Education

First Lady, Education Secretary Visit Atlanta High School Students

September 8th, 2014

First Lady Michelle Obama joined Education Secretary Arne Duncan on a leg of his annual Back to School Bus Tour Monday. This year, the tour started at Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta.

Hear the broadcast version of this story.

The message to students was: Aim for college. Speaking at the first high school in Atlanta that offered secondary education to African-American students, Duncan stressed the importance of higher education.

“I also want to tell you, we need to lead the world in college graduation rates,” he said. “We used to be first in the world and today we’re twelfth. That’s not good enough, and we need all of you to lead the country where we need to go.”

The First Lady promoted her Reach Higher initiative, which encourages students to complete some kind of post-secondary degree. Referring to the event as a “prep rally,” Mrs. Obama told students to start planning their academic futures.

“Talk to your parents, your teachers, your counselors, whoever about different colleges and careers that you might want to pursue,” she said. “Get a plan in your head. And then figure out what it’s going to take for you to get where you want to go.”

After the stop at Washington, Duncan and Mrs. Obama went their separate ways. Duncan’s bus tour heads to Carrollton, Georgia and then Alabama and Tennessee. Mrs. Obama stayed in Atlanta to fundraise and campaign for U.S. Democratic Senate Nominee Michelle Nunn.