    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [May 7, 1998]
    [Pages 710-714]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the Mayors Conference on Public Schools
    May 7, 1998

        Thank you very much. Mr. Mayor, Secretary
    Riley, thank you for your outstanding work.
    I'd like to thank Attorney General Reno and
    Secretary Slater, Secretary Herman, Secretary Glickman for
    also coming, along with James Lee Witt, our
    FEMA Director. I'd like to thank Mickey Ibarra
    and Lynn Cutler for the work that they do with
    you and all the other members of the White House staff, and say a
    special

    [[Page 711]]

    word of welcome to Senator Kennedy and
    Congressman Martinez, about whom I'll
    say more in a moment.
        I'm sorry if I cost Mayor Helmke any votes
    in the Republican primary. [Laughter] It is his great misfortune to have
    been my friend for a long time. But surely, whatever he lost he got back
    by outing me as a law school truant today. [Laughter] I hope he has
    recovered all that lost ground. Unfortunately, it's true. [Laughter]
        Because this is my only opportunity to appear before the press
    today, before I get into my remarks about education I would like to make
    a few important comments about the peace process in the Middle East.
        First, I think it's important in the temporary frustration of the
    moment not to forget what Israelis and Palestinians have accomplished in
    just the past few years: the peace agreement signed here in September of
    1993, based on the Oslo accords, the agreement over Hebron, continuing
    in very open dialog, an unprecedented amount of security cooperation.
    What we are trying to do now is simply to regain the momentum that has
    been lost in the past few months, not by imposing our ideas on anyone,
    because only the parties can make decisions that will affect the lives
    they have to live, their security, and their future.
        What we're searching for is common ground to achieve what Prime
    Minister Netanyahu asked us to pursue a
    year ago, the start of accelerated permanent status negotiations. It's
    important not to forget that. We are not talking about a final agreement
    between the Palestinians and the Israelis. What we're talking about is
    what kind of agreement can they make within the framework of their
    previous agreements that will get them into discussing all the difficult
    issues that would allow them to wrap this up, hopefully on time by the
    end of May next year, which was the timetable established in the Oslo
    accords.
        Secretary Albright, I believe,
    made some real progress in London. Both Prime Minister
    Netanyahu and Chairman Arafat were seriously constructive. They discussed a set of
    ideas that we believe are necessary to get into those final status
    talks.
        Prime Minister Netanyahu has asked us
    to send our Special Envoy, Dennis Ross, back
    to the region to pursue creative ways to make our ideas acceptable to
    both sides. He leaves later today with my instruction to literally go
    the extra mile, to seize this opportunity for peace, to launch the final
    status talks.
        The Prime Minister and I agreed to
    try to do this a year ago, and we're going to do our best. I do not want
    to minimize the difficulties. Both sides have to make very hard
    decisions if we're going to keep moving forward. But the prize is a just
    and lasting and secure peace, and the prize can be attained. We're going
    to do everything we can to make it a reality.
        Now, let me say what I said to you before when I was asked to appear
    before this conference. I applaud the mayors for holding this meeting on
    education. You have done an enormous service to the county by being here
    and by putting this document out. You can lead the way to a revolution
    of high standards and high expectations, of genuine accountability and
    real choice in education. And I believe you are determined to do so.
        In the past few years, a lot has been done by dedicated teachers,
    fine principals, supportive parents, other committed reformers, and our
    students. But all of us know we have a lot more to do. We know that we
    have the world's best system of higher education, and we've taken
    unprecedented steps to open the doors of college to all Americans. We're
    moving forward on other levels, as well.
        Tuesday, the United States Senate passed, 91 to 7, a bill that
    articulates the principles that I set out 5 years ago in my proposed
    ``GI bill'' for America's workers. I think all educators know that we
    have to create a system of lifetime learning in America. Everybody has
    got to be able to go back to school throughout their lifetime. Indeed,
    one of the most important provisions in the balanced budget was that
    which provided a HOPE scholarship tax credit of $1,500 a year for first
    2 years of college and continuing tax credits for other forms of
    education for people of any age when they have to go back to school.
        What this ``GI bill'' will do, this present legislation that the
    Senate passed, is to untangle and streamline the current large number of
    Government programs on job training so that workers can get a simple
    skill grant to choose the training they need. That is very important.
        But everyone knows we still have a lot of work to do in our public
    schools. Our public schools, for generations, have taught our children
    not only how to read and write but what

