We’ve always been aware of Obama’s push for education, but now he is placing a call to action for community colleges to step up and produce more graduates if the country wants to remain competitive on a global scale in the amount of college graduates. Obama said community colleges “may not get the credit they deserve, they may not get the same resources as other schools, but they provide a gateway to millions of Americans to good jobs and a better life.” Obama was joined at the summit by long-time community college teacher, Jill Biden, wife of Vice President, Joe Biden. Why the push on community college? Huffington Post reports:

The purpose was to boost the schools that provide millions of students with skills training and a less expensive path to a college degree – even as they’re increasingly challenged by climbing enrollments and high dropout rates.

Below is an excerpt from yesterday’s White House Summit on Community Colleges:

The Summit resulted in Obama signing a legislation for $2 billion dollars, $500 million for four years, to be allocated towards community colleges. Private funding was also received from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in their launch of a $35 million, five-year competitive grant program to boost community college graduation rates. You can read more about the Gates Foundation’s involvement with community colleges in their blog post, Celebrating Community Colleges and Their Students.