Dr. Shawn Rux, Senior Executive Director, New School Development and Design: Good morning, everyone. Let's give a huge round of applause to the Empire Elite Marching Band. Yes, that's how you get us started the right way. Welcome to the first day of what will truly be an incredibly magical journey here at HBCU Early College Prep. My name is Dr. Shawn Rux, Senior Executive Director of the Office of New School Development and Design, and I will serve as your MC for this morning's celebration. And it is a celebration indeed. So before we go any further, I need to make sure the energy is right in this room, okay?
Now when I say H-B, you say C-U, H-B, C-U, H-B, C-U. When I say I am, you say great, I am, great, I am, great, okay, okay, that's the spirit. That's exactly why you are here today, because you are great. Today we are not just opening the doors of a new school. We are opening the doors of opportunity. We are opening the doors of legacy. We are opening the doors of endless possibilities for all of our students.
As a proud graduate of my HBCU, the Delaware State University, I know firsthand the power of an HBCU education. It's kind of difficult to put into words the impact that Delaware State University had on every aspect of my life and it really sits at the very core of who I am today. However, I didn't get to experience that magic until after high school. And right here in Southeast Queens, you will experience some of that HBCU magic right now in real time while walking a path where high school collides with higher education, graduating with not only a high school diploma, but also an associate's degree and a future without limits.
This is truly a life-changing opportunity that will have a rippling effect for decades to come. It's the honor of a lifetime to stand here today and witness the power of this vision becoming a reality. We are joined today by some extraordinary leaders who believe in that vision, but most importantly believe in you. So let's keep this celebration going. It is my honor at this time to introduce the leader of the greatest city in the world, our mayor, Eric Adams.
Mayor Eric Adams: The song that was played by the band, and we really want to thank them, is called “Stand by Me.” When the night has come, and the land is dark, and the moon is the only light we'll see. No, I won't be afraid. No, I won't be afraid. Just as long as you stand by me. And that's what today is all about. Because as you start this journey, and [as] Dr. Rux laid out, HBCU is more than a place where you become academically smart, it is where you become emotionally intelligent. It is where you learn how to stand together.
When he mentioned his college, you saw the energy and excitement of those who also went there. It becomes a lifetime relationship when those difficult moments of adulthood feel as though it is collapsing around you. You can reach out to one of your fellow HBCU members and don't have to ask. They will automatically stand by you. You're going to need each other as you go through these next four years of high school. The experience is unbelievable. The challenges you will face [are] unlike any other generation in history.
You are going to have to navigate your emotions, your academics, and your relationships. You are going to make some of the toughest decisions that will determine the foundation of where you go in the future. But the joy and beauty of it all is that this HBCU college is going to prepare you for whatever comes your way. You are so blessed to be part of this original class. And hats off to the chancellor and Dr. Rux and others who made this important decision.
We need an HBCU to allow you to become who you want to become. And we're looking forward to this excitement that is happening this school year. And it's an honor to be here with you today as the mayor of the City of New York. I know this community so well because I grew up on these streets. Hillside Avenue is a place that I walked up and down as a young man. 179th Street train station was the train I got off the E and F train. I took the Q31 bus to Bayside High School as I went to my high school leaving South Jamaica, Queens.
I know the difficulties and challenges that come, and oftentimes communities like Southeast Queens are overlooked, not in this administration. We are going to make sure you get the same skills and tools that will prepare you for the future. Only in this city can you go from the streets of South Jamaica, Queens, working in the mailroom, dyslexic, and get elected to become the mayor of the greatest city on the globe. Everything is possible in New York.
We're gonna start up this new year. An early college prep is the perfect example of what we're trying to do for our students and families because they go together. The school that honors our students' rich backgrounds and histories, provides rigorous instructions, meets local needs, and prepares all of you, our students, for the future. Students at HBCU Early College, will get a head start on college. You have the opportunity to graduate with an associate's degree from a historical Black college or university, and HBCU Prep students are guaranteed admission to Delaware State University.
That's an A plus right there. But before we talk about that, let's think about this year– cell phone ban. Yes, and what's interesting that I find, chancellor, people often say that when young people talk, we don't listen. What is the birth of the cell phone ban? It came from young people. Young people met us, sat down with us, and stated that they're tired of the bullying on the cell phones, they're tired of the disruption, they're tired of the violence that comes from the cell phones, they're tired of not being able to be in a class and focus on their assignment, they're tired of watching their friends go through depression, suicidal ideations, they're tired of watching how cell phones have really consumed their lives.
