[ applause ] over the last ten ceo councils right at the top of your priority list, first has been tax reform and right after that, education. What you have meant by that is developing the skills and skills training to make sure that you have the workforce you need for the next decade. Finding people who bring into your companies that can execute the type of work that you need done in a new technological world. So how does the white house plan to address your concerns . Matt murray, the executive editor of the wall street journal is going to interview betsy devos, the u. S. Secretary of education, who is very much focused on this particular aspect of your agenda. So please join me in welcoming them. [ applause ] secretary, good to see you. Nice to see you, matt. I think its fair to say, first of all, that education for this audience over the years is probably always the number one concern for many people whenever we poll our executives. So i know theyre keenly interested always in the state of education. And weve already had a lot of talk at the conference over the last day and a half on things like a. I. , things like the digitization of the workplace, and disruption and changes that already are happening and that we all think are going to accelerate in the coming years. I want to start by asking you, you have been on the job now almost a year. Whats your overall assessment of the preparedness of u. S. Workers today for this world and the world thats coming . Your honest sense of where we stand on training our workforce. Well, let me say its first an honor to be here and to have a chance to talk a little bit about education today. And the specific question about preparedness of students for the reality of today and tomorrow, i think we have a lot of opportunity for improvement. There certainly are students that are leaving high school and college well prepared for the world that awaits them. But i think the reality is that much of the systems that we have been relying on in education for decades now really tend to be backward looking versus forward looking. And its my goal at the department to really bring a focus to in the k12 area, really empowering parents and students in a new way to find the education environment that is really right for them, that is going to stoke the curiosity that is innate in every child. And not sort of beat it off by the time theyre in third or fourth grade. And then when you look to beyond 12th grade, what are the myriad of pathways that really are available but not yet really highlighted or emphasized in any meaningful way. I think for several decades now, we have given the subtle or not so subtle message that the only successful path to adult life is through a Fouryear College or university. And i think thats been at the expense of lots of great opportunities. We know that 6. 1 million skilled jobs that require some level of Education Beyond High School are going unfilled today. And so the opportunity is really there to step back and look more holistically at those opportunities, starting as early as perhaps middle school, exposing kids to what some of these different pathways might be. So lets break it down. Lets talk a little bit about k12 and then we can talk about post k12. Just to be clear then. I mean, i dont know if you put a percentage on it, but when you think about how prepared, how many of our students are prepared for the world in the way you think they need to be, are half of them ready for this today . Is it probably lower than that . Is it just the students who get the opportunity to go to the private schools or the right Charter Schools or have a certain opportunity . Or how badly are we failing, do you think . Students everywhere in every school in this country, theres at least one or a handful of students that for them thats the right environment, and theyre being prepared and theyre being challenged in the right way. But when you think about the fact that kindergartners starting kindergarten this year face a prospect of having 65 of the jobs they will ultimately fill not yet having been created, you really have to think, i think, differently about what the role of education and preparation is. And in talking with a lot of Business People and others who have to ultimately employ individuals, the skills that we really have to be preparing kids with, i think, are simply put in four areas. Critical thinking skills. The ability to collaborate and work well with others. As we do in all of the rest of life. But not so much in school. The ability to communicate, both verbally and in written communications, well. And then creativity. And my observation of a lot of students today is theyre not having their needs met to be prepared in those areas. Theres a lot of tension on this issue. We have had a lot of programs over the years now from the left and the right, and from the government and from outside the government, whether its race to the top or common core, theres been a lot of ferment around it, but we dont really in the abstract seem to have moved the needle a lot. Why not . Why cant we really see that kind of change . Whats going wrong either with all of this with all of these ideas . I think we have tried to fix things from the top down. Theres been very heavy involvement on the part of the federal government in education for the last number of decades. With the hopes that we would see improving results and different results. And the reality is that our performance in aggregate, as compared to the rest of the world, has not only been stagnant, but its continued to slide. And so i think we really are at a crossroads, i believe, and i hope that a lot of the folks here today and those with whom you work will look differently at the way you enact, engage with and get involved with education. So thats actually a good segue to the poll question i want to ask, if we could put the question up. If we can just prepare it, i want to talk about the department as you see it. The Education Department, as we know from the time it started has been sometimes a lightning