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Skriven 2006-10-05 23:32:14 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0610056) for Thu, 2006 Oct 5
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President Bush Discusses No Child Left Behind
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 5, 2006

President Bush Discusses No Child Left Behind
Woodridge Elementary and Middle Campus
Washington, D.C.

President's Remarks view

˙˙˙˙˙ Fact Sheet: The No Child Left Behind Act: Challenging Students
Through High Expectations ˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: Education

11:02 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thank you for the warm welcome. Thank you for
inviting Madam Secretary and me to your school. It's nice to be introduced
by somebody with a Texas accent. (Laughter.) She's a good buddy, and she is
doing a fine job as the Secretary of Education. So, Margaret, thank you
very much for your service.

I'm glad to be at Woodridge, as well. I'm here because this is one of
America's fine public charter schools. I'm here to remind people that
charter schools work, and they can make a difference in the lives of our
children. So I want to thank you for letting me come. I want to thank the
teachers and the administrators and the principals -- and the principal,
for setting high expectations. I know that sounds simple, but you know what
happens when you set low expectations? You get low results. And so a center
of excellence is always a place of learning where people believe the best.
And I want to thank the folks here for setting high expectations. I want to
thank you for achieving results.

I applaud the parents of the students who are here for being -- and I
applaud you for being involved in the life of your children, particularly
when it comes to one of the most important aspects of their development,
and that is school. And I want to thank the students for letting me come,
too.

I want to thank Mary, the principal. You know, one of the things I have
found, and I've spent a lot of time in schoolhouses as a result of being
the governor and the President is that a good school always has a good
principal. (Applause.) And Mary Dunnock must be a good principal, because
this is a good school. And I applaud you for being an educational
entrepreneur. An educational entrepreneur is somebody who is willing to
challenge failure and mediocrity if she finds it, because failure and
mediocrity are unacceptable in any classroom anywhere in the United States.
(Applause.)

I thank Donald Hense for joining us, Founder and Chairman of the Board of
Trustees of the Friendship Public Charter School. (Applause.) Mr. Hense
told me he had the opportunity of meeting my mother one time, and I said to
him, well, you met the A-team then -- (laughter) -- now you met the B-team.
(Laughter.) But thank you for your leadership. I welcome the members of the
Friendship Public Charter School Board. Thank you for coming.

Being on a school board is difficult work, I know. Being on a school board
that challenges the status quo is important work, and I thank you for that.
It means a difference -- I was in Lyle Brown's class. Lyle is not here.
He's still teaching. But one of the things I saw was a teacher who loves
being a teacher. (Applause.) And I applaud the teachers in this school and
teachers all around the country who are -- who are adding to the great
future of our country.

I was in Max Brooks' class. He's not here either, but he is the facilitator
in what's called a SmartLab. They didn't have SmartLabs when I was going to
elementary or junior high school. They've got one here. And it's an
innovative program that teaches people practical skills. You know, one of
the interesting questions I like to ask to students when I go into the
classroom is, how many of you are going to go to college? You'll be pleased
-- there you go -- you'll be pleased to hear that hands went up.
(Applause.)

See, that's a good sign when the principal and students and parents have
encouraged our children to set a goal. Going to college is an important
goal for the future of the United States of America, and I'm please to
report that when I asked that question in both classrooms I was invited to
go to, there was unanimity.

The students have set a goal to go to college, and I reminded them that now
is the time to work hard so you get to go, like take advantage of the
SmartLab, read more than you watch TV, practice your math and science. I
want to applaud you, Madam Principal, for encouraging our students to aim
high, and I thank the teachers for helping them achieve those dreams.

In recent days, we have seen some sad and shocking violence in our schools
across America. Yesterday, I was in Colorado, which is one of the states
that had received this sad and shocking news firsthand.

Next week, Secretary Spellings and Attorney General Al Gonzales are going
to host a conference here in Washington, D.C., and it's an important
conference. We're going to bring together teachers, and parents, and
administrators and law-enforcement officials, and other experts to discuss
ways to help our schools protect the children. See, it is paramount that
the federal government work with the state government and local governments
to make it clear that our schools are places of learning, not places where
there will be violence. And so, Margaret, I want to thank you for that
initiative, and I'm looking forward to hearing the results of the important
discussions.

I'm here today to talk about the No Child Left Behind Act. It's a -- this
act is an important way to make sure America remains competitive in the
21st century. We're living in a global world. See, the education system in
America must compete with education systems in China and India. If we fail
to give our students the skills necessary to compete in the world of the
21st century, the jobs will go elsewhere. That's just a fact of life. It's
the reality of the world in which we live. And therefore, now is the time
for the United States of America to give our children the skills so that
the jobs will stay here.

