    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [June 11, 1991]
    [Pages 633-636]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the James H. Groves Adult High School Commencement Ceremony
    in Seaford, Delaware
    June 11, 1991

        Thank you so very much, and may I first thank our Governor. In my
    book, he deserves not just two introductions but as many as you want to
    give him. He's done a superb job. And he was one of the leaders in the
    classic Governors meeting at Charlottesville as we began to set and
    eventually set the national education goals for our great country.
        I want to thank all of you for this warm welcome. I especially want
    to say what a glorious and wonderful day it is for the parents and the
    families that are here today. And, of course, I was very pleased to come
    over here with the former Governor and now our great Secretary of
    Education. He'll work you to death. Watch out. The guy is killing me
    because he is determined to see this America 2000 education program
    succeed. I told him I'd help, and I've done nothing else since I said
    that.
        So, I'm delighted to be here. But I can't really think of any more
    important domestic challenge than the success of Lamar Alexander's and,
    I'll proudly say, my education program. And believe me, it is
    bipartisan. It isn't Republican; it isn't Democrat; it's not liberal;
    it's not conservative. It is good, sound educational policy for this,
    the greatest country on the face of the Earth.
        I am delighted to see Bill Roth. I don't want to put a time mark on
    him, but he and I went to the Congress on exactly the same day--elected
    on the same day in 1966--and he has represented this State with great
    distinction in a wide array of domestic matters and a wide array of
    foreign affairs matters. And so, I am pleased to be with him today.
        I want to salute your principal, Wayne Meluney, who I'm told has
    done a superb job here; and your superintendent, Superintendent Frunzi,
    who we heard from a little bit today.
        And finally, but perhaps most important, let me congratulate the
    graduates today, their friends and families. And I will say to Vicki--
    who looked a little bit nervous up here as she walked up, but did a
    superb, a super job on her speech--and to Bill Fritz sitting over here,
    what I got out of both you all's speeches is family, faith, and
    determination. If any three values ever came through, it was those.
    Thank you for giving us that great performance. Bill, thank you, sir.
        I appreciate your being here. I understand it wasn't easy. After
    all, when you go to night school, you can't always make it to a
    graduation during the day. Most of you, hopefully, are getting some
    sleep somewhere along the line. And I remember when the teacher would
    want a note whenever you missed a day of school. And today I understand
    a few of you could have used a note for your employers explaining why
    you've been absent from work. I can't write notes for you, but I can
    thank all of the employers out there who have their priorities right,
    who give a day off for a momen-

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    tous occasion like this.
        The night school at Groves High School is one of the few of its kind
    in this country--that's why Lamar and I wanted to come over here today--
    a night school fully accredited to grant a regular high school diploma.
    This should teach something to all of us who care about American
    education. Groves provides a shining example of the kind of innovative
    approach to education that I have in mind when I challenge our
    communities all across this country to become a nation of students.
        Many of you may know that back in April we came forth with this
    national education strategy--we call it America 2000--to help our
    schools and students reach the six ambitious education goals that I
    referred to--goals we've set for the year 2000. And that strategy moves
    toward the future on four tracks to achieve these six goals.
        First, we start with building better and more accountable schools
    for today. Second, we want to create a new generation of American
    schools for tomorrow. And third, we've got to build a consensus that
    education doesn't end when your high school days are over. Lamar
    referred to my experimentation and hopefully learning with a computer.
    But all of us have to go back to school to continue our education--
    really to continue to learn. It doesn't matter where we stand in life.
    Young and old, we must become a nation of students. Fourth--fourth
    point--we must focus beyond the four walls of the classroom and
    cultivate communities where learning can happen and will happen. We're
    working with the Governors, with education and business leaders and many
    others to challenge every community across this country to make this a
    national crusade to improve our schools.
        I'm here to celebrate your part in this crusade. You're an example.
    You may not realize it, but you are an example to many across this
    country. You're a part in this crusade. We salute it--your choice to
    become students again. And I was so moved by what Bill said and by
    Vicki's determination. Each one of you made the choice to take on
    tremendous odds and to triumph over indifference. You found your way
    back to school, and in so doing, you found your way forward in life.
        And we're doing a better job now getting the message out that our
    young people should stay in school. But we sometimes forget to keep
    reaching out to those who don't stay in school. Too often, without
    intending to, we as a society act almost as if when you drop out, you
    drop off the end of the Earth. And that's just not true, and you're
    living proof that it's not true.
        You know firsthand that when you drop out, you can almost hear the
    doors to opportunity slamming shut. But one door never closes. You can
    always return to school. One study shows that almost half of all
    students who drop out return to the classroom within 4 years. And in
    between, they learn the hard way that the world of work has little to
    offer for those who don't have diplomas. Most of the time, the good jobs
    and the promotions all go to people with the degree.
        Programs like this one offer a way back to school--a way up in the
    world. In a world of too many dashed hopes and dead ends, a school like
    Groves can open doors to a better future.
        The diploma that you receive today tells the world that you've done
    more than meet the prescribed State standards. You've returned to the
    classroom, you've cracked the books, you've stayed up late studying and
    learning--and you've made the grade. This diploma tells the world of
    your self-discipline and of your drive, and it testifies more eloquently
    than anyone ever can to the power of your will and your dreams. That,
    too, is what those valedictorian messages were about.
        Many of you traveled a very tough road to get here. And we've heard
    today from Vicki, Bill--how Vicki came to get a good education and then
    it was her children and her husband that taught her the true value of
    family. And we heard Bill, who most eloquently talked about dropping out
    before most of today's graduates, with all respect, were even born and
    how he came back to school 30 years later--six kids, one heart attack
    later. And no, there's no link, I can testify, Bill, between the last
    two, six kids and the heart attack. [Laughter] But, look, here's the
    point. He came back to finish that degree. But the best thing, the best