And they said to us, can you help? Can you push through this initiative to remove cell phones from our schools? So as a young group of students like yourselves, who stated that these tools have taken over our lives, and we want to reclaim our lives, we want to sit in our cafeterias and talk to our friends, we want to sit in the classroom and not be disrupted, we want to focus and and not have someone bully us because of the way we dress. And so we heard young people. And so when you hear the word cell phone ban, you automatically say, here goes adults trying to tell us what to do with our lives again.
No, in fact, here goes adults that decided to listen to young people and make sure their lives are better. Like it or not, there is no place for cell phones in schools and we all love them, trust me. I'm on them every day, I look at them, I'm picking them up, I'm reading, I'm tweeting, I'm scrolling, yes we do, yes we do. But when it's time to focus on equality education, you cannot be disrupted because school is hard enough to have a device that is going to make it more challenging. And this is a retrospective appreciation when you reflect on this.
And [when] you sit down with your son or daughter and have to make the decision on what the smart moves are for them. You're saying nay to it now, but trust me, you're going to say yay to it later when you are an adult. The ban will help you every day, every day. And so when you're present in school, we want you to be present. We don't want you to be absorbed in some virtual reality or an online chat or scrolling through social media or on the internet. And the new cell phone policy is designed to make learning and social interaction easier, because that is part of education, not only math, but also how we manage our relationships with our colleagues and friends.
Now, including HBCU Prep, we're opening a total of seven new schools, all in response to community feedback and needs. Our other new schools are the Bronx STEAM Center, Central Brooklyn Literacy Academy, Middle School of Innovation, Northwell School of Health Sciences, Queens International Secondary School, and Staten Island Rise Academy. We can't wait to see the product and educational experiences that come from these schools.
So today, I'm also proud to announce that our students in grades three to eight have made great strides in improving their test scores in English Language and Math. Kudos to you, chancellor, and your entire team, an 8.3 percent increase for Black students, and a 7.1 percent increase for Hispanic students. And we'll be expanding both NYC– yeah, you can give applause to that. We'll be expanding both NYC Reads and NYC Solves to middle schools this year, and we're focusing on that progress. [There’s] more to do, we're not satisfied with the results [yet]. We want more and move more because we expect more from each other. And we know we have areas of improvements and we're going to focus on those improvements.
But [in] our Best Budget Ever, we've invested $300 million in early childhood education. We also supported our students with disabilities because every child with special needs has special parents that want the same thing for their child that I want for my son, Jordan. We're including expanding our programs with students with autism. No child should be left behind no matter what circumstances they are facing. And I know how important it is to go to school. I did not want to go because of my undiagnosed dyslexia, but the love and nurturing of our school staff and faculty and school community helped me get through. And I really wanna thank President Rubio who's here with us today from CSA for your support and how you have pushed through these initiatives with us.
And early childhood education and intervention is also so crucial. It lays a building block for future success. And we're gonna continue to build on the future with our $19 million investment in our FutureReadyNYC schools, which prepare students for careers in high growth fields like healthcare, technology, business, and education. [This is] such an important initiative as you get prepared for the future that you will embrace. And the three young people we met earlier today, how they were so focused on what they want to do on the next level of their lives.
And that's why our 11,000 paid internship programs are so important because it gets you ready for a professional environment. Over 15,000 students are enrolled in FutureReadyNYC schools, and we're making sure they receive the internships that will help them in their future development. And to top it off, we're rolling out our first batch of 5,000 new after school seats as we move to universal after school program, making parents' lives easier and enriching our children's experience with safe spaces where they can continue to learn after school everything from robotics to language to sports activity, but just to keep them laser-focused of making this city the best place to raise children and family.
I wanna really thank you, and I'm so proud of this moment, because sitting in this seat right now is a student who has rich, real dreams that's going to change the globe. You are the Eric Adams and the Ericas of tomorrow. Sitting in these seats as we shape and carve your minds and give you the tools you want, the building blocks of the future. This is going to be an endless journey and all of us that are on this stage and those who are sitting to the left, to your right, the faculty.