Oh, there will be jobs -- don't get me wrong. But I'm talking about the
high-paying jobs, the quality jobs, the jobs that will be helping to lead
the world in the 21st century. And there's no doubt in my mind we can
achieve that objective. And the No Child Left Behind Act was all part of
making sure that we get it right in the schools. So when I came here to
Washington I made a focused effort to work with Democrats and Republicans
to pass this important law. And the theory behind the law is
straightforward: We'll spend more money on education, but in return, we
want to see results.

Oh, I know that may be too much to ask for some. It's not too much for this
school. As a matter of fact, I get a little nervous when I hear people say,
well, I don't want to be measured. My attitude is, what are you trying to
hide? How can you solve a problem until you measure the problem? How can
you make sure a child is achieving what we all want if you don't measure
early to determine whether or not the skills are being imparted?

And so the No Child Left Behind says, look, we trust the local folks. I
don't want Washington, D.C. running the schools. That's up to the people in
the states and the local community. I've been a strong believer in local
control of schools. But I also believe it makes sense to ask the question,
whether or not a child can read, write, and add and subtract. I don't think
it's too much to ask. I know it's an important question if we expect our
children to have the schools [sic] necessary to compete in the 21st
century. I know the kids don't like tests, and I didn't like it either, to
be honest with you. You hear people say, well, we're testing too much. No,
we're just trying to figure out whether or not people have got the skills
necessary to succeed.

You know, I remember the debates when I was the governor of Texas and
Margaret and I were working on accountability systems. I remember somebody
standing up and saying, it is racist to test. I said, uh-uh, it is racist
not to test, because there are too many children being shuffled through our
schools without understanding whether or not they can read and write and
add and subtract. I think it's important to hold people to account now to
make sure the education system functions for all. And that's the spirit of
No Child Left Behind.

By measuring, it helps us determine whether or not a curricula works. Is
the reading curriculum you're using working? That's a fundamental question
a parent ought to ask, or a principal ought to ask, or a teacher ought to
ask. The best way to find out is to measure to determine whether or not a
child can read at grade level. And that helps you determine whether or not
your curriculum are working.

One of the things that I think is most important about the No Child Left
Behind Act is that when you measure, particularly in the early grades, it
enables you to address an individual's problem today, rather than try to
wait until tomorrow. My attitude is, is that measuring early enables a
school to correct problems early.

See, let's be frank about it. We had a system that just shuffled kids
through grade after grade. I know some say that wasn't the case, but it was
-- let me just say, my state, the place I was familiar with. It's so much
easier, when you think about it, just to say, okay, if you're such and such
a grade, you're supposed -- age, you're supposed to be in this grade, and
just shuffle them through. And guess who got shuffled through? Inner-city
kids, the hard to educate. It made it easy just to say, oh, gosh, let's
just -- you know, let's don't worry about whether or not you've got the
skills. Let's just put you here because that's where you belong. That's
unfair to parents. That's unfair to the children. And the No Child Left
Behind Act demands result for every child, for the good of the United
States of America. (Applause.)

There's an achievement gap in America that's not good for the future of
this country. Some kids can read at grade level and some can't. And that's
unsatisfactory. I know it's unsatisfactory for the educators who are here.
It's unsatisfactory if you're a parent, and it's unsatisfactory for the
President.

You can't have a hopeful America if certain kids can read at grade level
and others can't, and we don't address the problem. I'm proud to report the
achievement gap between white kids and minority students is closing, for
the good of the United States.

How do I know? Because we measure. In reading, nine-year-olds have made
larger gains in the past five years than at any point in the previous 28
years. That's positive news. In math, nine-year-olds and 13-year-olds
earned the highest scores in the history of the test. In reading and math,
African American and Hispanic students are scoring higher, and the
achievement gap is closing.

Oh, I know people say we test too much, but how can you solve a problem
until you measure? And how can you hold people to account when there's an
achievement gap that is not right for America, unless you measure?
Measuring is the gateway to success.

Woodridge Elementary School gets measured. The accountability system helped
your school identify struggling students and enabled them to get the help
they need early. I appreciate the fact that you have intervention sessions
with teacher assistance. In other words, we identify a particular child's
problems, and then this school intervenes. You have specialized learning
projects, extra tutoring.

Each child matters. Every child has potential. All hands went up and said,
I want to go to college. And this school recognizes that some students need
a little extra help early to make sure they can realize those dreams.
That's what measuring helps you to do.

Woodridge has met the standards for three years in a row. You've put in a
lot of hard work and you have the results to show for it, and I thank you
for your contribution to the future of this country. (Applause.)

