As the CEO of Chicago Public Schools, Arne Duncan has been an esteemed supporter of Team M3~Chicago Student MentorRun acknowledging the incredible developmental and health benefits training for and completing the Chicago Marathon with an adult mentor can bring Chicago Public high school students.
In an October letter to all Chicago Public high school principals encouraging their participation in the 2009 season, Duncan named Team M3~Chicago Student MentorRun the official marathon training program for Chicago Public high school students.
We are very thankful that even on his way to Capitol Hill to serve as Secretary of Education he cited the achievements of our high school runners during his Senate Confirmation Hearing.
Click here to see the Confirmation Hearing for Secretary of Education segment.
In a response to Senator Tom Harkin’s question regarding childhood obesity and the school’s role in physical exercise and physical education, Duncan responded:
“…The more we instill in our children early in life these habits that will last them a lifetime, the better they're going to do. And so we'll try to do what we can to expand those opportunities before school, during the school day, after school.
We've had great non-profit partners who have helped us do that in Chicago in running programs. We had a group of our high school students actually run the Chicago Marathon. And when students are exposed to those kinds of opportunities, it's going to change them for the rest of their lives. And so we have to find ways to do this.”
He concluded his response saying, “So we need to be creative when we think about the use of time. We need to think about great non-profit partners who can come in and provide these kinds of opportunities. And I would argue frankly, at the end of the day, this is going to help a lot academically. This doesn't take away from our core mission. This is central to that core mission. And so I want to find ways to be creative and think it through and see if we can expand significantly over time the number of young people with these kinds of opportunities that will shape them until the day they die.”
We encourage you to join us in supporting student achievement. Become an adult mentor or partner with us as we grow to a city-wide initiative. To learn more about how you can join Team M3, click here.
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