On August 7, White House Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu joined Secretary Arne Duncan for the Department of Education’s summer reading initiative, Read to the Top!

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For Scott Coleman, Principal at Mt. Vernon Community School in Virginia, the Recovery Act is not only about reforming our education system – it’s about investing in future generations. As an educator for over 9 years, Scott believes that we can restore our promise to these children so that they can receive a competitive global experience. This is his story.

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The U.S. Department of Education’s second Education Stakeholders Forum, held August 4, 2009, provided detailed information regarding Race to the Top Fund, Investing in Innovation Fund, and Part II of the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund. Speakers included:

* Tony Miller, Deputy Secretary of Education
* Joanne Weiss, Director, Race to the Top
* Jim Shelton, istant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Innovation and Improvement
* Ann Whalen, istant to the Secretary

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See a full transcript of this video at http://www.ed.gov/news/av/video/2009/02/20202009.html An accessible version will be available there soon.

Mrs. Obama: Well, this is a good thing, to see this department fired up and ready to go, right?

I am honored to be here this afternoon.

You know, first let me tell you that you couldn’t be luckier than to have as your leader this guy by the name of Arne Duncan.

Barack and I, my brother, my family, we’ve known Arne for a very long time, and we’ve seen his growth, his leadership develop over the years, and he is someone who is committed, hard-working, passionate. But he’s someone who is fair, who is honest, who is decent, and who knows that getting to any goal means you have to build a team from within, from the bottom up.

And I know he’s already beginning to do this.

This kind of turnout and enthusiasm, you know, is sort of for me, but, you know, you’re behind — but I know you’re also excited about your new Secretary.

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Discussing another idea of Ron Paul — the abolishment of the department of education at the federal level.

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See a full transcript of this video at http://www.ed.gov/news/av/video/2009/02/20202009.html An accessible version will be available there soon.

Arne Duncan: Good afternoon. I somehow think all these cameras aren’t for me.

I’m thrilled to be back here, we had a great great conversation last week, and want to continue to do that. I think everyone here knows we have this extraordinary opportunity over the next eight years to make things better for children in this country.

And I think we’re all here because we feel that sense of moral obligation, that we know our children deserve the best, sometimes they receive it, sometimes they don’t. And I think collectively we can do something to dramatically change the life chances of our children. And so I look forward so much to our work together going forward, and I’m so so hopeful about what we can accomplish.

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Secretary Arne Duncan and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack read to children as part of the Department’s summer reading initiative, “Read to the Top!” The Department is partnering with community organizations nationwide to combat summer reading loss in response to President Obama’s national volunteer campaign, “United We Serve,” which calls on all Americans to serve in their communities.

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