If you don't make progress, you get extra help. One of the most important
initiatives is the Supplemental Service Initiative. This initiative says
that when we find a child that needs help, that child gets extra help. In
other words, if a child is falling behind. Remember, I keep talking about
individual children. It used to be when they measured, they just measured
everybody, you know. And now we're forcing them to disaggregate results.
That's a fancy word for saying, just split individuals out so we know.

And when we find a child that needs extra help, there's money to do so. And
there are options for parents, which is an important part of making sure
there's parental involvement, and making sure -- an important part of
making sure the strategy works.

A parent can enroll their child in a free intensive tutoring program.
There's money for that. If your child is not up to grade level early on,
there's extra help available for each family to do so. Parents can transfer
their child to a better public school if that school refuses to change. In
other words, at some point in time, there's got to be some accountability.
It's one thing to be talking the talk about educational excellence, but
pretty soon, if nothing happens, a parent ought to be allowed to walk. And
that means to another public school, just like Woodridge, see.

If you're in a neighborhood and one school won't teach and change, and
another school will, I think it makes sense for a parent to have the
option, with space available, to be able to say, I've had it. I'm tired of
my child being trapped in a failed school; I'm owed better as a parent and
a property taxpayer than failure, therefore, I'd like to move my child to
another school.

And that's what's happened to some of the students right here. Asia Goode
-- where's Asia? Oh, thank you for coming, Asia. Can I quote you? Thank
you. I was going to quote you anyway. (Laughter.) Asia first came to
Woodridge; she was reading well below grade level. How do we know? Because
she measured. Her teachers stayed after school to tutor her, and she caught
up. Somebody said, it is my job to make sure this individual is not left
behind, and not just shuffled through. And I thank that teacher for doing
that.

Even after Asia reached grade level -- in other words, we measure to
determine whether a child can read at grade level -- the teacher said, wait
a minute, grade level is not good enough for you, Asia. I started off my
speech by saying we're setting high standards. That's how you help somebody
achieve educational excellence. Asia is now an honors student. She loves
reading and she sings in the school choir. And I congratulate her parent
and the teachers and Asia for setting high standards and working hard to
achieve those standards. (Applause.)

Washington, D.C. has a really innovative and interesting program that I
strongly support, as did your Mayor, Mayor Williams. Oh, I know it's
controversial for some, but it rests on the premise that a parent ought to
have different options if a child is trapped in a school that won't teach
and won't change. I happen to think that is a good, solid principle on
which to operate -- that the parent is the primary teacher of a child, and
the parent ought to have different options for his or her child.

And so the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program was enacted. And it wasn't
easy to enact it. There are some who are willing to defend the status quo
at all costs. That's okay, that's generally what happens sometimes in the
political arena. But this is a program that enables a parent to transfer
his or her child to a private or religious school if the parent feels like
the current school isn't working. This program is aimed particularly at
low-income students.

Let's be frank about it; upper-income families have got school choice. They
can afford it. Low-income families don't. This program enables low-income
families to say, I'm sick and tired of my child not receiving a quality
education. Eighteen hundred low-income students have used these
scholarships. One of them is Carlos Battle. Carlos isn't here, but I
thought his quote might interest -- he was in a school and he transferred
to Assumption Catholic School two years ago. In other words, his parents --
family qualified, received a scholarship, and off he went.

After transferring, he made the honor roll. He became the class president.
He led the basketball team to its first championship. He said this, "There
is no limit to what I can do. And that not only makes me happier, but my
mom can't seem to stop smiling." It is really important that as we think
about how to make sure every child gets a good education, that we not only
measure, but we say that if things don't change, parents ought to have
different options.

The No Child Left Behind Act is good progress, but we've got a lot of work
to do, and it starts with making sure that here in Washington we don't
soften our desire to hold schools accountable. I'll tell you, look, there's
a lot of pressure, and I'm sure the congressmen and senators feel that
pressure. They feel the pressure because people say, look, we're tired of
measuring. They feel the pressure because, you know, we're just teaching
the test. I mean, there's every excuse in the book.

But as we come time to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act, my
attitude is, instead of softening No Child Left Behind, we need to
strengthen it. The law is working. It makes sense. We must hold schools
account -- to account if we expect our children to be able to realize
dreams. And if we want America to remain competitive, we must have high
standards.

You know, there's a -- kind of a mind-set at times, a culture that says,
well, you know, maybe certain kids can't learn, and therefore, let's don't
have high standards. I reject that notion. I strongly believe every child
has got the capacity. And all of us must demand that the high standards be
set and met. And so one of the top priorities next year for me will be the
reauthorization and the strengthening of the No Child Left Behind Act.
(Applause.)