Little did they know they were going to make these improvements when they were sitting in these seats. The sky's the limit. The sky is the limit. But all you have to do is to make sure, as you're on this journey, that not only are you willing to be bright, to be smart, to be engaged, but you have to be willing to stand by each other, because you're going to need each other. That's the only way you can get through this journey. So I need you to stand by me, and I need you to stand by each other. Thank you very much.
Rux: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. It is indeed my pleasure to welcome to the podium at this time a champion for equity and excellence in every classroom in New York City, as well as for every student in New York City, our chancellor, Melissa Aviles-Ramos.
Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos: Good morning, everyone. Thank you so much, Dr. Rux, and for all of your support, and to our mayor, Mayor Adams, thank you for giving us the resources and tools and opportunities to dream big and be able to partner with the community to do something wonderful like HBCU Prep. At this time, I'm going to ask our HBCU Prep scholars to please stand. Ladies and gentlemen, you are looking at future lawyers, doctors, engineers, scientists, elected officials, future leaders of jobs that haven't even been born yet, because they are going to pave the way in technology and in medicine.
And that may sound like a lot of pressure, but you are the inaugural class of this historic school that represents years of hard work and transformation of your ancestors who made sure the paved way was available and accessible to you. You are our future. We are turning the world over to you to make it better, and we are gonna be here to support you every single day.
You are gonna hold us accountable to make sure that we deliver on our promise to prepare you for the boldest and brightest futures. One more time for the inaugural class of HBCU Prep. And I'm so proud of the leadership of this school, a phenomenal superintendent, Dr. Josephine Van-Ess. You are the perfect person to lead this district, so thank you. And let me tell you about your principal.
So I have seen Dr. J from the start of her career as a principal in New York City, where she has moved mountains for young people, where she doesn't just talk the talk, she walks the walk, where she is accessible and available to every single student, no matter the hour, no matter the day, where she's constantly thinking and dreaming of programs and opportunities that she can bring to her students. When I tell you you have the ultimate school mom, this woman is gonna deliver for all of you and you should be proud. I know she's proud to have you and you should be proud to have her. It is an honor, my friend, to see you lead this school. Thank you.
And so this is what it looks like when we invest in students' futures, and not only preparing them for graduation, but preparing them to thrive in college, career, and life. And as we celebrate this historic opening, we're also celebrating the launch of six other brand new schools. Just like the mayor said, from Staten Island to the Bronx, these schools represent innovation, opportunity, and a promise to our families, because we are listening to you and we are here to help your child succeed. And I'm so grateful to our parent leaders, the panel for educational policy, CEC members, [and] all the people who work with us to give us feedback and tell us how we can create better opportunities for your children. None of this would be possible without all of you.
And as the mayor said, we had a little bit of celebration over the summer. Our test scores show us that we are moving in the right direction. A 7.2 district-wide increase in ELA. Over three percentage points increase in math. Historic gains for our Black and Latine students. These are the highest scores that we have seen since 2012. We talk about learning loss and we broke pre-pandemic levels. And what that tells us is that we're not closing an achievement gap. We are closing an opportunity gap.
Because when school leaders and teachers have the tools that they need to support our children, our children show the world what they're capable of. So don't ever sleep on our kids. Don't ever think that our teachers and our principals and our superintendents don't have what it takes to lead our communities to greatness because in a short amount of time, we are showing you what's possible. And I want to thank my good friend, Henry Rubio, for standing with us today, because he believes in this work, as does Michael Mulgrew from the UFT, as does Henry Garrido from DC 37.
And together, all of their members make schools run successfully, and they are all here for you. So in closing, to our new HBCU Early College Prep students, this school, these opportunities, this moment belongs to you. Carry it, take it with you, lead the way for those who are gonna come after you, and don't be afraid to show the world what you got. We're here for you and we love you. Thank you, happy first day of school. Thank you.
Rux: Thank you again, chancellor. Please join me now in celebrating the leader of my alma mater and a visionary for higher education, and our anchor partner, the president of Delaware State University, Dr. Tony Allen.
Tony Allen, President, Delaware State University: The Bible says faith is a substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Let me tell you the two faith warriors I ran into right away were two alumni, Dr. Shawn Rux and Dr. Aysa Johnson, who had faith that there'd be some evidence today. To these students, you are the evidence. And just so you know what's around you, let me tell you who's in the room. Anybody here went to an HBCU? Shout out your HBCUs. DSU. Tuskegee. Hampton. Tuskegee, Hampton, Morehouse, Howard, Lincoln, all right, that's enough.
