Remarks in a Discussion With Project GRAD Students at Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark, New Jersey

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Nov 8, 1999

November 4, 1999

The President. You know Senator Lautenberg, Congressman Payne, your Mayor James.

Jayson, don't you think you ought to introduce Mr. Katz to these people? [At this point, New Jersey Nets player Jayson Williams made brief remarks and introduced Nets co-owner Lewis Katz, who also made brief remarks.]

The President. Tell us about this Project GRAD program-anybody want to tell me about it? Go ahead.

Student. Project GRAD is a scholarship program that guarantees you a $6,000 scholarship.

The President. If you do what?

Student. If you maintain a 2.5 grade point average, and you have to take two summer institute college preps for two summers. And you have to go to Malcolm X Shabazz for 4 years and graduate within that 4 years. You can't do it in 5 years but 4 years. You have to take college preparatory courses.

The President. So harder courses and two summer schools?

Student. Not harder courses, it's like college prep.

Student. We also have to take 40 hours of community service in our 4 years. We can take 10 hours a year--we can do how many hours that we can do in our 4 years.

The President. What community service are you doing?

Student. Me, I'm a freshman, so--

The President. You haven't started yet. Do you think the community service requirement is a good thing?

Students. Yes, yes.

The President. In the State of Maryland, Maryland is the only State in America where you have to do community service as a requirement. It's like taking American history or English or whatever. It's like a requirement for getting your high school diploma. And it's a requirement to be in this program.

Are you in the band?

Student. Yes.

The President. What's your instrument?

Student. Trumpet.

The President. Good. How long have you been playing?

Student. Six years.

The President. That's great. It's not quite as big a thrill as Jayson Williams, maybe, but I also got to--I spent a lot of time with Wynton Marsalis. He's the only musician, I think, in the world who is both the greatest jazz musician and the greatest classical musician on his instrument. Good guy.

What else do you want to tell me about this program?

[At this point, the program continued.]

The President. Is there a limit to the number of young people who can be in the program in this high school?

Student. No. You just have to meet all the requirements.

The President. So anybody who meets the requirements can be in the program?

Student. Yes.

[At this point, the program continued.]

The President. How long has this program been going on, do you know?

Student. This is the third year. This will be the third year.

The President. Are there three groups of people who have already graduated from high school?

Students. No.

The President. You're the first. Just juniors. And how many juniors are in the program? Most of them? And do you think 100 percent of the juniors in the program will go to college?

Student. Yes.

[At this point, the program continued.]

The President. Is Bob Milliken here? Mr. Milliken started the Communities In Schools program--how long ago now? He's been working at this for 25 years, and over 15 years ago, when I was Governor of Arkansas, he came to Arkansas, and he put some of--the program started off in big cities like Newark, and then he put them in small towns and rural areas, too. It's a wonderful thing. People that commit their lives to this are real heroes in my opinion.

[At this point, the program continued.]

The President. What you're doing is better, I think, it's more comprehensive. We couldn't afford nationally to put it in everywhere. What we're doing I think can be used also by you. This GEAR UP program is one that Congress adopted last year that was developed based on a model that colleges in Philadelphia had pioneered, and the Congressman from Philadelphia, Chakah Fattah, got Mr. Payne and Senator Lautenberg and others to help, and we passed a program that basically provides funds to help college students go in with junior high school kids, middle school kids, and say, "Look, you've got a guarantee of going to college if you make your grades, and we'll help you." And then the colleges come in and tutor and mentor the kids and work with them wherever we have this.

This is better because it works from the beginning of school all the way up. But anything we can do, it seems to me, to make every young person know that college is a real possibility if they stay in school and do the work and learn the subjects I think are very important.

How does the scholarship program work? Where does the money come from? Do you put up the $6,000 for all the kids?

William M. Freeman. It's not just Lucent Technologies, Mr. President. It's a combination of a lot of things together. And we give $1,000 the first year, $1,000 the second, $2,000 the third, and $2,000 the fourth year. And that's reserved for each child from when you start out. And we committed over 12 years, so that the first kindergarten class is guaranteed when they graduate, from that year through 12.