Here are some ways to improve the law: In order for every child to get up
to grade level, there must be a quality teacher in every classroom. And one
way to help the law is to help our teachers in an innovative way. We
created what's called the Teacher Incentive Fund. It allows states and
local districts to reward teachers who demonstrate strong results for their
students. It's an interesting concept, isn't it? In other words, if your
measurement system shows that you're providing excellence for your
children, it seems to make sense that there ought to be a little extra
incentive to do so through the bonus program, not run by the federal
government -- funded by the federal government, administered by states and
local governments.

I think it's very important to encourage our good teachers to teach in some
of the toughest school districts. You know, when you find a good teacher, a
good high-quality teacher in a -- for example, an inner-city district needs
help, or a rural district needs help, there ought to be a bonus system
available, an incentive program to say to a teacher, thanks; thanks for
heading into some of the -- you know, an area that is -- that needs help,
and here's a little incentive to do so. So there's some ideas that Congress
can work on in order to provide incentives for our teachers.

I believe we ought to encourage math and science professionals to bring
their expertise into the classrooms. I remember going to a school here in
Maryland recently. Margaret and I went over there, and I met a guy who
worked at NASA. And do you know what he was doing? He was in the classrooms
basically saying to the 7th and 8th graders, science is cool; take it
seriously.

You know, it's important that you learn the skills necessarily to be good
scientists because it's important for the United States of America that
we've got young scientists. And by the way, every neighborhood in America
can produce young scientists. And therefore encouraging these professionals
in the classroom as adjunct teachers makes a lot of sense, and Congress
ought to fund that program.

We've got to improve options. One of the problems we have in the Public
School Choice program is parents aren't getting information on a timely
basis. So in other words, you got your kid going to a school, the school's
accountability system says, wait a minute, you're not doing as well as you
should. And the parent gets notified after the next school year begins.
That doesn't help.

It kind of looks like people are afraid to put out results for some reason.
And so we'll work with Congress to clarify the law and to strengthen the
law to make sure our parents get timely information and useful information
so that they can take advantage of the No Child Left Behind Act's law that
provides flexibility and transferability.

We're going to work with school districts to help more students take
advantage of free, intensive tutoring. You'd be amazed at the number of
districts that don't use this extra tutoring. They don't take advantage of
the extra money to help an individual child. Oh, they'll figure out ways to
spend it, don't get me wrong. But the money is aimed for helping an
individual succeed, and it's the cumulative effect of bringing these
students up to grade level that will enable us all to say we're more
competitive for the future.

I believe in opportunity scholarships. I believe that the program here in
Washington, D.C. ought to be replicated around the country. I call on
Congress to create such a program for 28,000 low-income children as a
beginning step to help parents challenge failure.

We've got to do something about our high schools, by the way. I think there
needs to be strong accountability in America's high schools. There's strong
accountability right here at Woodridge. It seems like it makes sense, if
it's working, to extend that concept to our high schools.

One out of every four 9th graders in America does not graduate from high
school on time. That's unacceptable. If we want to be competitive, we
better make sure that the skills that are now being imparted at elementary
school and junior high carry on through high school. We don't want the good
work here at Woodridge to be lost because there's -- because some say,
well, I don't need to get out of high school, or the accountability systems
in high school don't measure up. And so what I want to do is I want to have
the same sense of accountability in our high schools that we have in our
junior high and elementary schools -- not to increase the testing burden,
but to help us understand whether or not we are achieving our national
objective, which is giving our kids the skills necessary to be competitive.

And so I think we need to fund testing early in the high-school systems,
and to help students fix problems like we're doing in elementary school and
high schools [sic]. I proposed a billion-and-a-half dollar initiative;
Congress needs to fund it.

I've also proposed a program to train 70,000 teachers over five years to
lead Advanced Placement classes in our high schools. Advanced Placement
works. It is a -- it is an excellent program that helps our high schools
set high standards. And it calls -- it challenges our students to achieve
great things by raising the standards.

Many of you know about AP. It needs to be spread all throughout America.
And step one is to make sure our teachers have the skills necessary to
teach it. And step two is to help states develop programs that will help
parents pay for the AP test. What we don't want is a child taking an AP
class and having mom or dad say, it's too expensive to take the test. You
pass an AP test, you're on your way. If you've got the skills necessary to
pass an AP test, it means the education system has done its job, and our
country is better off.

And so here are some ideas for the Congress and the administration to work
on as we think about how to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act. I
strongly believe this piece of legislation is working. I know it is
necessary to have this kind of rigor in our school systems to say, we have
done our job and given our kids the skills necessary to succeed. And I want
to thank you all for serving as a great example. Thank you for inviting me.
Again, I thank the teachers for teaching, and the parents for loving, and
the students for reading.

God bless. (Applause.)

END 11:32 A.M. EDT

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