    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 124, 111th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    PROCLAMATION 8602--NOV. 16, 2010

    Proclamation 8602 of November 16, 2010
    American Education Week, 2010
    By the President of the United States of America
    A Proclamation

    Education is essential to our success as both a people and a Nation.
    During American Education Week, we rededicate ourselves to providing a
    complete and competitive education for every student, from cradle
    through career.
    In an increasingly interconnected world, our leadership and prosperity
    depend on the standard and quality of education that we establish for
    our students. In order to maintain our Nation's role as the world's
    engine of discovery and innovation, my Administration is committed to
    ensuring that America has the best-educated citizenry in the world.
    To foster the next generation of great American leaders, we must
    continue to invest in education at all levels, work with States and
    districts to improve our educational system, and encourage reforms that
    ensure the development of our students and teachers. We have also set a
    goal of once again having the highest proportion of college graduates of
    any country across the globe by the year 2020.
    Educators and school employees must also strive to provide our students
    with the tools needed to access a fulfilling and prosperous fu-

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    ture. Students are able to reach for their dreams when teachers,
    parents, and communities support their efforts and insist upon
    excellence.
    Education has always been central to ensuring opportunity, and to
    instilling in all our citizens the defining American values of freedom,
    equality, and respect for one another. Our Nation's schools can give
    students the tools, skills, and knowledge to participate fully in our
    democracy, and to succeed in college, career, and life. This week, let
    us reaffirm the importance of education and recognize that we all share
    in the responsibility to educate our students.
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
    America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
    the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 14 through
    November 20, 2010, as American Education Week. I call upon all Americans
    to observe this week by supporting their local schools through
    appropriate activities, events, and programs designed to help create
    opportunities for every school and student in America.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of
    November, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the
    Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
    fifth.
    BARACK OBAMA