President Barack Obama’s new initiative on African-American education will focus on the full spectrum of learning from pre-k to higher education and will “complement and reinforce” the federal initiative on historically Black colleges and universities, the White House says.
The president this week formally announced creation of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. In a speech to the National Urban League on Wednesday, Obama said he was establishing the initiative “so that every child has greater access to a complete and competitive education from the time they’re born all through the time they get a career.”
He also described the initiative as an extension of the White House effort to get colleges to cut costs. “A higher education in the 21st century cannot be a luxury,” he said. “It is a vital necessity that every American should be able to afford.”
Obama on Thursday formally signed the order creating the new White House initiative. In February 2010, he signed an order for a White House initiative on HBCUs. In referencing the earlier order, the document signed this week states that “together they both will support enhanced educational outcomes for African-Americans at every level of the American education system” from the early years to college and career education.
The executive order states that the focus of the new initiative “will produce a more effective educational continuum for all African-American students.”
Focus areas will include:
n Increasing the share of African-American children who enter kindergarten ready to learn.