rod on both sides of the aisle. And its been talked about and written about for you that, you know, you have been cutting the budget. There are jobs you have not been filling. You have been streamlining the department. Whats your philosophy of what the department can do and what it shouldnt do . And how do you want that how do you want the role of the Education Department to be defined . I think theres a much larger role for states to play. It is the role of the states, and this administration is very embracing of federalism. The every Student Succeeds act that Congress Passed at the end of 2015, which is just now starting to get enacted really returns a lot of the flexibility and control to the states for k12 education. Right now, were receiving the plans. Reviewing them, and its my goal to approve every single plan that follows the law that Congress Passed. Now, the interpretations in those states will be different. And thats good. And we hope that states will take the opportunity to be creative in how theyre addressing the needs of students in their states. We also hope that states will work with their local communities and with local School Buildings to give the kind of flexibility thats needed to allow for new creative approaches to be taken and to be embarked upon. Okay, so our poll question, do you favor does the department favor taking a greater role in driving k12 agenda, lesser role . Looks like more of the audience is with you, although i see the numbers are still shifting around. Very dramatic to watch it. A lot of people changing their minds. Let me press on that a little bit. Because it also feels like theres always been, especially for the united states, from a national perspective, a tension between states and the federal role in terms of what should be standard for everybody and what should be localized. And thats a persistent tension point. Something common core was trying also to address. So, you know, and it goes to a larger question i think that you wrestle with because you like to highlight programs that you think are unique, programs that you think are great. You have talked about the new Charter Schools, private schools, you have talked about them in Public Schools. But what should be the minimal acceptable education attainment. There is a really inequality problem in our education system, isnt there . If you have money f you have luck, if youre in the right community, you might get a great one. Lots of people dont. How do we raise that floor . Well, the reality is that probably most of us, if not all of us in this room, have had the ability to choose our childrens educational settings. And the reality also is that there are many, many parents, a High Percentage of our population that dont have that power. We havent tried actually empowering parents to make those choices. And to pursue an education environment that is right for each child. That has, i believe, stunted the creativity in the Education World for decades, really. We still fundamentally operate on a model that was brought to us 150 years ago by the provisions,prussia prussians, a country that no longer exists sxrk we have not deviated from that proach, yet everything has changed. I believe if and when we empower parents to make that right choice for their child, that we will see the kind of creativity entering education that we really need to see, that will ultimately prepare students to be active participants in the workforce and i would argue even as important or more important to be job creators themselves. Is there a particular Public School model or community that you look at as an example of how the needle can move, whether its new orleans or some other place that you have seen that kind of creativity. A number of states have adopted some choice programs. And were starting to see some beneficial results in the states. Florida probably being leading among them. Louisiana has certainly adopted a form of choice. Its a little more limited in scope. Indiana is another state. Ohio, wisconsin. But all of these are still at relatively small scale. So we havent we have not had a state or a situation where every single parent in that state actually has the power to make that choice for their child. And i hope that some time in the not too distance future, well see that. When we reflect on what the role of the federal government and the department of education is, visavis the states, its important to remember that 90 of the funding comes from within the states. And yet i would say probably 90plus percent of the regulation has come from the federal level. And again, the results that we have seen with that entry into into that trying to make everybody conform to a one size fits all approach has not the results have not been positive overall for students in this country. And again, i mean, the critics of choice would say, well, thats all well and good if you get a chance to choose your school, but that still dooms many kids who dont get into the right school, they get into a worse school or a more minimal school. Isnt that a risk of choice . Again, we have tried it isnt one of those programs that has been tried in some places and we see improvement in the school here, improvement in a school there, but you still have a lot of kids kind of doomed to poor schools, right . How do you address that problem . I think fundamentally, if the demand is there, theres going to be response to demand. I would actually refer to florida, where again, theres the broadest range of choices and the greatest number of students taking advantage of those choices. Where there are districts that have a fairly High Percentage of students opting to go to a school other than their assigned school, all of the performance in that district has improved. So it says to me that with even more of those options and more of those opportunities, were going to see even better results ultimately. Okay, and then we were going to come back to post k12, and we were talking backstage about the fouryear degree. It sounds like you would like a world that has many more options for students than just thinking in terms of the fouryear degree. Tell us a little bit about your thoughts on how we can develop, i guess youre thinking about vocational schools and other options, pathways to careers and succe success. How badly are we lacking in other ways forward for students today . Well, first of all, i think we need to be honoring of those various avenues and various pathways. And i think to a large extent, we have stigmatized them for the last couple decades or more. And we have suggested that they are lesser than and not as good a choice as our options as a Fouryear College or university. And yet today, we know that only about 30 of students will ultimately ever graduate from a Fouryear College or university, and we have, as i mentioned, 6. 