THE PRESIDENT:  Countries that are successful right now academically, typically teachers are considered one of the top professions.  

Now, let’s face it, I mean, we also have to make sure there’s accountability for our schools.  And turning things around here meant replacing a principal and replacing some teachers.  And that’s tough work.  It shouldn’t be undertaken lightly.  But your school did it the right way –- with a process that even had the support of teachers and their local unions, because you recognized that partnership¹ among teachers and school administrators² and the community, that’s the path to reform.  It isn’t easy.  But I want to thank the school board and the superintendent³ and the union for working together to do the right thing for your students.  You guys deserve a lot of congratulations.  (Applause.)  We appreciate you.  (Applause.)    Progress has also been possible thanks to math and science coaches, and extra learning time in after-school, and Saturday school, and summer school.  I didn’t get as much applause about that.  (Laughter.)  But it’s good for you guys to get more learning and be in the classroom more.  You still have time for the video games.  (Laughter.)  You guys never catch a break -- you don’t even get snow days down here, do you?  (Laughter.)

And you’ve got a technology program here that’s preparing kids for the manufacturing jobs of tomorrow.  I saw some of the work that was doing -- that they were doing in this lab.  It was outstanding stuff.  And it matched up with -- when I go to factories all across America, you can’t work on a factory floor today if you don’t have training in computers and you have basic math skills and understand technology.  Those are the jobs of tomorrow.

You’ve got an entrepreneurship program that’s helping⁵ students start their own businesses.  And you have mentors⁶ from the local business community.  You’ve set up a Parent Academy to make sure parents are meaningfully engaged in their children’s education -- (applause) -- because you can’t expect the schools to do everything; parents have to step up, too, and set high expectations.  (Applause.)

I say this wherever I go -- when I hear people complaining about the schools, nothing we do at school will make a difference unless all of us parents step up at home -- (applause) -- and instill in our kids the self-confidence, but also self-discipline, and a work ethic⁷ that -- a work ethic that’s at the heart of success in school and in life.  School is not supposed to be easy.  Nothing worthwhile is easy.  (Applause.)  Nothing worthwhile is easy.  (Applause.) 

I mean, the football players understand that.  I know training to be state champs can’t be easy.  But why is it sometimes we think -- we expect people to be working out hard on the football field, and then suddenly everybody is surprised when you’ve got to work out hard in the math lab.  (Applause.)  Same principle applies.  You’ve got to work hard to achieve your goals.  (Applause.)

So outstanding teachers and principals, a common mission, a culture of high expectations -– that’s what it takes to turn a school around.  That’s what accounts for progress here at Miami Central.  And that’s why we are going to support you with what we call School Improvement Grants.  You’re one of nearly a thousand schools across America that we’re helping turn around by spurring reform from the bottom up.  The bottom up.  (Applause.)  And the approach that we’re taking with School Improvement Grants and school turnarounds is the same approach that we’re taking on all our education reform efforts.  The idea is very simple.  Instead of pouring money into a broken system, we launched a competition that we call Race to the Top.  And it basically says to states:  Prove that you are serious about reform.

We said to all 50 states, if you show the most innovative⁸ plans for improving teacher quality and student achievement, boosting low-performing schools, then we’ll show you the money.  And for less than 1 percent of what we spend on education each year, Race to the Top has led 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning.  And those standards weren’t developed by bureaucrats⁹ in Washington; Republican and Democratic governors across the country developed these reforms.  That’s the kind of bottom-up approach that we need to follow.  We want to work with Congress this year to fix the current education law and make sure that it focuses on responsibility and reform and results.

And because we know the single most important factor in a student’s success from the moment they step into school is the person standing⁴ in front of the classroom, we want to recruit and prepare a new generation of teachers, including 100,000 new math and science teachers over the next decade.  We’ve got to get them in the classroom.  (Applause.)

With all of these steps, I am confident that by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.  That’s our goal.  That's our goal.  (Applause.)  That's how we’ll out-educate other countries.  That’s how we’ll out-compete with other countries tomorrow.  That’s how we’ll win the future for the United States of America.

So I’m going to keep the pressure on everybody in Washington.  I know Jeb and Superintendent and everybody here, you're going to stay focused on students in the Sunshine State.  And I know that Ms. Turner, she’s not going to let up until Miami Central goes from that F-grade all the way up to an A-grade.  Ms. Turner means business.  (Applause.)

Mrs. Turner means business.  You know, she has that nice pretty smile, and she’s all quiet.  (Laughter.)  But you can tell she’s like, “no, don't mess with me.”  (Laughter.)  That's right.

Of course, ultimately, Ms. Turner, she’d say for herself she’s not the only reason Miami Central has been making progress; she’s not the only reason you’re turning this school around.  The most important reason is you, the students here at Miami Central. (Applause.)  A few years ago, when it looked like the state might have to shut down Miami Central, the students took matters into their own hands.  You took control of your own destiny.  You said some things that are worth repeating.  Here are some of the things that students said:

“We’re going to do more than pass the [state] test.  We’re going to kill it.”  (Applause.) 

Quote -- “I don’t want my school to close.  We can’t let that happen.”

“We really, really tried hard this year.  We don’t give up.”

“If we were going to get through this successfully, we’ve got to come together as a student body.”

So that's what you guys did.  You came together as a student body.  You didn't give up.  And that's why I’m going to be leaving here so full of hope.  I’m full of hope about Miami Central’s future, I’m full of hope about America’s future, because I’m full of hope about your future.

And, Rockets, if you keep on reaching for success, and show the same passion, the same determination, the same hard work, the same devotion（献身，奉献） to excellence¹⁰ as you do, I’m confident we’re not only going to lift up our schools, we will produce the best-educated people in the world, our economy will grow, our country will prosper¹¹, and a new and better day will come for the American people.

Thank you, everybody.  God bless you.  God bless the United States of America.