Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you, everybody.  Please be seated.  Hello, Giants.  (Applause.)  It is good -- it is good to be here, and congratulations Class of 2010.  (Applause.)  I am honored to be part of this special occasion.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you!

THE PRESIDENT:  And I love you back.  (Applause.)  Let me acknowledge your extraordinary governor, Jennifer Granholm.  (Applause.)  Superintendent¹ Rice, thank you for your inspiring words.  (Applause.)  Your mayor, Bobby Hopewell, who I understand is a proud Kalamazoo graduate himself.  (Applause.)   

Thanks to Principal Washington for -- (applause) -- not just for the warm introduction, but for his enthusiasm（热心，热忱） and his energy and his leadership and his nice singing voice.  (Laughter.)  Thank you.  To all the trustees（受托人） , to the alumni（男校友） , to the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins -- everybody who’s been a part of this extraordinary place.  (Applause.)

And I want to recognize our student speakers.  Cindy, who embodies² the best of our traditions in this country -- arrived three or four years ago and graduates as the valedictorian（告别演说者） -- this is what is continually replenishing（补充，重装） the energy and the dynamism（活力，动态） and the innovation of this country, and we could not be prouder of you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  And to Simon, I’m glad that, according to the Constitution, you can’t run till you’re 35.  (Laughter and applause.)  So I’ll be long gone by then.  (Laughter.)  But it gives me great confidence to know that we’ve got such incredible young leaders who are going to be remaking the world in so many different ways.

Now, recently, an article from your local paper, the Kalamazoo Gazette -- (applause) -- was brought to my attention.  And it ran just after this school had been chosen as one of the six finalists in our Race to the Top Commencement Challenge.  And for those who aren’t aware of it, this is a contest to highlight schools that promote academic excellence³, personal responsibility and that best prepare students for college and careers.  And this article in the Gazette quoted a young lady named Kelsey Wilson -- (applause.)  Where is -- is Kelsey here?  She right over there?  (Applause.)  Anyway --

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  She’s here.

THE PRESIDENT:  She’s over there?  Hey, Kelsey.  How are you?  (Laughter.)

So Kelsey was quoted as saying, “We’re the kind of school that never gets credit for what we do.  And our school is amazing.”  This is what Kelsey said, “Our school is amazing.”

Well, Kelsey, Class of 2010, members of the Kalamazoo community, I’m here tonight because after three rounds of competition, with more than a thousand schools, and more than 170,000 votes cast, I know -- and America knows -- what you’ve done at Kalamazoo Central.  You are amazing!  (Applause.)  We know.  We know.  (Applause.)  Our amazing Secretary of Education Arne Duncan knows.  (Applause.)  Folks（人们） in Washington know, folks across the country know, and hopefully after tonight, everybody knows.

Now, together as a community, you’ve embraced the motto（格言，箴言） of this school district:  “Every child, every opportunity, every time.”  (Applause.)  Every time.  Every child, every opportunity, every time, because you believe, like I do, that every young person, every child -- regardless of what they look like, where they come from, how much money their parents have -- every child who walks through your schoolhouse doors deserves a quality education.  No exceptions.  (Applause.)

And I’m here tonight because I think that America has a lot to learn from Kalamazoo Central about what makes for a successful school in this new century.  (Applause.)  You’ve got educators raising standards and then inspiring their students to meet them.  You’ve got community members who are stepping up as tutors and mentors⁴ and coaches.  You got parents who are taking an active interest in their child’s education -- attending those teacher conferences, yes, turning off the TV once in a while, making sure homework gets done.

Arne Duncan is here tonight because these are the values, these are the changes that he’s encouraging in every school in this nation.  It’s the key to our future.

But the most important ingredient（要素，原料） is you:  students who raised your sights, who aimed high, who invested yourselves in your own success.  It’s no accident that so many of you have received college admissions letters, Class of 2010.  That didn’t happen by accident.  It happened because you worked for it.  As the superintendent（负责人，主管） said, you earned it.

So, Kelsey, I agree with you.  What you’ve done here at Kalamazoo Central is amazing.  (Applause.)  I am proud of you.  Your parents are proud of you.  Your teachers, your principal -- we’re all incredibly proud.