| For immediate release {July 14, 2009} |
Contact: Erin Donar
202-225-3611
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| Kildee Praises President’s New American Graduation Initiative | ||||
| Focus on Education Will Help Students Prepare for Careers in the Changing Economy | ||||
| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President Barack Obama announced the new American Graduation Initiative, which will provide our community colleges with $12 billion in new funds. Of this funding, $2.5 billion will go toward new community college facilities, with the rest going to improve graduation rates and help schools offer programs in advanced skills. Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, praised the announcement as an important way to help our workers gain the necessary skills to compete in the global economy. “Education is one of the most important ways to ensure the success of our workforce, and our community colleges play a leading role in that effort. Particularly in my home state of Michigan and other auto-producing states, community colleges provide our workers with the training they need to help retool our auto facilities and build the next generation of advanced vehicles,” said Congressman Kildee. “This new funding will allow our community colleges to build upon their educational services and continue helping our students gain the necessary skills to succeed in their careers. I applaud the President for his commitment to education and to our community college system.” This funding is expected to increase the number of community college graduates by 5 million in the next 12 years, nearly doubling earlier projections on graduation rates at community colleges. This increased graduation rate is part of the President’s goal for the United States to have the highest college graduation rates in the world by 2020. Community colleges are the largest part of our higher education system, enrolling more than 6 million students, and growing rapidly. They feature affordable tuition, open admission policies, flexible course schedules, and convenient locations, and they are particularly important for students who are older, working, need remedial classes, or can only take classes part-time. They are also capable of working with businesses, industry and government to create tailored training programs to meet economic needs such as nursing, health information technology, advanced manufacturing, and green jobs, and of providing customized training at the worksite. |
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