Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Statement on President Obama's Call for 'A Complete...

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Statement on President Obama's Call for 'A
Complete and Competitive American Education'

SEATTLE, March 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Allan Golston, president of the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's U.S. Program, issued the following statement
today regarding President Obama's speech this morning to the U.S. Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce:

"President Obama today continued to advance the urgent demand to improve
America's public education system from the earliest ages through high school
and the completion of a college degree or certificate.

We join our grantees and students across the country in this important
endeavor, including the need for fewer, clearer and higher standards, pay that
rewards effective teachers, data systems that track student achievement and
increasing financial aid that rewards postsecondary completion not simply
access.

As the President recognizes, the global economy demands that we not only
address high school dropout rates, but do more to ensure that students go on
to complete a postsecondary degree or credential with real value in the job
market. Low-income and minority students, in particular, suffer from a lack of
access to a high-quality education. Only one in five Hispanic young people
graduate high school ready for college, and only a quarter of low-income
students earn a degree or credential after high school. Today's speech
recognizes education reform as both a civil rights and an economic security
priority for everyone in this country.

We are committed to working with the President and his Administration, members
of Congress, governors, and other bold leaders across America who are making
it a top priority to ensure that all young people graduate prepared for
college and career success."

To read President Obama's speech to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce,
visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/03/10/Taking-on-Education/.

For more information about the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's education
work in the United States, please visit: www.gatesfoundation.org/education.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In
developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them
the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United
States, it seeks to ensure that all people -- especially those with the fewest
resources -- have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school
and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and
Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates
and Warren Buffett.

SOURCE Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, +1-206-709-3400, media@gatesfoundation.org