Laws & Guidance HIGHER EDUCATION
Key Policy Letters Signed by the Education Secretary or Deputy Secretary
October 9, 2001
Archived Information


Dear Principal:

As a Nation, we have responded to the terrorist attacks of September 11 by offering our support to the victims and their families, to the rescue workers, and to the men and women of the United States military. We have also displayed remarkable patriotism that reflects our appreciation for and dedication to the principles that make America strong - freedom, liberty, and independence.

Teachers in every community in America have been working with students to help them understand what happened on September 11 and to overcome their fears and concerns. They have also worked to teach them more about our proud and rich national history and the foundations of our free society.

I write today to ask you to join me and students, teachers, parents, and other proud Americans across the country in showing our patriotism by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at a single time and with a unified voice in your classrooms on Friday, October 12, 2001.

Pledge Across America is being organized by Celebration USA, a nonprofit organization created to strengthen instruction on the basic principles of American democracy in America's classrooms. They have offered us an opportunity to join in a synchronized Pledge of Allegiance at 2:00 p.m. EDT, 1:00 p.m. CDT, Noon MDT, 11:00 a.m. PDT, 10:00 a.m. in Alaska, and 8:00 a.m. in Hawaii.

I hope you will join me in making this a national celebration on Friday at the times listed above. Together, we can send a loud and powerful message that will be heard around the world: America is "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Sincerely,

/s/

Rod Paige

More information on Pledge Across America is available on the U.S. Department of Education website at www.ed.gov.


 
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Last Modified: 09/15/2004