Students for more than 185 years, historically Black colleges and universities have been around building the Black American middle class. To be clear, the greatest indicator for a low-resource student from an underserved community to actually get into the middle class and change the economic trajectory for themselves, their families, and their communities is their attendance at an HBCU. So what do you think it means when we're starting you in the ninth grade to do just that?
I couldn't be more proud of the 101 HBCUs in the country and certainly of Delaware State, the most diverse, substantive, and unapologetic HBCU in the country. And I got to tell you, to be your exclusive academic partner makes me extraordinarily proud. And I know we can do it. You know why? Let me have all of my Delaware State colleagues just stand up for just a second. I won't name them by name except to say that Dr. Kareem McLemore talked to Dr. Rux and Dr. J and made this come to life for all of you and he brought this tremendous team. And we've been in this business for eleven years.
We have an early college school right on campus, 7th through 12th grade, 600 students. Been around for more than a decade. You know how many credits they've amassed? 18,000 credits before they were ever admitted to any college or university in the country. 18,000. Seventy percent of them come to Delaware State and they've been awarded– parents listen up, more than $7 million in scholarships. The evidence of things not seen. And I'll leave you all with this.
I normally do a call in response to all my incoming students at Delaware State. I'm going to do that today. But before I do that, I want to make sure that everybody who fits this description stands up. If you are a member of the Divine Nine, please stand up. All right, no calls. That was good. If you are a parent, please stand up. If you're an educator, please stand up. If you're a civic leader, please stand up. If you believe in your community, please stand up. If you love God, please stand up.
And if you're a member of the inaugural class of the HBCU Early College Prep School, and all of you, I want you to repeat after me. Say, I am the voice. I will lead, not follow. I will create, not destroy. I'm a leader. I'm a force for good. I'm a force for peace. Defy the odds. Set a new standard. Step up. Step up. Step up. Say it a little louder. I am the voice.
I will lead, not follow. I will create, not destroy. I'm a leader. I'm a force for good. I'm a force for peace. Defy the odds. Defy the odds. Step up. Step up. Step up. Now at the top of your lungs, say, I am the voice. I will lead, not follow. I will I'm a force for good. I'm a force for God. Defy the odds. Defy the odds. Defy the odds. Step up. Step up. Step up. Give yourselves a round of applause and let's get started.
Rux: Step up, okay, okay. Thank you, Dr. Allen. Now let's hear from the fearless leader of this remarkable school community, and one of our amazing students representing the graduating class of 2029, and also representing the heart of why we are all here today. Founding principal of HBCU Early College Prep, Dr. Aysa Johnson and freshman student Cavani John.
Cavani John: A wonderful good morning to the mayor, [chancellor], parents, teachers, and students. We've made the right choice. HBCU is a journey to success. Opportunities, mentorship, academic excellence, discipline, and most importantly, a fun loving environment is what we will continue to build at this school. We are the future. Graduating with a high school diploma, an associate's degree, with the privilege of a guaranteed seat at the Delaware State University. It's a complete advancement into a successful career and future.
This takes hard work with a lifelong bonus. Dr. J, we thank you for making this a reality and the goal is to exceed your expectations. We are all excited about this new chapter and we look forward to setting the bar high, maintaining HBCU standards and surpassing even unrealistic expectations. We acknowledge those of you who contributed to making today a success, especially those of you who saw and believed in Dr. J's vision. There will be no disappointments, but consistent congratulations on a job well done. We thank all of you, we appreciate you, and we look forward to the beginning of this new school year.
Dr. Aysa Johnson, Founding Principal, HBCU Early College Prep High School: Good morning, everyone. So good morning, scholars and our very first class of HBCU Early College Prep. Today, you join a legacy for generations historically Black colleges and universities have been a pillar of excellence, shaping leaders who honor their history, innovate with courage and uplift their communities. Now you carry that same legacy forward as the first 100 Hornets to be the dream.
At HBCU Early College Prep, learning goes beyond textbooks. Here, you will discover and examine the challenges that face our communities, engineer solutions with your peers, and boldly do the work to be change makers. And most importantly, you will share your voice with your brilliance with the world. Our promise is to see you, to uplift you, and to prepare you. Your history will be celebrated. Your voice will be powerful, and your future will be limitless.
