GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — During her first official public visit to West Michigan as Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos talked to 24 Hour News 8 political reporter Rick Albin in and exclusive one-on-one interview.
DeVos answered questions about the processes of becoming part of the Trump administration during the following conversation:
Albin: “Madam Secretary, a year ago I was just coming back from a week in Cleveland, a week in Philadelphia, Hillary Clinton was up in the polls and not a lot of people were saying Donald Trump would be President. And I had no idea that you would be Secretary of Education. It has been an interesting six months.”
DeVos: “It has indeed.”
Albin: “To be in Washington, when you first talked to President-elect Trump and when you agreed to take on this role as Secretary of Education, did you have any idea that it was going to be the kind of rigorous questioning? I was there for your confirmation hearing and having the vice president break the tie in the Senate, was any of that even part of the equation?”
DeVos: “It was not part of the equation, but my passion for helping kids, and especially kids that haven’t had the same kind of opportunity that my children and many of my friends and associates had, that was really the driver. And so my continued focus on doing what’s right for students and on behalf of students it really helps me move through just about anything.”
Albin: “You’ve heard people talk about you and your relationship to public education. So very specific to that, when you tenure as Secretary of Education is over, what would you hope K-12 public education looks like in the United States?”
DeVos: “Well I would hope that every single child, every single child has an equal opportunity to get a great education.
“We know that public schools today, traditional public schools are meeting the needs of many, many students and there are many that are doing a really great job and I applaud them, I support them, I encourage them, I encourage them to continue to get better.
“But we also know that even the best school doesn’t work for every single child. Every kid is different and they learn differently and they experience things differently and we need to recognize that and we need to celebrate and support the notion, that more choices are needed and more options are needed for students.”
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