our next speaker is superintendent robert runcie. his journey has been filled with hard work and perseverance. born in jamaica and moved to the united states as a young boy, the first member of his family to attend college. the college he attended was harvard. before jumping into the education world, he was the manager of aim management and consulting company. he joined the chicago public school where he served in various strategic roles including chief information officer and in october of 2011 he was appointed as the 20th superintendent of the public-school system. he is leading an effort right now -- he can't tell you this, but i will -- to really give schools to the place they need to be in terms of technology and the like. there is a bond up. we are asking voters to support. so without further ado, we bring superintendent robert runcie up. please give him a warm welcome. [applause] >> could morning, everyone. dissing q, burnadette norris-weeks. it is a pleasure to be here with all of you lovely ladies. and i see dr. osgood, one