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    thing, sir, about your story is not what you managed to do but where
    you're going from here. And you've won a scholarship to study, I'm told,
    at Delaware Technical and Community College.
        Each one of you, each one of you has a story. Consider Kathy Tucker.
    Fourteen years ago, Kathy got married. She went to work, she had a
    child--and she left school. And she promised herself she'd come back to
    finish high school when her own son started kindergarten. It took a
    little longer, but she kept that promise. And today she collects her
    diploma, and she shows her three kids just what happens when you set a
    goal and refuse to let circumstance stand in your way. Now she's a
    living portrait, if you will, in self-determination and what it means to
    want an education so much that you'll work for it, you'll sacrifice for
    it, and you'll get it.
        I know many of the parents graduating today believe becoming
    students again has helped them become better teachers of their own
    children, and I'm sure that's true. I want to say to Kathy Tucker and to
    all the parents before me here in the class of '91 who have worked so
    hard to get here: You've already taught your kids something. You've
    already taught them a lesson in the value of learning. You've set an
    example.
        And finally, let me share a story about Rosemary Everton. She does
    not belong to today's class--she graduated with the Groves class of 19
    years ago. But her story ought to give you a glimpse of possibilities to
    come. Today, while you look back with quiet pride on all you've done to
    get here and the sacrifices you've made, Rosemary's story lets you know
    that the doors you've opened may lead to a destiny even you cannot yet
    imagine.
        Rosemary Everton--she got married; she dropped out at the age of 15,
    even before she got to high school. And at 16, with a baby and a full-
    time job, she decided to go back to school. And for 2 years, she took
    lessons right here at Groves 4 nights a week. And she cared for a baby
    and held down a job and built a sturdy marriage--and she got her degree.
        And she says, ``To this day, I still do not know how I did it. I do
    know that after receiving a high school diploma this way, I felt there
    was nothing I could not do. And that's what kept me going even when I
    felt there was no way I could do everything at once because I had
    already done everything at once.''
        Well, today, Rosemary Everton and her husband have their own
    company. They employ more than 200 people. And she has this to say about
    what Groves taught her: ``I learned math, English, and history--but
    something more important, I learned that there's nothing I can't do with
    patience and perseverance.''
        For Rosemary, today's success began with a small but sensible dream:
    to get that diploma. And you'll have to decide what lies over your own
    horizon. You've already taken that first step--that great step. And as
    Rosemary said, there's nothing you can't do.
        Everyone here today has made it to this place, this moment, with the
    help and encouragement of others. Parents gave up a few evenings a week
    to babysit. Husbands or wives who did a few extra chores to let you go
    to class. Even children who worked hard to keep quiet around the house--
    some of them, not all--so you could study for that big test. And today,
    your family and friends share your joy and the pride you quite rightly
    feel. And let me say from the bottom of my heart, I know I do. And I
    know that Secretary Lamar Alexander does, and I know your Governor does.
        But today you stand at center stage. I can't wait to shake hands
    with each and every one of you. It's a lot better than the Air Force
    Academy. They had 1,000 or something like that. [Laughter] And here we
    have some reasonable goal out there. [Laughter] But you've made it
    through school for one reason, and one reason alone--because you came
    back. And when it would have been easy to make excuses, so easy to cop
    out, you made demands on yourself. And you made it your mission to
    learn. You made your demands and you lived up to them.
        And once again, my thanks for this very warm welcome here today, and
    for this opportunity to share in this special day. So, let me extend an
    invitation, which I'm sure many can't accept because of what you're
    doing, but tomorrow on the South Lawn of

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    the White House, I'm going to be talking to some other extraordinary
    Americans about the challenges that we face as a nation. And it would be
    an honor to have today's graduates join us tomorrow evening at the
    people's house--at the White House.
        Thank you all very, very much. And congratulations to each and every
    one of you.

                        Note: The President spoke at 12:57 p.m. in the high
                            school auditorium. In his opening remarks, the
                            President referred to Gov. Michael N. Castle of
                            Delaware; Secretary of Education Lamar
                            Alexander, former Governor of Tennessee; Senator
                            William V. Roth, Jr.; A. Wayne Meluney and
                            George L. Frunzi, director of adult education
                            and superintendent, respectively, for the Sussex
                            County Vocational-Technical District; and
                            student speakers Victoria Eastburn and William
                            Fritz. Following his remarks, the President
                            returned to Washington, DC.