doing this? >> is. pres. biden: cool, man -- yes. pres. biden: cool, man. [indiscernible] how many of you, if you had a chance, would want to get in a spacecraft and go to the moon? all right. [laughter] i am just curious. and one last question, how many think we will get to mars with people? all right, man. pretty cool class.

[laughter] >> hi. this is some school. this is beautiful. i love the murals. everything, i love this school. anyway, you do, too. [laughter] actually, i just started my semester this week, so i taught virtually last spring, like most

teachers. i am so excited to be back in person in school. [applause] first lady biden: principal richardson, thank you for welcoming us here today. and secretary cardona and mayor bowser and chancellor, thank you for joining us as well. for families across the country, the school year, it always brings a mix of emotions for all of us. all at once, we feel the anticipation of new classmates and teachers. the relief of not having to hear, "i am bored," again and again, and the anxiety of juggling your family's complicated schedule. and that was before the uncertainties of covid. now, a single cough can start

your heart racing. and, you know, because you know that a quarantine could send your kids home and upend your life once again. parents, this is hard, but you are doing your best. and i want you to know that you are not alone. as a teacher for more than 30 years and a mom, i've see that classrooms are so much more than places where children learn math and reading. we have all seen it. you know when our kids make friends that last for years. when they learn to settle disagreements or find confidence when they try out for sports teams. and parents rely on schools too. heading to our own jobs or pursuing our education, knowing that our kids are in an environment that we can trust. and that is why i am so grateful

for the educators who helped us through the last year. right, miguel? [applause] you know, the cafeteria workers who spent long hours making sandwiches for hungry families, teachers who re-taught lessons at night for students who could not use their family computer during the day because maybe a sibling was on his or her class. bus drivers drove wi-fi hotspots to neighborhoods with no connection. counselors took call after call from parents in tears just trying to juggle it all. when families needed help the most, educators answered the call. [applause] with all of my heart, thank you for being the heroes that we needed. today, our administration is making sure that schools like

this school have the resources and the support they need to bring students back to class where they belong. [applause] and we are going to partner with you because we cannot always know what the future holds, but we do know what we owe our children. we owe them a promise to keep their schools open as safe as possible. we owe them a commitment to follow the science. we owe them unity so that we can fight the virus, not each other. as we move forward, it is going to take all of us, students and families, educators and local leaders, cities and states coming together to make this school year the best it can be. joe put students and their families and their educators at

the heart of everything his administration is doing to defeat and recover from this pandemic. and as a teacher myself, i could not be more proud to stand beside him. we are committed to working as hard for your children as you do. and now it is my pleasure to introduce a young man who i know makes this school very proud. he is a hard-working student and the editor of the student-led newspaper, "the brooklyn buzz." so please welcome elijah. ok, elijah. elijah: thank you, dr. biden. what an amazing honor it is to be introduced by the first lady of the united states. as dr. biden stated,, am elijah,

a student here at brooklyn middle school. brooklyn middle school arts integrated school is located in the district of columbia public school system in washington, dc . in march 2019, our lives changed forever. i was thriving as a sixth-grade scholar involved in athletics and afterschool activities. it was announced that we were going on spring break due to the pandemic. what kid would not be excited? it was supposed to be one week. it turned to 18 months of virtual learning. i am not going to lie, it was really hard. having to learn in a virtual setting, build relationships with new teachers, and keep my grades up, that was a lot for a scholar entering his second year of middle school. however, i excelled and remained on honor roll and made new friends virtually. despite my success in a virtual setting, i hope to return to in person learning for my eighth grade year, my last year as a middle school scholar. i'm excited to be back in

school. however, having to wear a mask all day is a bit uncomfortable, but we know it is necessary for the health and safety of all students and staff. as a 13-year-old scholar, i was able to receive the covid vaccination. [applause] a little birdie told me, a little birdie showing me that dr. biden is terrified of needles. >> that is true. elijah: yesterday, i found out i was selected to introduce the president of the united states. i questioned, why me? how did i get selected for such an honor? then i thought, why not me? i am a young black male excelling academically and socially here at brooklyn middle school. [applause] i'm a black male living in america. i worked hard for this honor and i am genuinely grateful. at this time, it is my extreme honor to introduce the 46th

president of the united states of america, president joe biden. [applause] first lady biden: great job. pres. biden: what an impressive young man. >> yeah. pres. biden: when i was your age, are you going to sit down , baby, or are you going to stand? first lady biden: we are going to sit down. pres. biden: you do not have to. elijah, when i was your age, i was not a bad student, but i was not a bad athlete. but i tell you what, i could no more do what you just did than fly because i used to talk like that, i stuttered. and, especially when i had to do something in public or read aloud. and i am amazed when i see young women and men like you who can