[Through] rigorous academics, real-world learning, and legacy of HBCUs, you will graduate not only with your first college degree, emphasis on first college degree, but you will also have the confidence, skills, and visions to transform this world. You are not just scholars. You are leaders, innovators, and the future of our community. Welcome to HBCU Early College Prep. Welcome to the Hive. Welcome to greatness. Welcome to Ubuntu. I am because you are. Now, before we exit, we do want to do our schoolwide chant to represent what we have already become
[Crosstalk.]
Rux: And that concludes our press conference.
Mayor Adams: We're going to do a ribbon cutting, but before we do that, we have to have our partner come on. You know, what he has done over these last three and a half years, just really has been amazing, staying focused on our supervisory staff that must oversee the college community, I mean the public education community, and we just cannot thank him enough. Please come on and say a few words, Henry Rubio, our president of CSA.
Henry Rubio, President, Council of School Supervisors and Administrators: Good morning. What can possibly be said after all this? That was awesome. First of all, let's hear it one more time for Dr. J. One of the first conversations that I had with this mayor many years ago, he asked me, what do we need to do in our school system? That's a big answer. That was a long conversation, several hours. And I said, my brother, you're going to have a little over 1,400 days. But in those four years, we only have about 700 instructional days.
And as high school principals, Melissa, the chancellor, and Aysa, we know ourselves. We cut our teeth in the Bronx, and you have an amazing leader here. And I said to the mayor, we've got to clone leaders like this, this step one. And we've got to make every instructional day and moment count. So we're going to make this count, every instruction, every second count. And as I went on, and we talked about, and both the chancellor and the mayor talked about all these successes, the mayor said to me, what do we have to do to get it done?
And one of the things I suggested, that we need to create schools like this, innovative schools and programs in every neighborhood, so that students and parents, like me from Queens, and like our mayor himself, that was from this part of Queens, don't feel like they have to travel an hour or two to be in a great school like this. God bless you. Have a successful school year and thank you Mr. Mayor for keeping your word once again.
Mayor Adams: Well quick question, how many Divine Nines do I have on the stage? One, two, three, so you see deputy mayor of Intergovernmental Affairs, deputy mayor of Administration, my chief of staff, many people didn't realize that Divine Nine was running the city, you know? So, let's cut this ribbon.
Question: Hi, happy first day of school. This is probably the question that's best for the chancellor. In terms of the cell phone ban, do you have a sense—I don't expect you to necessarily have exact numbers—but do you have a sense of how many schools are doing pouches or something similar to that, where the kids keep the phones, versus how many schools are doing a collection of the phones?
Chancellor Aviles-Ramos: We do. We've been keeping track of which method the schools are opting into, particularly because it's part of their policy, and we have reviewed those policies and signed off on them, and we have communicated the expectation that they be shared with families. We can give you a breakdown, we can follow up with you with the specifics, but yes, we do track that.
Question: Also a question for the Chancellor. Will there be opportunities in the coming weeks, maybe months, to check in with the schools, hear how this is going. What exactly is this process going to look like going forward to ensure that there's not only compliance, but also this is running smoothly?
Chancellor Aviles-Ramos: Absolutely. Such a great question. So first of all, having been a principal, I know that we don't want to take away from them on the first day of school. So I am touching base with them for less than five minutes today. And then we're going to host borough-based and grade band meetings with our principals so they can talk about what [the] first day of school opening was like for them, from operations to logistics to instruction, including the cell phone bans so we can get their feedback. We are also launching a teacher advisory council and we host a number of focus groups, including with our students because we wanna hear from every different member of our community on how this rollout is going and how we can strengthen the support for implementation.
Mayor Adams: And let's keep in mind that we had schools who were already doing cell phone bans.
Chancellor Aviles-Ramos: Over half.
Mayor Adams: Over half the schools, chancellor? We're already doing cell phone bans. They were already carrying it out. So we're blessed that we can look at best practices. We can look at what were some of the failures, what were some of the victories, and we're going to learn from each other. And other administrations have tried this, and they could not see it through.
We're going to see it through, because we took our time, we were thoughtful, and we know that if you allow, the local school communities, they understand their student body and population, they understand how to implement this. So we're 50 percent there already. But we also have to lead by example. I can't tell, you know, little Jenny that you can't have your phone inside the classroom, but my teacher is swiping through social media. We're going to lead by example. There's no room for cell phones inside our schools or classrooms.
