Superintendents in the United States were notified by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan last week that President Obama would be addressing all students in the country regarding the value of education. Secretary Duncan encourages educators to use this historic moment to help students get focused and begin the school year strong.

The President's national address to students will be on Tuesday, September 8 at 8 a.m. Alaska time and will be broadcast live on C-Span and streamed live on the White House Web site www.whitehouse.gov. Anchorage School District teachers may choose to watch this address with their students, either live or through rebroadcasts that will be made available later in the day. Participation is voluntary.

We have received a number of phone calls and e-mails from citizens and parents regarding this matter. There appears to be a presumption that this is a political activity; it is not. As I understand it, the President will be stressing the importance of setting goals, the importance of regular school attendance, and the shared responsibility of students, teachers and parents in education. I believe it is very important that our students hear from the President on the important part education played in his life, and that of his family. More information on the address is available on the White House Web site.

I want to assure anyone who is questioning the activity that I believe our students will benefit from listening to the President, if this is something that their teacher chooses to incorporate into their lessons. I would say the same for any other President, and for any other elected official such as our governor, members of Congress, legislators and the mayor. We encourage elected officials to visit our classrooms and to speak to our students; Governor Parnell has already visited East High School, his alma mater, and will be visiting three other schools this month as he stresses the importance of staying in school, not dropping out, and the value of education and a high school diploma.

We have firm guidelines in place for any elected officials and candidates who choose to visit our classrooms and schools.

Parents may opt their student out of this presidential address. If a teacher chooses to watch the address with his or her class, the school will provide an alternate educational activity for those students whose parents do not wish them to participate.

If anyone would like to discuss this issue further, please call my office at 907-742-4312 or send an e-mail to comeau_carol@asdk12.org.

Most sincerely,
Superintendent Carol Comeau