    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [January 8, 2002]
    [Pages 26-30]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire
    January 8, 2002

        The President. Thank you very much for that warm welcome. Winter
    wouldn't just be right without a trip to New Hampshire. [Laughter] I've
    got some fond memories of your great State, candlepin bowling--
    [laughter]--sledding down hills--[laughter]--and the people. What a
    great State you've got. Governor, thank you
    for coming. I'm honored you're here.
        Madam President, thank you for opening
    up the university. It's an honor to be on this campus. Sorry I don't
    have time to watch the hockey team play. [Laughter]

    [[Page 27]]

    They tell me they're pretty good. [Laughter] It's good to be with Bob
    Smith and John Sununu.
    Thank you both for being here as well. I want to thank all the students
    who are here. My advice is, listen to your mother. [Laughter] I'm still
    listening to mine. [Laughter]
        I do want to--like Judd, I want to thank those
    of the National Guard who are here, those who serve in the guard and
    those families of guardspeople who have been called up to active duty. I
    want to tell you that your families are engaged in a noble and just
    cause. We will not let terrorists stand.
        You know, the enemy made a big mistake. They didn't understand
    America. They thought, because of our richness, that we were soft, that
    we didn't believe in anything, that we weren't willing to stand up for
    what we think is right. And they're paying a dear price for messing with
    America.
        I want the youngsters here to understand that this war is really
    about your future, that we fight not to seek revenge, but we fight to
    protect America and freedom, a system that is so fair, so optimistic,
    and so just, that this Nation is making sacrifices so that your children
    and your grandchildren can grow up in peace. I long for peace. But so
    long as there is terror and evil that want to do harm to the American
    people, I will not relent, and I will not tire until we bring them to
    justice.
        We have an important mission overseas, and we've got an important
    mission at home. And we must never lose sight of this mission, and
    that's to make sure every single child--every child--receives a first-
    class education. The hope of the future for this country is not only to
    make sure that we're secure and we're safe, but the true hope for the
    country is to make sure everybody gets a good education.
        This morning I signed a significant piece of legislation, a major
    piece of reform, and I did so in John Boehner's district in Ohio. Most of the time, you sign a piece of
    legislation at the White House. I chose to sign it at one of our most
    precious assets that we have in America, and that was in a public
    school. I did so because I want the country to remember that we've got
    to battle illiteracy and hopelessness through quality education.
        This was a significant work done by the Congress. My friend Judd
    Gregg had a lot to do with it, and that's why
    we've come to New Hampshire, to not only praise the legislation, but to
    praise his work. He's not a real chatty kind of guy. [Laughter] But when
    he talks, people actually pay attention. He did really good work, as did
    the other three leaders on this stage. I emphasize the word ``leaders''
    because it would have been easy to quit on the process. It would have
    been easy to allow the process to dissipate into the same old, tired
    politics that dominates--sometimes dominate Washington. That's that
    attitude that said, ``I can't work with anybody of a different political
    party.'' Folks, this bill I signed today shows what can happen when good
    people get together. It is more important to focus on our children than
    political parties in the country.
        Big George Miller out of California came
    to the----
        Audience member. What about the dead Afghani children, Mr. Bush?
    What about the dead Afghani children?
        Audience member. We love you, President Bush!
        The President. Big George is out of
    California. He came to the Governor's Mansion to talk about public
    education when I was still the Governor--heading to Washington. You
    know, he's from the different side of the political aisle and, frankly,
    the ideological spectrum than I am. And yet, he shares the same passion
    I have, and that is that we can't allow any systems and schools to exist
    that simply shuffle children through--that every person matters. We
    decided right then and there, we're going to put aside our differences
    and see if we couldn't work together, and we did. John Boehner from Ohio, he and George used to battle

    [[Page 28]]

