[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.