Transcripts For CSPAN3 Rahm Emanuel Addresses The National P

Constitution. And the resolution of that battle is vital to the future of our country. Thats Arizona Supreme Court justice, clint bolick at conservative forum silicon valley. Can you see the entire speech tonight at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan. Chicago mayor rahm emanual on his initiatives for education and college preparedness. One of them would require Chicago Public High School Seniors to have a postgraduation plan in place before receiving a diploma. So long before todays guest became a politician, he attended Sarah Lawrence college. At college, before politics, and long before he was president Barack Obamas chief of staff. Chicago mayor rahm emanual taught preschool. Mayor emanuels love of education followed him throughout his political career, into his tenure as chicagos mayor, wherever he oversees the Third Largest School System in the United States. He is credited with adding more than 200 Additional School hours in the year. Hes taken chicago School System to being on par with its peers. He implemented fullday kindergarten for every chicago child and fought for and won new accountability measures. During his tenure, the district wide Chicago Public School System Graduation Rate has grown by 16 percentage points, more than three times the National Average for growth. Mayor emanuel made chicago the first city in the country, to make a b average. Early in his first term, chicago endured an historic teach er strike, and the state budget impasse now entering its third year has had devastating impact on Chicago Schools. Hes also had to confront his citys persistent gun violence and grapple how to run a Police Department facing questions about its treatment of africanamericans. Even with these challenges, the mayor or rambo, as hes known in some circles because of his tenacity, has kept a steady eye on education. This year the mayor introduced a plan. It uses education not as an end point but as a pathway to further education and employment. The Mayors Initiative will require High School Seniors to provide proof of college or high school aacceptance in order to graduate. This starts in 20 20. The atlantic calls plans like the mayors a Seismic Shift in american education. Rahm emanual served as a Senior Advisor to president bill clinton in 1993. In 2002 he was elected to illinoiss fifth congressional district. He served as president obamas chief of staff from 2008 to 2010. A year later he became chicagos mayor and was reelected to that post in 2015. Of course education is not the only issue mayor emmanuel has faced. And we look forward to hearing him address other matters as well as he works to move the windy city forward. Please join me in welcoming mayor Rahm Emmanuel to the press club. Thank you. I just want you to know i started this job 62, 150 pounds, and now im 58. Thank you for that introduction. A little over 30 years ago secretary bennett called the Chicago Public School System the worst public School System in the United States of america. Let me give you the results today. The Graduation Rate when i first became mayor was for 57 and now its 67 , a growth. Third, 42 of all our students today graduate with College Credit. 42 of our kids go on and are accepted to college equal to the United States of america. And trust me, our demographics is not the United States of america. Another 21 go onto Community Colleges are the rate is 22 nationally. So even with the demographics for chicago is different, we match with kids going from high school to college to Community College. Third, our eighth graders led the United States in math games. Our fourth graders were third overall in reading games. There are only three districts whose math and reading wont up. Every measure of the city of chicagos educational gains are pointing in the right direction and surpassing and ill go back to high school for a second our Graduation Rate for the last five years, every year was triple the National Average. So if William Bennett can get through tsa, id like him to come back to the city of chicago and see whats happening. But every measure on high school, College Acceptance, College Attendance as well as in reading and math scores at fourth and eighth great levels, chicago is exceeding the norm of the United States progress. While the math of chicago students are not the norm for the United States of america. Now, some of the things that were noted earlier point to that direction of what was happening. When i became mayor half of our kids had a full school day i mean half our kids had a full day of kindergarten and half were not. If you looked at the math ones that were getting a half day, needed a full day and ones that were getting a half day needed a full day. I did not think it was determinative upon the fact that you should have parents lobbying on your behalf for your child in kindergarten. Every child in the city of chicago today has a full day of kindergarten. Weve had a 60 of increase in our full day prek for our children. We ran the first race to the top for our Early Childhood so parents could compare the models of Early Childhood education. And weve also increased the funding where, as i said, for fullday prek for all fouryearolds. And the reason is we can see the data for fullday prek, what it does for kindergarten and first grade and onward ward, i have a fundamental shared by our schools that kids drop out of college in third grade. Kids do thought drop out freshman year. If theyre not reading and doing math in third grade, its not fourth grade is any easier. I do not believe the kindergarten and 12th grade model i told you a couple of things weve done on the earlier side. Universal fullday kindergarten. A 60 increase for education in our full day prek in one of our online portals thats now being praised by the United States government. For its ability of transparency. And we give quality scores on Early Childhood providers. I have were in the process right now of a reinvention of our high school and what it prepares for. I just finished a graduation, i did about five or six different schools across the city of chicago. Crane high school, which is on the west side, 100 College Acceptance. Finger all the way on the south side, 100 acceptance. Chicago bulls noble charter, 100 chicago acceptance. We have with us armando from sarah goode, a ptech School Associated with ibm. Ibm to graduate, they have a little over 90 of their students have graduated. Seven of their students have graduated already with their Associates Degree in hand. Theyve won over 4. 4 million in scholarships for their students. All of them are going onto Post High School education to college. Thats on the far south side. I have also Gregory Jones from kenwood. Kenwood is also on the south side of the city of chicago. 