LRSD News
The Little Rock School District was proud to host at Central High School, Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan as he kicked off his multi-state bus tour. Arne Duncan, along with Governor Mike Beebe and U.S. Senator Mark Pryor, addressed current issues in education.The Secretary of Education spoke on the growth and improvements needed in education as well as the alarming statistics within education such as the dropout rate among Latino and African-American students. "We have to continue to improve...Educate ourselves to a better economy," said Duncan. The Secretary continued to stress improvement of the educational system throughout his brief speech. He also commended the state for its commitment to education stating,"Hope and aspiration is here...this school, this city, this state." Duncan stated that the only way to become better is to elevate the teaching profession. He also gave thanks to the teachers, counselors and social workers and commented that "teachers are the unsung heroes of the country."
Prior to the Secretary of Education addressing his audience, Senator Mike Pryor and Governor Mike Beebe, briefly spoke.
"Woodrow Wilson once said,'America is the only idealist nation in the world,' " said Senator Pryor. The Senator explained how America is an idealistic nation and a "great experiment." The senator stressed that "in order to have an experiment succeed, you have to continually feed the experiment and strive to do better."
Governor Mike Beebe illustrated the improvement of the state and the Little Rock School District through the stories of the Little Rock Nine, and the state's progression and work to become a better education system. Governor Beebe made a relation to the success of education by stating, " It's not the result of one person's work, It's a collective effort. It's teachers, administrators, parents, business people, volunteers...A lot of people working together..."