1 million jobs that require some level of Education Beyond High School that remain unfilled. And we have, you know, a lot of exposed to learning about those options and those opportunities at a much earlier stage, as young as and as early as middle school. What can you do, what can the government do specifically to seed and fund those . Is it all up to private enterprise, up to states, up to institutions . Or can you encourage them, whether its through tax policy or through other kinds of i think its really important for businesses to engage with their local Community Colleges, for example. Or other local institutions, if you have needs in your community that are going unfilled or in your business that are going unfilled, i have seen several examples, several great examples of Community Colleges that have partnered with industry in their region and have planned out curriculum and certifications to specifically meet those needs. And very often, i mean, i have talked to many students who have entered those programs and taken a year, nine months to a year of microdegree for something, and then they will go and work for a few years and come back for another level of education. And i think a major shift in Higher Education to the acknowledgment that there is really no traditional student fundamentally anymore. The percentage of students that go directly from high school to a Fouryear College or university and graduate in four years is the minority of the population. So really, again, giving honor and respect to all of these different opportunities and helping kids actually learn early on whether they like to work with their hands or whether they really do want to sit at a desk and do something that requires them to sit and think all day. I recall a young lady i met down in the orlando area who had been a clerk in a circuit court. And had done that for a number of years and became bored to death. So she went back to the local Community College and took a class and was now doing advanced manufacturing wiring for one of the Aerospace Industries in the area and couldnt have been more thrilled with the work she was doing. She said i love my job. I go there every day, cant wait to get there. Thats really thats really something for all of us, really. College is going to become, i suppose for many people, sort of a recurrent experience over your life if you want to retrain and try different jobs. So the system needs to adapt for that going forward, i guess, for different kinds of students. Let me ask you about yourself, if i can. Obviously, you have had some bumps at different times. In your tenure. You have had some tough criticisms from political opponents. And even at times, i think, doubts from supporters. And so you faced your skeptics at different moments. In just the last couple weeks, there were a lot of rumors going around you were thinking about stepping down. Are you thinking of stepping down . Absolutely not. Do you expect to be here for your full fouryear term . I do. Okay. The opportunity to try to make the Education Future better for kids all across this country, i mean, thats been my lifes work for 30 years. And the opportunity to try to do that in a different way is just an unbelievable opportunity for me. Let me just press. Are you getting the support you think you want to get from the white house and from the congress for your agenda then . Indeed. Yes. Lots of friends on the hill. And the president and the white house has been very, very supportive. I mean, look. We recognize that there is latent potential in so many of our young people today. And were doing them a disservice by not insuring that they all have an equal opportunity to get a great education. Lets go to questions from the audience. Questions. Right here. Tell us who you are. Im a believer in the cause. You have to say to yourself, i think, that inner city Public School education is maybe the biggest shame, i think, in this country. And yet you look at michelle, she would say she was more successful, but its a suicide mission. I think, matt, thats what youre saying. How can this country really fix education in the poorest parts of our country, where without education, i dont think there is progress . Thanks for the question. And i would just challenge all of you. You have you all have spheres of influence. You have opportunity to get engaged in your own communities. You have opportunities to engage in your states, to advocate for policies that will actually change the Playing Field for all families. Especially for those families that dont have the means that we have to be able to choose for our kids. Unless we fundamentally change that, i think everything not everything that we have done, but much of what we have done to try to change and reform education over the last several decades has been merely moving the game pieces around on the game board. And it is not a winning strategy. We have an opportunity to fundamentally change the course for kids today and tomorrow by giving everyone the same kind of opportunity that weve had for our kids. Other questions . Questions for secretary devos. No . Before i turn it back to matt. Here we go. Right here. Hi. Keith almond, ceo up in michigan. How would you describe your strategy or your key initiatives for the department to driv