President Barack Obama will deliver a major education reform speech at the National Urban League's 100th Anniversary Convention in Washington Thursday morning.

The president will discuss how his signature Race to the Top program and other initiatives are driving education reform across the country and focusing the nation on the goal of preparing students for college and careers, a statement from White House Press Secretary's office said.

"Now, I know some argue that during a recession, we should focus solely on economic issues," Obama says in prepared remarks released by the White House ahead of the address. "But education is an economic issue -- if not the economic issue of our time."

The Obama education plan champions better teacher pay, but also asks for tangible results.

"I want teachers to have higher salaries. I want them to have more support. I want them to be trained like the professionals they are -- with rigorous residencies like the ones doctors go through," Obama says. "All I'm asking in return -- as a president, and as a parent -- is a measure of accountability.

"Surely we can agree that even as we applaud teachers for their hard work, we need to make sure they're delivering results in the classroom. If they're not, let's work with them to help them be more effective. And if that fails, let's find the right teacher for that classroom."

Race to the Top is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to reward states for aggressively reforming their education systems. The $4.35 billion is being awarded in two phases.

Tennessee and Delaware were the only two states to receive funds in the first round of the competition. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia were selected as finalists this week to receive more than $3 billion in the second round of funding for the program.

The second-round finalists will travel to Washington in early August to present their plans to the reviewers who scored their applications, according to the Education Department. The winners will be announced in September.

"Just as in the first round, we're going to set a very high bar because we know that real and meaningful change will only come from doing hard work and setting high expectations," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a press release Tuesday.

Not all of the finalists, however, will be awarded grants from the nearly $3.4 billion remaining in program, Duncan said, adding that President Obama has requested $1.35 billion for the program in the administration's fiscal 2011 budget.

Welders, Halloween Costume Fantasy Football