On Thursday, President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union Address.
National security considerations loomed large over the whole speech. In the remarks, Biden prioritized assuring access to humanitarian assistant to Gaza amid the ongoing war, while advocating for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Biden also pressed Congress to pass the national security supplemental package to continue sending aid to Ukraine.
However, President Biden did make a few references to education, including more access to preschool, high-quality tutoring and summer learning, and college affordability, as well as a nod to raising teacher salaries. In relationship to CTE, at about the halfway point in the speech, Biden said, “I’m also connecting businesses and high schools so students get hands-on experience and a path to a good-paying job whether or not they go to college.” Additionally, Biden recounted a meeting with the leaders of the Business Roundtable. They were critical of his education budget. He mentioned that when he was Vice President, they said they needed a better educated workforce, and that his proposals would provide them the “best-educated workforce in the world.”
Among the invited guests sitting with First Lady Jill Biden was Samantha Ervin-Upsher. Ervin-Upsher is an apprentice with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She met the First Lady during a visit highlighting the Investing in American Workforce Hub, which is an Administration initiative that seeks to build career pathways through high schools, community colleges and unions to job opportunities. Rashawn Spivey, the founder and owner of HERO Plumbing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was also in the box as a graduate of Milwaukee Area Technical College and former apprentice. Additionally, Mayor Garnett Johnson of Augusta, Georgia was among the guests. Augusta is one of the five cities the White House designated as Investing in America Workforce Hubs. The Augusta Workforce Hub is led by a partnership between Mayor Johnson and three Augusta regional education institutions focused on training students in growing sectors, such as advanced manufacturing and construction skilled trades, to prepare the next generation for technical jobs in the region.
A recording of the address can be found here.
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