The President was back in Washington today to make remarks on education - after a West Coast trip that included a mix of fundraising and promoting his American Jobs Act.
His third annual "Back to School" address was at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, a Washington, DC public school with a college preparatory program. The President spoke directly to students in public schools throughout the country; the White House made his remarks available live on its website so that schools and teachers could choose to allow their students to watch or listen.
One of the provisions in his jobs bill calls for $25 billion in construction money, which the White House says would allow for the repair and modernization of 35,000 public schools.
The President told a crowd outside a Denver high school yesterday "Every child deserves a great school -- and we can give it to them...My question to Congress is: What on Earth are you waiting for? ... Let's pass this jobs bill and put teachers back in the classroom where they belong."