ConnectED Phone Message Text - President's Message

Below is the text of the phone message delivered last night By Dr. Rammer. Following the text is further information that could not be included in the phone message.

Good evening, this is Robert Rammer, Director of Communications with District 200.

You may have seen on the news that President Obama is planning a national address on September 8 -- the first day of school for many children across America -- directly to students on the importance of education. According to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, the President will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning. He will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens.

We’d like you to know that while we believe the President's message supporting education is important, we have not had an opportunity to preview his presentation and we do not have time set aside to watch the speech during the school day on September 8. Therefore, the President’s message to children will not be broadcast to students in District 200 on Tuesday.

We will record the broadcast and determine if and under what curricular circumstances it would be appropriate to share with students. Copies will be made available to each of our schools to use as they see fit.

Should a school or a classroom decide to show the President’s message at some later date, you will be notified and provided an option to exclude your student from viewing.

If families would like to view a copy of the President’s broadcast together at home, we will make several DVD copies available at each school to be checked out on loan later next week.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Good evening.

[Due to the length of the phone message, the following information was not included in the electronic phone message; however, it speaks to the significant logistical issues surrounding this broadcast]

Once again, although we certainly support and appreciate the President's encouragement of students to do well in school, broadcasting a 20 minute program at 11:00 to all our schools, on a live web stream, is somewhat problematic from a logistical perspective. At the high schools and middle schools, for example, many of our students are eating lunch. These students would not be in a classroom setting where a discussion could take place. From a practical perspective, delaying the lunch schedule for an extended period would be disruptive at best. Some students will be in physical education classes or settings unsuitable for viewing. Streaming this message to all venues and computers at one time would cripple our technology.

  Providing schools with multiple copies of the presentation allows teachers to present the message in a thoughtful, purposeful, and instructive fashion.