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    it means to be an American. And they have embodied the principle that
    everyone ought to have a fair and equal chance to live out their dreams.
    We know we have to strengthen them to do their job for the 21st century.
    As I said, there is a lot to be proud of. It's important to remember--
    and I think the evidence will show--that since the issuance of the
    ``Nation At Risk'' report in 1983, dedicated teachers, visionary
    principals, committed students, and involved parents have accomplished a
    lot. But a lot needs to be done.
        Our schools are still not giving our children, particularly our
    children who come in from the most difficult circumstances that Mayor
    Helmke discussed, the best education in the world. And therefore, I
    really thank you for this action plan. It reflects the lessons that have
    been learned in communities across America. It reflects the goals I have
    sought to advance, that Secretary Riley has
    worked his heart out on for more than 5 years now.
        And I think it's worth mentioning what they are. Every child in
    every community must master the basics with national standards in
    reading and math. Every child must have the chance to learn in small
    classes, especially in the early grades. That's why I proposed a
    national effort to hire 100,000 more teachers and distribute them in a
    way that will enable us to get average class size down to 18 in the
    first 3 grades. Every child should have more public school choice and
    the opportunity to learn in a modern, safe, state-of-the-art school. No
    child in any community, in my opinion, should be passed from grade to
    grade, year after year, without mastering the material. I believe that
    those things are principles that, if they were real in every school in
    America, would strengthen education dramatically.
        I've often said, based on my own personal experience, that there's
    no education problem anywhere in America that hasn't been solved by
    somebody somewhere in America. We have to do more, all of us, to shine a
    spotlight on reforms that work at the local level and then to encourage
    people to embrace other people's changes.
        You know, our Founding Fathers set up the States as laboratories of
    democracy. That was the phrase used by James Madison and by other
    Founders. And in so many ways, they are. I used to say, when I was a
    Governor, I was much more proud of being the second State to do
    something than to be the first State to do something, because if we were
    the second State to do something, it meant we were paying attention to
    the laboratories and we weren't embarrassed to take somebody else's good
    idea if it would help our people. I think today, more than any other
    single group of people, the mayors embody that spirit.
        And this report that Secretary Riley is
    issuing today called ``Turning Around Low Performing Schools,'' shows
    that, number one, it can be done and shows what is done. Let me just
    show it to you; Dick just gave me a copy of it before I came in. I hope
    this will be read by every mayor, every Governor, every school
    superintendent in the entire United States of America. If nothing else,
    it will give people the courage to know that no matter how difficult
    their problems are, things can get better, much better. And I hope that
    others will be as unashamed as I was when I was a Governor to take other
    people's ideas. It's okay to give them credit, but the main thing you
    need to do is to take them.
        When parents and teachers take responsibility, asking more of
    themselves, their children, and their leaders, you can replace triumph--
    you can replace failure with triumph. That's what this report shows. It
    shows that no school is a lost cause and that no child is a lost cause.
        A lot of you have been kind and generous and openminded enough
    basically to embrace and elevate the remarkable experiment launched by
    Mayor Daley in Chicago. They looked at
    their schools; they saw low test scores, high dropout rates, students
    literally earning diplomas who couldn't read them. But instead of
    walking away, they went to work. Chicago ended social promotion, but
    Chicago also gave more after-school opportunities, had mandatory summer
    school for children who did not pass from grade to grade. And we now
    see, in addition to a lot of other changes, including far more
    involvement by parents, school by school, we now see high standards and
    uncompromising excellence coming back into the classrooms of that city.
    And I have been in the Chicago schools, I believe, three times in the
    last couple of years--I was just there recently--and it is truly
    amazing.
        The thing that has moved me most, I think, was we were at a school--
    not the last time, Mayor, but the time before last--in which there

