The CDC has revised its swine flu estimates today to say that 4,000 people have died from H1N1. The virus is hitting schools so hard in some cases they've been forced to shut down altogether. About 350 schools were forced to close because of swine flu last week alone.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/12/duncan.cnn.art.jpg caption=" Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says everyone must work together to keep students safe from H1N1."]
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan spoke to Kiran Chetry on CNN’s American Morning Thursday. Below is an edited transcript of the interview.
Kiran Chetry: We'll be talking about a new initiative you guys are launching today. First, swine flu is on the minds of a lot of parents and a lot of teachers out there. How should schools be dealing with swine flu right now?
Arne Duncan: I've actually been really proud. I think schools have done an extraordinary job of trying to stay open in keeping sick students at home. We're actually seeing declines in the number of schools closing. We've been working very, very hard on prevention, making sure students are washing their hands frequently and thoroughly, coughing into their sleeves, not into their hands.
Now we're really moving into the chance to get vaccinations. And we want schools to be open and many schools around the country are opening their doors so that students can receive vaccines within those school buildings. We think that's very, very positive. Obviously, parents have the option, the choice of whether or not their students will receive the vaccine. I can tell you my wife and I are going to make sure that when the vaccination is available for our children that they will receive it.
Chetry: So you’re saying you are still waiting for the vaccine to be available for your kids. In our town, swine flu is going around. There's been many cases of it. Yet our pediatricians don't have enough of the shots. I have a girlfriend who is pregnant and can't get it. My daughter has asthma which is considered one of the high risk groups. These are the people the government said needs the shot. We've been told about a manufacturing shortage. Will this vaccine come too late for many?
Duncan: Obviously, it can't come soon enough and we wish it was here yesterday but obviously, we just want to make sure our school doors are open and as it becomes available, schools are part of the solution.
Chetry: You know, the American public doesn't necessarily have a lot of confidence in the government's ability to prevent an epidemic right now. We did a poll about it showing that only 11% of people asked were very confident that the government can prevent a nationwide epidemic. Do you think that people don’t understand exactly how hard you guys are working to try to get swine flu vaccine out to people and prevent an outbreak, or is it a communication breakdown? Why do you think not many people have faith in our government when it comes to this issue?
Duncan: I don't know if government alone could ever prevent an [outbreak]. We all have to work together. It takes government, it takes parents, it takes students, it takes schools, it takes doctors, it takes community health officials, all of us have to work together to make sure our students have a chance to be safe. Obviously, we're most worried about young children, who are very much at risk of the H1N1 virus.
Chetry: Let's put swine flu aside and talk about what's going on with the administration. You guys are rolling out a new program today called Race to the Top. In this program, school districts as well as states and schools themselves can actually vie for money – stimulus money to the tune of $4 billion by adopting certain education reforms. Tell us how this is going to work.
Duncan: This is a huge, huge opportunity, unprecedented resources to invest in states and districts and nonprofits that are willing to challenge the status quo and lead the country where we need to go educationally. We want better results for students. We want more students not just graduating from high school but going on to college. We want to close the achievement gap. We want to create more learning opportunities for students. And these grant resources give us the chance to invest in those states and districts that are willing to challenge the status quo and help us get dramatically better results for children. So it's an extraordinary opportunity.
Chetry: Does it involve in terms of gauging how the program is successful or what schools are doing well? Does it mostly focus on test scores?
Duncan: That's a piece of it. At the end of the day I'm most interested in graduation rates. We have to educate our way to a better economy. There are no good jobs out there for high school dropouts, as you know. We want to make sure many more of our high school graduates are actually prepared for either college or the world of work. So trying to get dramatically better outcomes at the back end. That's what this is about. Higher graduation rates, more students ready for college, for higher education and for the world of work.