U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings on Fostering Educational Attainment in the Americas
U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings on Fostering Educational Attainment in the Americas
Addressing attendees at the COA's Washington Conference of the Americas, U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings discussed the importance of educational exchange between the United States and the rest of the Western Hemisphere, saying that the more governments and higher education institutions work together to foster exchange, “the better prepared we will all be to respond to the challenges of our changing world.”
“It’s not enough for us to do a good job with educating the elites…we have to extend the pipeline.”
Addressing attendees at the COA Washington Conference of the Americas, U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings discussed the importance of educational exchange between the United States and the rest of the Western Hemisphere, saying that the more governments and higher education institutions work together to foster exchange, “the better prepared we will all be to respond to the challenges of our changing world.”
Spellings outlined a number of initiatives supported by the Bush administration in collaboration with governments in Latin America, highlighting early education programs in Guatemala and Peru that helped lift literacy rates. Other programs include a teacher training program with the goal of reaching 20,000 people in Latin America and a $75 million fund to assist Latin American youth with coming to the United States to study.
The secretary also addressed the issue of bureaucratic obstacles for Latin Americans applying for visas to study in the United States, particularly in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Spellings said she and State Department Secretary Condoleezza Rice had worked together to “right the ship” in terms of clearing red tape.
Throughout her talk, Spellings emphasized the importance of educational attainment and achieving post-secondary education, saying, “It’s not enough for us to do a good job with educating the elites…we have to extend the pipeline.”
Prior to her tenure as education secretary, Spellings served as an assistant to the president for domestic policy, when she helped create the No Child Left Behind Act. She previously served as a senior advisor to Governor George W. Bush, where she focused on developing and implementing the governor's education reforms and policies.
For nearly four decades, the annual Washington Conference on the Americas has served as the top forum for government, industry, and policy leaders to engage in substantive analysis on timely themes affecting the Western Hemisphere.
View summaries of and listen to audio of remarks by conference speakers:
- President George W. Bush
- President of Panama Martín Torrijos
- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
- Peru's Minister of Finance Luis Carranza Ugarte
- U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez
- U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks
- Canada's Minister of Industry Jim Prentice
- Colombian Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos
- U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab
- U.S. Assistant Secretary Thomas Shannon
- U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings
- IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn
