Michael Bennet: “Thank you, Mr. President. I am obviously a Senator from Colorado, but as I rise, I am speaking more as the father of…”

“Thank you, Mr. President. I am obviously a Senator from Colorado, but as I rise, I am speaking more as the father of three daughters in the Denver Public Schools and a former superintendent of schools. It was a great privilege of mine, probably the privilege of a lifetime, to have been the superintendent of Denver Public Schools for almost 5 years. I can't begin to express, as I am standing on this floor, my gratitude for what I have learned from teachers, principals, and parents who were sending their kids to what was then a school district that had seen declining enrollment for many years. It is now the fastest growing urban school district in America. Of course, the students themselves day after day inspired all the adults around them to want to help deliver a high-quality education. But I also was struck when I was superintendent with the barriers that we have accepted as a country and as a society that we would never accept for our own children. We would never accept them for our own children. The first barrier I talked about on the floor before is the fact that if you are born poor in this country, you show up to kindergarten having heard 30 million fewer words than your more affluent peers.…”