《2016奥巴马开学演讲稿(白宫版)》.doc

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you! Hello! (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you. Well, hello, Philadelphia! (Applause.) And hello, Masterman. It is wonderful to see all of you. What a terrific introduction by Kelly. Give Kelly a big round of applause. (Applause.) I was saying backstage that when I was in high school, I could not have done that. (Laughter.) I would have muffed it up somehow. So we are so proud of you and everything that you’ve done. And to all the students here, I’m thrilled to be here. We’ve got a couple introductions I want to make. First of all, you’ve got the outstanding governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, in the house. (Applause.) The mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, is here. (Applause.) Congressman Chaka Fattah is here. (Applause.) Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz is here. (Applause.) Your own principal, Marge Neff, is here. (Applause.) The school superintendent, Arlene Ackerman, is here and doing a great job. (Applause.) And the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, is here. (Applause.) And I am here. (Applause.) And I am thrilled to be here. I am just so excited. I’ve heard such great things about what all of you are doing, both the students and the teachers and the staff here. Today is about welcoming all of you, and all of America’s students, back to school, even though I know you’ve been in school for a little bit now. And I can’t think of a better place to do it than at Masterman. (Applause.) Because you are one of the best schools in Philadelphia. You are a leader in helping students succeed in the classroom. Just last week, you were recognized by a National Blue Ribbon -- as a National Blue Ribbon School because of your record of achievement. And that is a testament to everybody here –- to the students, to the parents, to the teachers, to the school leaders. It’s an example of excellence that I hope communities across America can embrace. Over the past few weeks, Michelle and I have been getting Sasha