Politics. On Point.

President Obama delivered the commencement speech to students of Booker T. Washington high school. Admitting that he "cries at commencements", the president told the 2011 graduates: "We are here today because every single one of you stood tall and said, “Yes, we can. Yes, we can learn. Yes, we can succeed. You decided you would not be defined by where you come from but by where you want to go, by what you want to achieve, by the dreams you hope to fulfill." Just a couple of years ago, this was a school where only about half the students made it to graduation. For a long time, just a handful headed to college each year. But at Booker T. Washington, you changed all that. The school won the President's Race To The Top Commencement Challenge.  Booker T. Washington High School’s graduation rate went from 55% in 2007 to 81.6% in 2010.  More here .

Congratulations are in order for Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis, Tennessee. The school was chosen as the winner of the 2011 Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge. As such, their school will have honor of having President Barack Obama deliver the commencement address May 16th. Vice President Joseph Biden called Principal Alisha Kiner to tell her the school had won. "What we want to do is catapult our students to a higher plain", said Kiner. "And that takes going to college." Although Booker T. offers AP courses as well as vocational and technical courses for its myriad of different students, one thing that is common, especially among the teaching staff and principle is making sure that the students know that whatever they chose to do, they must "be the best" at it, reminds Kiner. Booker T. Washington High School’s graduation rate went from 55% in 2007 to 81.6% in 2010. “I’m so proud of the schools that participated in...