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When I’m walking up and down the hallway
and I’m having conversations with the kids
and my eyes lock with the little kid and
they know that I love them and that I want
the best for them and they get excited about
what they’re learning and I see that light shine in their
eyes, that’s why it gets exciting every day.
My name is Scott Coleman. And I’m principal of
Mount Vernon Community School
with Alexandria City Public Schools.
Access to a quality education is a birthright in my opinion.
It’s part of the larger moral imperative of assuring that our
society is able to move forward. Because again,
I’m 47 and I don’t expect to work when I’m 90.
And so I want the kids that are coming up to be very smart
and to be creative thinkers and to be problem
solvers. So we have train kids to be innovators.
And we have to train them now to do that and to release
that. Because it’s already in them. We have to give them
that opportunity to make that happen.
The president understands that the nation that
out-teaches us today is going to out-compete us
tomorrow. He understands that education is the
foundation of our economic strategy and that’s why the
Recovery Act invests more than a hundred billion dollars
in education. That money is going into our classrooms to keep
teachers teaching and our students learning so we
can educate our way to a better economy.
When you’re looking at how the stimulus money is going to be
used I think it is important for us to target
education because at the end of the day where is your best
best investment going to be. We have to make sure that
we have not just a level playing field but opportunities for
school systems to do exciting dynamic things.
And so the money will allow schools like mine to take it
to the next level. And to make sure that we have
enrichment activities, opportunities for students to get
remediation where needed, and any additional staff
members that will help us meet our strategic goals.
And if this extra stimulus money will allow us to do that
then I think it has to happen. It’s a moral imperative.
And as I look in the eyes of each kindergartener I always wonder
who’s going to be our next president?
What is this child going to do that is going to change the world?
Who is going to be the next Bill Gates?
Who is going to be the next Michelle Obama?
You just don’t know. And so I get very excited
at the possibility, the potential for children.
And it’s a very exciting time to be a school principal.