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    were lots of parents there who had clearly rejected the notion that the
    worst thing for their child's self-esteem was being forced to go to
    summer school or forced to repeat a grade. They understood that by the
    time they were 30 years old, if they couldn't fill out a job application
    or read it in the first place, that would do far more damage to their
    self-esteem than having to spend a few more months learning. And that
    was a terrific achievement. And I think you deserve a great deal of
    credit for it. And I thank you for what you've done.
        I believe we have to use standards in testing to identify children
    who are failing to learn, to make sure they get the extra help they
    need. I believe that we have to say to every student that America cares
    about you; America believes in you whether you believe in yourself or
    not, right now; but it is our fundamental value in education that you
    must learn in order to be certified as a learner.
        Let me also say, I think we have to say that it is absolutely wrong
    to go about this business of saying you're going to end social promotion
    or have testing with standards and then not do what it takes to bring
    the children up to speed. It would be wrong to do this without giving
    those after-school opportunities, without providing those tutorial
    opportunities, without providing those summer school opportunities.
        And I want to say--I see Sandy Feldman
    here--I want to say that I think that the teachers of this country will
    lead the way on this if they believe that the kids are going to get the
    long-term support they need to be held to the high standards. And I
    think the leaders of the AFT and the NEA feel that way, and I think
    local teachers in every school throughout this country feel that way.
        No one wants to be a part of a failing enterprise, especially when
    the stakes are the highest they could possibly be, the future of our
    children. And if you look at these two things, if you say, ``Okay, we
    know this can be done, and everybody wants to do it,'' then the only
    remaining question is, what do we have to do and why aren't we doing it?
    And I see now more and more cities responding to this call: Boston,
    Cincinnati, Long Beach, Rochester, Washington, New York, Philadelphia
    are all taking steps to end social promotion. I've been in many of the
    schools in cities that are here in this audience represented, and I know
    that there are people working to take the kind of responsibility for
    transforming their schools.
        Now, if you're going to do that, we have a responsibility to help.
    As Paul said, there are some disputes about what the role of the
    National Government should be, as opposed to the States, as opposed to
    the local level. I think it's important to put on the table first that
    the Federal Government's role in education has always been somewhat
    limited. It's less than a dime on the dollar of the education money.
    That means that we should focus on what works, on national priorities,
    and on helping schools that need the most help because they have the
    least ability to provide for the needs of their people.
        We also ought to focus on those that manifest a desire to do the
    right thing. If you know what works, you ought to reward that. That's
    why I have proposed a network of what we call education opportunity
    zones. Today, Senator Kennedy, Congressman
    Clay, and others, and Mr. Martinez--thank you for being here--will introduce
    legislation to create these zones all across America.
        They will target poor urban and rural communities where schools are
    often in crisis. They will spread reforms that work. You get the benefit
    of these zones if you're prepared to end social promotion, impose higher
    standards, recognize good schools, turn around failing ones, give
    parents public school choice, reward outstanding teachers, help those
    who are having trouble, remove those who cannot make the grade, and make
    sure that all children get the help they need through after-school
    tutoring and summer school.
        This bill should be supported by everyone in both parties who cares
    about children and who cares about turning around failing schools. It is
    the only way we can offer opportunity to and demand responsibility from
    all the children in all of our communities all across America.
        I think one of the most interesting things--I asked for a report
    before I came out here about the cities that are working in environments
    where they don't have the level of direct control that the mayor enjoys
    in Chicago, and I got a good report on what some of you are doing in
    various cities. And the only thing I would say about that is that,
    either through a cooperative process or in some other way, in the end
    someone has to have the ability to make

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    a decision and make it stick. Someone has to have the ability to make a
    decision. We don't make those decisions in Washington. We can create a
    framework. We can create opportunities. We can give money. But in the
    end, if a change has to be made, there has to be someone who can make
    the change.
        I've already said that I believe--and I strongly believe--there's
    enough evidence of what works that if we get the people together at the
    local level, you can create an environment in which that's happening.
    But the mayors, even if they don't directly control the schools, have to
    be willing to speak up and say that this is not being done if it's not
    being done. You are the only people who can do that. You are still the
    single voice of your cities.
        And I have now spent hours and hours and hours looking at the
    Chicago experiment. I have spent no little amount of time on several
    other school systems, including some represented in this room. And I
    honestly believe that in the end, if no one can make a decision and they
    can always bat authority back and forth and no one can be held
    accountable and no one's willing to be responsible for what doesn't work
    as well for what does, it's going to be very tough.
        So we'll do our best to push this bill. I hope you'll help us pass
    it. I think it will really support what you're trying to do. But you
    know as well as I do, that if we have a value of no social promotion, if
    we have a value that says every child can learn, if we're trying to
    propose what works, in the end someone has to be able to take
    responsibility for making that decision.
        Now, let me say that we've got a comprehensive education agenda in
    the Congress, as all of you know. We're trying to get the funds to aid
    for school construction and school repair. Many of our cities have
    average age of their school buildings over 65 years. Many of our other
    cities have huge numbers of children going to school in trailers every
    day. I hope we can pass the construction bill. I hope we can pass the
    smaller classes.
        We're doing our best to get full authorization for America Reads, to
    continue our work to help you hook up all the classrooms and libraries
    in the country to the Internet by the year 2000, to continue our
    struggle for national standards, including the tests in reading and math
    at the fourth and eighth grade.
        We have made some progress on some of these issues in Congress. We
    may have a chance to talk about that in the question and answer period.
    But so far we have not been able to persuade the Congress to embrace the
    smaller class sizes, the modernized schools, the more teachers, the
    higher standards. We're going to keep working to do that. I want to ask
    Congress to join with the mayors across party lines to do what is right
    for our children in the 21st century.
        You have set an example, all of you, without regard to party, who
    have put your children first. Just remember this: I had a meeting with
    the head of the Federal Reserve Board, Alan Greenspan, a couple of days ago, and he said--it was really
    interesting--he said, ``You know, it's hard to be sure about everything
    that's going on in this economy, but one thing is absolutely clear. It
    is now being powered by ideas. We live in an economy of ideas. You have
    more wealth growth on less density of physical product than ever before
    in human history, and the trend will continue unabated. That means all
    the opportunities of tomorrow are those that are in the minds of our
    children waiting to be brought out.'' You recognize that, and together
    we have to bring them out.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:10 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor Paul Helmke of Fort Wayne,
    IN, president, U.S. Conference of Mayors; Prime Minister Binyamin
    Netanyahu of Israel; Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian
    Authority; Ambassador Dennis Ross, Special Middle East Coordinator;
    Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago, IL; and Sandra Feldman, president,
    American Federation of Teachers.