[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: GEORGE W. BUSH (2001, Book I)]
[January 22, 2001]
[Pages 7-8]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Reading Roundtable
January 22, 2001

    Laura and I have been honored to host a discussion on an incredibly 
important subject, and that's education and reading. I really appreciate 
the Secretary of Education for coming, Dr. Rod Paige; and for educators, leaders from all around the country 
who've come here to the Roosevelt Room.
    Phyllis Hunter coined a phrase that I 
quote a lot, and that is, ``Reading is the new civil right.'' It's the 
cornerstone of hope and opportunity in America, and we're going to make 
sure every child has the opportunity to learn to read. That means we're 
going to have scientific-based

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knowledge be the cornerstone of our curriculum. And that's why I 
appreciate Reid Lyon and others, experts in the 
field of reading, for being here to help make sure our curriculum 
reflect that which works.
    We're going to diagnose children early and correct problems when we 
find them. As importantly, I'm going to ask Congress to spend money on 
teacher training to make sure that our teachers, the heart and soul of 
the education system, have got the tools necessary to teach children to 
read.
    I'm excited about working with the pros in the field of education. 
This is not a Republican issue; it's not a Democrat issue; it's not an 
independent issue; this is an American issue, and the most fundamental 
of all American issues. If the mission is to make sure the American 
experience touches every willing heart, every person in the country, it 
starts with making sure our children learn to read, and it starts with 
making sure children learn to read early. And one of the key initiatives 
that we have been discussing is, how do we make sure that we get 
science-based reading instruction to the youngest of the young? One way 
is to make sure that Head Start has a reading component as a part of its 
overall mission.
    So I want to thank you all for coming. This is a week where I'm 
going to, hopefully, focus the Nation's attention on public schools and 
how the Congress and the executive branch can work together to pass law 
and appropriate money that will enable Dr. Paige and myself to work on the noblest of all missions, that 
every single child be educated in America, and not one--I mean not one--
be left behind.

Note: The President spoke at 1:49 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to G. Reid Lyon, chief, Child 
Development and Behavior Branch, National Institute of Child Health and 
Human Development, Department of Health and Human Services; and Phyllis 
Hunter, consultant, Texas Reading Initiative.