Voting opens for Obama speech
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on April 21, 2011 1:46 PM
Online voting begins today to help determine whether Wayne Early/Middle College High School moves closer to getting President Barack Obama as its graduation speaker next month.
The school is the only one from N.C. and one of six nationwide finalists in the Race to the Top Commencement Challenge.
WEMCH was notified of its selection on April 8 and last week completed its second student-produced video for consideration. Assistance for this round of competition was provided by the Get Schooled Foundation, and students also had to submit an essay on how their school is preparing its students for the future and producing a high proportion of college graduates.
This stage of the competition opens up the voting nationwide to rate the six finalists.
Beginning at 8 a.m. today, the White House posted a link for the public to view the videos, rating them on a scale of 1 to 5. Votes can be cast through Friday, April 29, at 11:59 p.m.
The web address is http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/Commencement.
The field will be narrowed down to the three schools with the highest average rating. The the final selection will be made by President Obama, who will then travel to the winning school to deliver the commencement address.