That dramatically improving student achievement and graduation rates is the goal.
That eliminating achievement gaps is the urgent necessity.
That students should be free of any threat of violence.
That parents should be encouraged and empowered to get more involved in their children's schools.
That teachers should be well respected and well paid.
That money should be spent in the classroom, not on bureaucracy.
That schools should be neighborhood centers.
And that no reform effort can succeed unless it's the product of honest and earnest collaboration and consensus among parents, teachers, principals and the community they serve.
I have no illusions, there is no quick fix or a single path. But the stakes are too great, the needs are too urgent not to start now. Public education is not just the best investment we can make as a society.
It can literally change a person's destiny.
You see, I know, because I'm married to a great public schoolteacher who makes a difference in the lives of her students, every day.
And because a great public schoolteacher named Herman Katz made just such a difference in my life — and you know what? He made it in the lives of hundreds of other students, just like me.
You know that the people coming here in search of a better life today aren't any different from our grandparents and great grandparents. It doesn't matter if your family passed through Ellis Island or San Ysidro or whether they came from Malaysia yesterday or from Moscow a century ago.
The dream and the obstacles to that dream are the same.
In 1903, Rabbi J. Leonard Levy penned a fifth question for the ritual of Passover.
"Where," he asked, "where do we find civil, political, and religious liberty united today?" He offered this answer: "To us, the United States of America stands as the foremost among nations granting the greatest liberty to all who dwell there. Therefore, we grace our table with the national flag. That flag stands for equal liberty to all men. It means equal rights for all. It means free hands, and free lips, self-government. It means universal education, light for every mind, knowledge for every child. It means that the schoolhouse is the bulwark of liberty," he said.
Fellow Angelenos, we still need light for every mind, and while the rabbi's words are a century old, their meaning has never rung truer. The schoolhouse remains the bulwark of liberty.
I'd like to now turn to another matter that may not sound like the stuff of dreams, but is critical if we are to improve the quality of life of our city's residents. And that's traffic.
The time we spend stuck in traffic we don't spend helping our kids with their homework or being productive at work.
So, Los Angeles, join me-fighting for the investment in public transportation that's the hallmark of any great city. Join me in implementing the tough and common sense traffic plans that have been bottlenecked for too long. Join me in transforming Los Angeles into a city that connects our communities and brings us all closer together. And, because improving our quality of life means protecting the quality of the water we drink and the air we breathe. Join me in making L.A. the greenest big city in America.
Let's provide the national leadership that's lacking on conservation and recycling. Let's show the nation that we can light a city with green power. Let's fight together for tougher air and water quality standards.
Fighting crime and fixing schools, improving our quality of life are huge challenges. And there are many more. We need to come together as a city to meet those challenges.
And we can't do it without the effort and contributions of every neighborhood and every community of interest. We won't succeed if people north of the Hollywood Hills feel they are not like equal partners in our civic life. And we can't truly prosper if those living south of the Santa Monica Freeway don't feel fully invested in our economic success.
Join me, Los Angeles.
Dream with me, Los Angeles.
And work with me to fulfill our dreams.
I've lived here all my life, and there are many places I love around the city. But whenever I go through South Los Angeles, I always try to catch a glimpse of Nuestro Pueblo, which is Spanish for "Our Town." It describes a series of towers that rise over Watts like some improbable dream.