stand up and speak with such grace and ease. it is really impressive. really, really impressive. [applause] well, folks, this is not like the school i went to. [laughter] when they said we were going to speak outside, i wondered why t he hell are we going up all the stairs. i thought we would be in the parking lot. elijah, thank you for the introduction. jill and i, along with others, we want you to know how very proud of you and your classmates we all are. i also want to thank principal richardson. i was kidding him. this school is really something else. [applause] and the way we talked about the interfacing of all the students and the social education taking

place and how things are changing. and chancellor, i told you, i think that is maybe the harder job than anything i can think of. thank you. you are doing a heckuva job. we know the start of the school year brings anticipation and nervousness. in the pandemic adds to that mix of emotions. i think about all the parents i have talked to since the start of this pandemic worried about the loss of learning of their child or missed opportunities their child is having because so many of them had to stay at home. because so many of them did not have access to the internet, did not have access, did not have the equipment. worried about whether or not the school lunch program was still going to be available. there was so much anxiety.

it is not just academics. it is the friendship and the socialization that may be as equally as consequential. it is access to critical services like school counseling that helps students stay physically and mentally alert. but i want folks to know that we are going to be ok. we are going to be ok. we know what it takes to keep our children safe and our schools open. and we have the tools to do it. last night, i laid out a plan for the fall to beat this pandemic and basically it has six parts. vaccinate the unvaccinated and thank you for getting the vaccination and thank your parents for doing that. two, protect the vaccinated. three is increased testing and masking. four is to take care of people with covid, five is to keep our economy going, and six is to keep our children safe and in school and schools open. [applause] now for any parent, it does not matter how low the risk of any illness is when it could happen to your child.

but we all know if schools follow the science and implement safety measures like vaccinations, testing, masking, then children can be safe in schools, safe from covid-19. my plan does all of these things. on vaccinations, it comes down to two separate categories. children ages 12 and older like elijah who are eligible for vaccines, and he got his. children ages 11 and under who are not yet eligible, the safest thing you can do for your child 12 and older is get them vaccinated. that is it. simple, plain, straightforward. get them vaccinated. parents, get your teenagers vaccinated. you got them vaccinated for all kinds of other things. measles, mumps, rubella. for him to go to school and be able to play sports, they have had to have those vaccinations. get them vaccinated. the covid-19 vaccine is easy, it is safe, and convenient.

we will work to bring vaccine clinics to our schools as well. mayor bowser has done one heck of a job. you really have, mayor. [applause] you are doing a heck of a job across the board. i really mean that. you set up vaccination clinics at 20 school sites, including here in brooklyn, where they will continue through the month of september. so there is really no excuse not to be able. you can get vaccinated. we are giving prizes and incentives to encourage children and families to get the shots. in luke, their efforts and look, their efforts are working. 65% of children ages 12 to 17 here in d.c. have gotten at least one shot like elijah. that is incredible. [applause] that is one of the highest rates in the nation for total between the ages of 12 and 17. for students here, once you all get vaccinated, you are invited to a special visit at the white house. [applause] i'm going to get in trouble with

the secret service and everyone else. i'm not sure how we are going to mechanically do it, but i am assuming the buses can get you to the white house and if we cannot get you all in one room, we will be in the rose garden and maybe let you fly the helicopters. [laughter] i am joking about that. i was just downstairs them up on the science class. it is amazing. you saw it, mayor. it is amazing. these kids are excited about building a vehicle that can land on the moon. i really mean it. i asked them, everybody but one, how many want to go to the moon? everybody but one said they wanted to go to the moon. i asked how many want to go to mars and i think they all raised their hand. they are excited about it. the best way for a parent to protect their child under 12 starts at home. every parent, every sibling, every caregiver around them should be vaccinated. children have four times higher chance of getting hospitalized if they live in an area with low vaccination rates rather than high vaccination rates.