Question: What we had seen before the cell phone ban was lifted, and I guess around 10 years ago, were third-party vans parked outside, and it was third-party businesses that would take the students' phones for a dollar a day. Do you anticipate the return of those things, whether it's in corner stores and bodegas and trucks, or not, because it's not a building ban, but a bell-to-bell ban?
Chancellor Aviles-Ramos: I certainly can't speak to that. I can only speak to what happens in schools, and that's why we're focusing on different models. Again, as the mayor stated, this is not new to the city. It's new to some schools within the city, and so we wanna make sure that regardless of what's happening outside and what options are available to young people, we have the options inside, and we're making sure that schools are ready for that. Thank you.
Question: And Mayor Adams, to your point, with over 50 percent of schools already doing this previously, there are parents, I am sure, as the school day begins and gets underway today, who it occurs to them, oh, I can't reach out to my son or daughter right now if I wanted to, and after what we saw in Minneapolis, school safety might be top of mind. What would you say to parents who thought they were excited about this, but now are realizing that they're a little bit anxious and nervous about it?
Mayor Adams: Listen, and we understand that, and we respect that. Because you want to sort of make sure that your children are fine. I wanted that for Jordan, and we're going to continue to do that. And so a parent asked me the other day, what are we going to do if there's an emergency, [and] I have to reach my child. I said, what did you do before cell phones? What we must do as the DOE, and as City Hall, we must make sure we have very clear communication methods.
[From] how to get in contact with us if there's an emergency, how to utilize everything from emails to cell phone communications, so we have to up our game to give parents the comfort of knowing if there's an emergency, we have procedures in place. Like now, we have locks on our school doors. We have to incorporate drills on what our young people must do. We're going to do our job to keep our children safe. But let's not confuse this. Mommy did not text me during her emergency. She called the school. And so we will survive without cell phones in our school. It is hurting our children. All of the data is showing that. It is hurting our children. And our children are telling us it is hurting them. You know, our children, they're saying the same thing. This is hurting us. And we responded to our young people.
Question: Can you guys talk a little bit about what support you're providing to schools for the first day of the cell phone ban, especially those who are doing it for the first time? Or do you have any DOE staff on site kind of guiding people?
Chancellor Aviles-Ramos: So it started way before the first day of school, because we know that on the first day of school, we should just be helping principals and walking around and making sure that they are good, not starting that foundational work on the first day of school. So what we did was make sure that we submitted our district-wide policy, our district-wide plan to the state. We got to work very, very quickly with the schools, issued a survey to principals to see what their readiness levels were, what did they need to support with implementation? And then we sent out staff to help them with any issues.
We kept track of that data. We kept reviewing the plans to make sure that they had everything that they need. And now we have our student services managers. We have our borough safety directors. We have other members from the superintendents teams going out into the schools [since] this is new to make sure that they are okay on day one. But let's be clear that preparation needed to start way before the first day of school. And that's what we did. And we wanna thank our union partners as well because they were a huge part of that work.
We worked with the CSA to make sure that principals had what they needed. We worked with the UFT to make sure that the teachers felt heard and supported, and we were very clear about progressive discipline. The law was clear. You cannot suspend a child for bringing a phone. We know that there's going to be a bit of a detoxing period. Everybody's addicted to their phones, myself included. I just realized I don't have it on me, and I started checking myself.
So, you know, this is real for all of us. It is a shift, but we will be okay. Proper planning is the key, and partnership with parents, and teachers, and principals, and all of the elected officials on getting the messaging out is what is important. So we are looking forward to updating you on our progress, but again, this is not new to New York City. It is new to some schools, it is not new to us as a district.
Mayor Adams: But you know, to my administrators here, think about this for a moment. Think about this, we are starting the first day of school. These babies are going to have real challenges, academically, emotionally. Many of them are coming from homes where there are real challenges. And what are we talking about? A darn cell phone. Those are the questions we're asking. We're not asking about rigorous, you know, courses.
We're not talking about giving these children associate's degrees by the time they graduate. We're not talking about technology of artificial intelligence. We're not talking about things that our babies need to be ready for the future. All the questions we're asking are about the cell phone. We are majoring in the minor, instead of majoring in the major. I have to get these children ready for the future. I'm just gonna be as honest as possible. I could give a [] about a cell phone. I care about these children. This is the right thing to do. And that's what we're going to do. And so no matter what everyone else has to do today, I've got to bounce.
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