PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA TO DELIVER SPEECH ON EDUCATION REFORM AT NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE CENTENNIAL CONFERENCE

On Thursday, July 29th, at the National Urban League Centennial Conference in Washington, DC, President

Obama will deliver a major education reform speech emphasizing how his signature Race to the Top program

and other initiatives are driving education reform across the country and focusing the nation on the goal of

preparing students for college and careers. He will highlight the unprecedented support for and adoption of

common standards by a majority of states already, and the Administration’s commitment to develop the

next generation of high-quality assessments benchmarked to common standards. The President's speech will

focus on the dramatic reforms that states, school districts, schools and teachers unions have undertaken over the

past 18 months, including steps to improve teacher effectiveness and transform persistently low-performing

schools.