hope to families who thought the American dream was slipping away”.

A day before the event, Pres. Obama announced his new initiative for the education sector which aims to create a public-private partnership that will link the top business corporations of America to community colleges. It will devise a curriculum which will directly fit to the needed skill sets of these companies. Through this, students will have an easier time in searching for jobs in the future. Corporations such as Gap Inc., McDonald's and Accenture have already expressed their support for such initiative. It is also remembered previously Obama’s prosopal to increase the academic calendar. He sees this as a major barrier in increasing competitiveness of students. By adding another 1 month in the academic calendar, American students will be able to remain competitive with the rest of the world.

The event was highlighted by various commitments from private institutions. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation owned by the world’s richest couple, Bill and Melinda Gates, announced the launching of the Completion by Design. It is a $35 million, five-year competitive grant program to boost community college graduation rates. Obama’s initiative to increase competitiveness in the education sector is also part of the president’s plan to save the economy. He sees the students as future leaders and holders of the economy. The president now has to put the pieces together in order to come up with one comprehensive educational system where every student is eligible to cheap yet quality education.

Obama’s New Education Agenda: Longer School Year and Higher Teacher Standards

With improving the economy in mind, U.S. President Barack Obama called for a longer school year to significantly improve the educational system of the country. Citing the alarming decrease in America’s global educational competitiveness, the President, in an interview, cited his intentions in putting up his education agenda. He acknowledges numerous schools that do not have enough funds to supplement their operational expenses. For that, he promised additional funding to these schools in order to maintain and preserve the quality of education that they are giving to students.

Obama also cited that money alone won’t fix the problems encountered by public schools. He added that for an educational system to be successful, it must set higher standards for students and teachers alike. That is why he is proposing to extend the school year of students to make them more competitive in this modern world. He mentions that other advanced countries such as South Korea have longer school years which translate into more learning’s for students. South Korean public schools implement a school year that is 1-month longer compared to American schools. Obama has cited that this additional 1 month school period is very advantageous and can really make a difference.

A report published by the Education Commission of the States indicated that U.S. schools through the high school levels offer an average of 180 instruction days per year. This is way below compared to the 197 days for lower grades and 196 for upper grades average of countries with best student achievement levels such as Japan, Korea, Germany and New Zealand. The president has also mentioned that though the per-student spending has gone up, the student performance has gone down. In an effort to boost the level of education in America, Obama has now called for a longer school year and called for a set of standards to be achieved both by students and teachers.

On Monday, the president announced his goal of recruiting 10,000 teachers who work in the field of science, technology, engineering and math over the next two years. He reasoned that these specialized teachers are very vital in teaching and molding students to be competitive against their peers especially when talking about the economy. While the president endorsed working with teachers unions, he also told instructed them to not resist change and do something especially if one-third of students are dropping out. He favors firing teachers who are not teaching the way they should be and setting standards to maintain competitiveness.