School & District Management

Obama Headlining Kalamazoo High School Graduation

By The Associated Press — June 07, 2010 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Kalamazoo Central High School valedictorian Cindy Lee is far less jittery about speaking to hundreds of her fellow graduates Monday than she is about sharing a stage with one man: President Barack Obama.

Obama will be giving a graduation speech of his own to the 1,700-student southwest Michigan school, which snagged the honor for winning the national Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge.

“The whole school is excited about it. The whole community is excited. It’s on the news every single day,” Lee, 18, said last week. “And I’m also kind of nervous about giving a speech at the same time as the president.”

While Lee said Obama’s presence won’t mean changes for her speech, it does mean some unusual preparations for a high school graduation, including background checks on graduating seniors who might get to meet the president and restrictions on the number of invitees.

Each of 300 graduates received eight tickets to the ceremony at Western Michigan University’s 5,000-seat University Arena. Students at the district’s three high schools also could get tickets, but the event is not open to the general public.

A few thousand community members have instead gotten tickets to watch the event on big screen TVs at three locations across the city. A Kalamazoo church also will carry a live broadcast.

The last presidential speech at a high school commencement was in 2008, when President George W. Bush spoke to graduates of Greensburg High School in Kansas about a year after the town had been devastated by a tornado.

Lee expects Obama to talk to Kalamazoo about the importance of expanding and improving education, especially because the contest that brings him there was held as part of his administration’s focus on improving graduation rates and school performance.

Kalamazoo Central was one of three Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge finalists chosen through public voting on videos and essays submitted by the schools. The White House said more than 170,000 people voted. Cincinnati’s Clark Montessori Junior High and High School and the Denver School of Science and Technology in Denver were the other finalists.

In choosing the Michigan school, the White House noted the district’s privately and anonymously funded Kalamazoo Promise program. The district’s 11,600 students are guaranteed scholarships covering 65 percent to 100 percent of a student’s college tuition at any of the state’s 15 public universities or 28 community colleges for four years.

The five-year-old program has paid out about $17 million for 1,500 graduates and expects to pay $7.5 million this school year.

The White House also cited Kalamazoo Central’s 80 percent-plus graduation rate, improvements in academic performance and a culturally rich curriculum.

Education is widely viewed as one hope for Michigan’s long-struggling economy.

The state has had the nation’s highest unemployment rate for four consecutive years, including a 14 percent jobless rate in April. Thousands of manufacturing jobs have been lost, many connected to the auto industry. Those jobs likely are gone for good, and the state is trying to diversify its economy with alternative energy, biomedical and other jobs — most of which require education beyond high school.

The president’s visit has many in Kalamazoo feeling their work is paying off.

“It’s the effort of the whole community, a joint effort, that has gained the attention of the President of the United States,” said Pastor Addis Moore of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, which will broadcast the ceremony on a first-come, first-served basis.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math
Student Well-Being Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Power of Emotion Regulation to Drive K-12 Academic Performance and Wellbeing
Wish you could handle emotions better? Learn practical strategies with researcher Marc Brackett and host Peter DeWitt.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Opinion The Stunning Resignation of UVA President Jim Ryan—and Why It Matters
The university president’s departure is more than just a headline. It’s a lesson in leadership.
2 min read
Opinion Licensed Not for Reuse Wait What FCG
Canva
School & District Management In Their Own Words This Custodian Got Students to Stop Vandalizing and Take Pride in Their School
Andy Markus, the 2025 Education Support Professional of the Year, helped boost behavior and engagement in his Utah district.
5 min read
Andy Markus, the head custodian at Draper Park Middle School, in Draper, Utah, sits for a portrait during the National Education Association's 2025 Representative Assembly in Portland, Ore., on July 3, 2025. Markus was named the 2025 NEA Education Support Professional (ESP) of the Year.
Andy Markus, the head custodian at Draper Park Middle School, in Draper, Utah, sits for a portrait during the National Education Association's 2025 representative assembly in Portland, Ore., on July 3, 2025. Markus was named the 2025 NEA Education Support Professional of the Year for his mentorship of students.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
School & District Management What the Research Says About School Boards: How Much Conflict Really Is There?
Plus, how competitive are board elections? How much do teachers' union endorsements matter?
7 min read
Houston ISD's appointed school board votes on the "District of Innovation" status during their monthly work session meeting at HISD Central Office on Sept. 7, 2023 in Houston.
Houston's appointed school board takes a vote during a meeting on Sept. 7, 2023 in the district's central office. A number of studies from recent years have answered questions about school boards' makeup, how competitive board elections are, whether conflict is on the rise, and more.
Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP
School & District Management Opinion How a Weekly Email to My Staff Made Me a Better District Leader
Writing helps make sense out of what feels messy and focus us on what's most important.
George Philhower
5 min read
Blue hand holding red pen.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty + Education Week