95 of their freshman are on track to graduate. More than half the students are earning College Credit while theyre in high school. He said to me 72 . They earned this year 35 million in scholarships at their school. They have the largest dual credit, dual enrollment in the city of chicago. Now, what we are about and what were trying to do is take our high school graduation, which was at 57 by the class of 2019, were on track for 87 . Thats a 52 growth rate. Were triple the National Average. We have a series of things we are doing to ensure that every child is College Ready and college bound. We live in a period of time where you earn what you learn. You get a High School Degree, thats probably going to be your income. You earn a twoyear Associates Degree, you earn a college degree, you earn a postdockerate degree, we live in a period where you earn what you learn. Our question as mayor and one of ed principals that are here, is what are we doing to prepare our high schools for that economy. More than 56 of our economy will require a minimum of two Years College degree. We all know this, its studied very much. Its a High School Degree is not ready for the 21st creentury economy. Were a prek to college model. First and foremost while youre in high school, we have the Largest International backleriate program in the United States of america. And its fancy way of saying liberal arts education. We have more desires now for people to have schools become i. B. In chicago than we can keep up with. Because when you take that test, you have that under your belt. Your parents dont have to pay for it and youre better prepared for college. Dual system in our city, mayor all directored, is the second largest in the United States of america. So when i became mayor there were about 4 to 600 students in dual credit, dual enrollment. Today were north of 4,000. So kids are not only getting a High School Degree, theyre graduating with College Credits under their belt. In fact at kenwood, greg has more students involved in that dual credit dual enrollment than any of the high schools, 110 of them in the country. So theyre not only graduating high school but with College Credit under their belt. Third, advance placements. We have one of the Largest Programs, and my data point i think it says 67 of people passing those tests. As well as with ap advance placement we are ensuring the kids of chicago grad what with College Credits already under their belt and unless their parents went to school, the College Experience under their belt. And i cant say enough about what that means for kids who with 80 some odd of children who are kids of color, but kids who are at or below the poverty level. Theyre not only getting College Credit, theyre getting the College Experience, the first kind of six months, theyre familiar with it and theyre familiar with the rigor of that effort. Today right now in the city of chicago, 42 of all our children not only go to college, but 42 graduate with College Credit underneath their experience at high school. We set a goal by 2018 to grow that to 50 . At armandos schools, which we have four of them at that level, theyre not only doing high school, he had seven graduates that ragratuated with not only a High School Degree but several of them have grad watted with an Associates Degree already under their belt. Done. Free. Have i mentioned free yet . Parents dont have to pay for it. In gregs class i think its 72 graduating with College Credit. Free. And the big challenge which we all know is cost for Higher Education, chicago has got a model regardless of color, zip code, background, can graduate with College Credit under their belt free, where cost is not the prohibitive factor. I do not agree parents should have a second mortgage to give their kids a college degree. Then what weve done additional is if you get a b average in high school, were the only city in the United States, we make Community College free. Two years of your education is free. And then we have what we call the chicago star. The chicago star plus, which is what tony is part of, is if you maintain your b average in Community College so high school, average, Community College free. You maintain the b average in Community College, everyone of the universities in the city of chicago, northwestern, columbia, university of columbia, depaul, northeastern, any one of them, will give you anywhere from 25 to 40 off your tuition. Tony went to Northside College prep. Best high school in the state of illinois. Thats just not me, thats u. S. News and world report. Got into the university of illinois, could not afford it. He went to truman Community College with a b average for free. Now hes going to Northwestern University with a scholarship for his education. He will come out with a degree in neuroscience from Northwestern University and basically, basically have, no college debt. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. So thats our educational plan in a net shell in chicago, go from kindergarten to fourth grade to prek through 12 model. And finally what wave established and embarked upon is what was just described. And let me give a full description of it, which is today if you look at College Acceptance Community College acceptance in the armed forces. And i want to get back to the armed forces because i forgot about it, chicago has 65 of our kids already going to college or Community College. Theyre taking College Credits in high school, theyve got ap or dual credit, dual enrollment. And we match the United States, as i said, in both of those categories even while our population is different than the over all United States demographics. What we want to ensure and then 42 of our children are graduating with College Credits under their belt even though we match that all together, we want to make sure everybody, the class of 2019, 2020, every child has a posthigh School Educational plan that the economy is already requiring of them. So we want you to have a letter from college or a letter from a Community College, these are acceptance letters, a letter from a trade or a letter from a branch of the armed forces and a letter from a job. Its essential to make sure that while kids are in high school, they have a posthigh School Educational plan. One, in a 21st century economy you know the data already. Basically 80 of all the future jobs are going to require a minimum of two years of Higher Education. Second, we already got 65 of our kids getting there. I cannot in good conscience as a mayor allow the other 35 to not have a plan but the economy is going to require them. When you have all the support system in place in a school rather than when they graduate and oh, ill figure this out when im 18, that other 30 needs that support in high school so they can execute. And fourth, while i dont know everybody in this room, i can say this is a father of three. For any parents in this room, any one of you, leave it to chance to your kids . Raise your hand if you say figure if out on your own . Okay. Well, honey, if youve got seven, im building you a bridge in grant park. Because let me just say this, on the first two you didnt leave it at chance, by the last five you say im over this. Ive got three. We do not leave it for your children. And as a mayor, as our two principals, we dont leave it to chance. Not when you have the support in place, not when youre the first child in your family to make to it to college to chance. Not when the an economy tomorrow requires that an Education Today equals it. So when youre in high school were going to ensure youve got College Credit and you graduate with the confidence you can do it. You graduate not only it with the confidence but your parents dont have to