My job isn't to win popularity contests.
Teachers deserve more respect than many give them, and more opportunities than the system affords them today.
We, as a society, will benefit from the interest young people show beginning at first, second, and third grades. As a result, there's great promise in the future.
As a kid, I grew up middle class, but my father was a great innovator with an entrepreneurial spirit, and it wasn't long before my family became part of the infamous 1%.
Teaching is hard. It takes a lot of skill. Not everyone who tries can do it well. We need to admit that and act accordingly. We should reward and respect great teachers by paying them more, and we should stop rewarding seniority over effectiveness.
Too many children today are trapped in schools that don't work for them.
As we know, lots of people working together to solve problems doesn't happen often enough, particularly here in Washington.
The president has made good on a promise to ensure that the American people are not subject to overreach... and fulfilled a commitment to keep America first and focus on American jobs.
If you can't get cell phone service in your living room, then your particular provider is failing you. You should have the option to find a network that does work.
They say that if you voted for Donald Trump, you're a threat to the university community. But the real threat is silencing the First Amendment rights of people with whom you disagree.
I expect there will be more virtual schools.
I don't think Donald Trump represents the Republican Party... I think more and more people are going to realize that they really don't trust him.
I can now video chat with my grandkids from any corner of the world, listen to music, or order food and have it delivered to my front door.
No child's dream should be limited by the quality, or lack thereof, of the education they receive.
We expect to foster a conservative governing philosophy consisting of limited government and respect for traditional American virtues.
We'll be examining and auditing and reviewing all of the programs of the department and really figuring out what is the core mission and how can the federal department of education really support and enhance the role of the departments in the states.
It shouldn't matter what type of school a student attends, so long as the school is the right fit for that student.
Government likes committees... a lot. Committees kill all the really good ideas and generally all the really bad ideas. They produce middle-ground mush.
When we had segregated schools and when we had a time when, you know, girls weren't allowed to have the same kind of sports teams - I mean, there have been important inflection points for the federal government to get involved in some of the areas around protecting students and ensuring safe environments for them - there is a role to play.
Trump's vision continues taking shape.
If the question is around gun violence and the results of that, please know that my heart bleeds and is broken for those families that have lost any individual due to gun violence.
Education broadens our horizons and enables us to confront realities we'd never before anticipated.
Opening a complaint for investigation in no way implies that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has made a determination about the merits of the complaint.
I'm proud to stand beside you as a partner and support Special Olympics - an important program that promotes leadership and empowers students to be agents of change.
Assault in any form is never OK, and I want to be very clear on that.
Every child deserves to attend school in a safe, supportive environment where they can learn, thrive, and grow.
It would be fine with me to have myself worked out of a job, but I'm not sure that - I'm not sure that there will be a champion movement in Congress to do that.
I greatly appreciate being asked to be part of President-elect Trump's team and I will continue to enthusiastically support him and his agenda for American renewal.
I will not be deterred from my mission of helping kids in this country.
One of the hallmarks of higher education and of democracy is the ability to converse with people with whom we disagree.
There isn't really any Common Core any more. Each state is able to set the standards for their state. They may elect to adopt very high standards for their students to aspire to and to work toward. And that will be up to each state.
You have to have teachers who are empowered to facilitate great teaching.
There are not enough philanthropic dollars in America to fund what is currently the need in education.
We're not proposing any shifting of funding from public schools to private schools.
The bottom line is we believe that parents are the best equipped to make choices for their children's schooling and education decisions.
We must first listen, then speak - with humility - to genuinely hear the perspectives of those with whom we don't immediately or instinctively agree.
That's where my heart has been for three decades is to really empower and allow all families the same kind of opportunities I've had for my kids.
I can assure you I have never made decisions on my mother's behalf on her foundation's board.
We should celebrate the fact that, unlike some countries in the world, the United States makes promises that we will never send any student away from our schools.
Dick and I became increasingly committed to helping other parents - parents from low-income families in particular.
Let's choose to hear one another out.
I expect there will be more public charter schools.
I will not be conflicted. Period. I commit that to you all.
All schools that receive public funding should be accountable, yes.
My faith motivates me to really try to work on behalf of and advocate for those who are least able to advocate for themselves.
I consider protecting all students, including LGBTQ students, not only a key priority for the Department, but for every school in America.
If confirmed, I will be a strong advocate for great public schools.
President-elect Trump and I know it won't be Washington, D.C., that unlocks our nation's potential, nor a bigger bureaucracy, tougher mandates, or a federal agency. The answer is local control and listening to parents, students, and teachers.
Our nation's commitment is to provide a quality education to every child to serve the public common good. Accordingly, we must shift the paradigm to think of education funding as investments made in individual children, not in institutions or buildings.