it goes for the home as well. there is a high vaccination rate in the home, it significantly diminishes the possibilities. now, if you are a parent of a young child, you are wondering when will the vaccine be available for them. i strongly support independent scientific review of vaccine uses for children under 12. but i have told them, i will do everything within my power to support the food and drug administration, the fda, on its ongoing efforts to do the science as safely and as quickly as possible, and our nation's doctors will keep the public updated on the process so parents can have a plan and give them a sense of what progress is being made. the vaccinations of our educators, today about 90% of school staff and teachers are vaccinated. we should have that at 100%. we are requiring vaccinations for teachers where i have the authority to require it who were work in u.s. government and

educators in headstart, which is a federal program because it is funded by the federal government. but i am calling all governors to require vaccinations for all teachers and staff. vaccination requirements and schools are nothing new. they work. they are overwhelmingly supported by educators and their unions. now, on school safety measures, in our american rescue plan which we passed early on, we provided the funding for ventilation systems, cleaning and sanitizing services, and critical safety measures to significantly reduce the spread of the virus and protect our children and keep our schools safe. and we will do whatever it takes this school year as well, especially on increasing testing. we provided funding through the american rescue plan to implement testing in schools for teachers, staff, and students. and that includes bus drivers as well. i want all schools setting up regular testing programs to make sure we detect and isolate cases before they can spread.

i will mobilize american industry to produce nearly 300 million more rapid covid-19 tests for distribution all around the country, including to schools that need them. you know, i going to use what we am call the defense production act that allows me to ensure that what we need made, we can ask private enterprise to make them because they are of national interest. they are going to make these tests as quickly as possible. i am going to use the defense production act. my plan will also expand free testing that you can get at 10,000 pharmacies around the country. walmart, amazon, kroger will sell at home rapid tests at costs, which means they are going to charge no more than it cost them to buy the test for the manufacturer and that will be the same for the next three months. that is a discount of 35%. about 35%. this is important for everyone,

particularly for a parent of a child not old enough to be vaccinated. you will be able to test your child at home and test those around them as well. and on masking, we know masks work. they are uncomfortable sometimes and they get tired of wearing them. i understand. i really do. i wear them in the white house. under cdc guidelines, every person in a school, teacher, staff, students, should be masked while indoors. to all of the school officials trying to do the right thing by our children, i will always be on your side, no matter how much heat you are getting from outside. [applause] let me close with this, i have often said that our children are the kite strings. they are all our children. not just our children. everybody's children. they are the kite strings that lift our national ambitions aloft. that is not hyperbole. that is a fact. we owe it to them to do everything we can to keep them safe in school, dreaming,

learning, thriving, socializing, becoming good citizens. it means following the science, wearing a mask, getting tested, getting vaccinated. it means working together and looking out for each other like they teach you in school. we can look out for each other. we can do this. i think you are going to have a great school year. i can see the enthusiasm. if you walk in the classroom, there is real enthusiasm. i'm sure there are some classrooms i was in through school where everybody walked in, oh, here we go, but you have been really great, you really have. and principal, you have done a great job here. you really have. and i think this is, i hope everybody gets to see this. i wish i could take the whole nation around every one of these classrooms to see what is going on because it is such a great example. so again, thank you. have a great school year.

elijah, i'm going to find out if i can find out when your football games are. i may want to try to figure it out without 10,000 secret service agents coming to see you play, ok? thank you very much. [applause] >> [indiscernible] pres. biden: have at it. look, i am so disappointed, particularly some of the republican governors have been so cavalier with the health of these kids, so cavalier with the health of their communities. this is, this is, we are playing for real here. this is not a game. and i do not know of any scientists out there in this

field that does not think it makes considerable sense to do the six things i have suggested. and, but, you know, it is, let me conclude with this, one of the lessons i hope our students can unlearn is that politics does not have to be this way. politics does not have to be this way. they are growing up in an environment where they see this like a war, like a bitter feud. if the democrats says right, everyone says left. if everyone says left, they say right. i mean, that is not who we are, that is not who we are as a nation, and it is not how we beat every other crisis in our history. we have to come together. i think the vast majority, look at the polling data, the vast majority of the american people know we have to do these things. they are hard, but necessary. we need to get them done. thank you. [applause] >> [indiscernible]

>> we go out the same way we came. let's go, guys. this way, please. thank you. right downstairs. thank you. thank you. >> [indiscernible] ♪ announcer: this year marks the 20th anniversary of the september 11 attacks.

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entries should be received before january 20, 2022. to get started, visit our website at studentcam.oeg. o --rg. announcer: c-spanshop.org is a collection of c-span products, browse what is new. her purchase will support our operations. you still have time to order the congressional directory with contact information from members of congress and the biden administration. go to c-spanshop.org. and now the white house covid-19 response team on the federal response to the pandemic. they talk about president biden's new plan to get more americans vaccinated. this is about ready minutes. >> good morning. thank you for joining us. i want to reinforce the importance of