    occasionally because they let their party labels get in the way. But
    they did magnificent work on the floor of the House of Representatives.
        And then, of course, some of the folks in Crawford coffee shop will
    be amazed to hear me say that I like Ted Kennedy. I will tell you this: If you have a legislative battle,
    you want him on your side; you don't want him against you. [Laughter] He
    made an enormous difference, as did Judd, in
    passing a piece of legislation that sets high standards and high
    expectations, one that provides greater resources, one that understands
    the role of parents in public education. This a good piece of
    legislation for which America should be proud.
        I want to thank my friend Rod Paige
    for being here as well. Rod is the Secretary of Education. He was the
    superintendent at the Houston Independent School District. I figured
    that anybody that could survive being superintendent of the Houston
    Independent School District can survive Washington. [Laughter] His job
    will be to make sure that the piece of legislation that I signed this
    morning is implemented in the spirit of the legislation, the principles
    involved remain intact.
        And I want to share those principles with you. I wish the bill were
    here. It's about this tall. [Laughter] I haven't read it all yet.
    [Laughter] In my line of work, they give you an executive briefing.
    [Laughter] But I know the principles involved in the bill, and I want to
    share some of those with you.
        One of the key principles in this bill is that we must hold schools
    accountable for results. And so therefore, if you receive Federal money,
    in return for Federal money, the States--not the Federal Government--the
    States must develop a test for third through eighth graders on reading
    and math. For the first time at the Federal level, we've asked a simple
    question: Is our money being spent wisely? Are people learning?
        I want to quote to you what a young girl said from New York City.
    She said, ``I don't even remember taking exams. They just kept passing
    me along. I ended up dropping out in the seventh grade. I basically felt
    that nobody cared.'' You see, in some schools, it is so much easier to
    take a look at the classroom and say, ``Let's just move them through.''
    In some school districts in some parts of our country, it is so much
    easier to walk into a classroom full of kids who may not supposed to be
    able to learn, and say, ``We're just going to move you along. We don't
    really care what you know.'' That day is going to end in America. Every
    child matters.
        I'm sure there's somebody out there saying, ``I don't like to take
    tests.'' Tough. [Laughter] We want to know; we need to know. We need to
    know whether a curriculum is working. We need to know whether the
    teachers, the methodology that teachers use is working. We need to know
    whether or not people are learning. And if they are, there will be
    hallelujahs all over the place. But if not, we intend to do something
    about it.
        Now, we're going to say to failed schools, you've got some time to
    correct yourselves. You've got some time to take remedial action. Not
    only will you have time, but there will be incentives and additional
    resources for you to improve. In other words, when we find failure,
    we're going to do something about it. We're going to take corrective
    action in society.
        But if a school can't change, if a school can't show the parents and
    community leaders that they can teach the basics, something else has to
    take place. In order for there to be accountability, there has to be
    consequences. And the consequence in this bill is that after a period of
    time, if a parent is tired of their child being trapped into a failed
    school, that parent will have different options, public school choice,
    charter, and private tutoring.

    [[Page 29]]

        One of Judd Gregg's contributions to this
    bill was, he advocated supplemental services and the resources to back
    them up. He basically said that parents whose children go to failed
    schools must be given different alternatives. These children must be
    given an opportunity to receive additional education if the status quo
    is unacceptable. And so, when we say no child is left behind, the
    cornerstone of that is accountability, coupled with consequences in the
    accountability system.
        The third principle involved in this bill is, you've got to trust
    the local people to make the decisions for the schools. The people of
    New Hampshire understand how to run their school system. This bill
    passes power out of Washington and provides flexibility for the
    Governors who, in turn, I hope, provide flexibilities for the local
    districts.
        Listen, we have the Teacher of the Year
    here, and I want to thank her, and I want to thank all the teachers who
    are in this auditorium. There is nothing more that expresses our
    confidence, that says more about our confidence in you, than saying,
    ``We're going to give you all the power you need to make the right
    decisions for the classrooms in which you teach.''
        Local control, flexibility, less strings from Washington really
    means that parents and teachers and community activists must not be
    bystanders when it comes to making sure every child learns. It's really
    important.
        A lot of people after 9/11 said, ``What can I do to help in America?
    What can I do to make America a better place?'' You can support your
    public schools. You can mentor a child. You can teach a child to read.
    You can make sure your child turns off their TV at night, so they can
    learn to read better. You can make education the number one priority in
    your neighborhood.
        And while we're waging war overseas, we're after illiteracy here at
    home. One of the most appalling statistics of our great land is the
    illiteracy rate amongst poor children. It's really high at the fourth
    grade level, and that's unacceptable. I think Chairman Boehner said about 70 percent of the fourth grade
    impoverished children can't read. If you can't read in the fourth grade,
    you're likely not to be able to read in the eighth grade. And if you
    can't read in the eighth, you're likely not be able to read in high
    school. And if you can't read in high school, you're likely to fall into
    a life that--a life of despair and hopelessness. And that's not right in
    America.
        And so therefore, this bill pays attention to reading. It's got a
    lot of money in it to develop programs that work. I'm tired, and I know
    these congressional leaders are tired of putting money into programs
    that don't work. Well, in reading, we know what works. It's time to fund
    curriculum and teacher training programs and reading programs not based
    upon what sounds good or some theory but based upon what works, so that
    children can learn to read in America.
        We are focusing on early reading initiatives, so that the country
    can achieve this goal: Every child be reading at grade level by the
    third grade. That's an achievable goal. It's one that's going to insist
    upon making sure we've got accountability standards, flexibility,
    resource--focusing our resources, and using the things that work, proven
    curriculum. But we can do that in America. We can achieve this
    objective. We can meet this goal. And when we do, America will be a much
    better place.
        You know, after 9/11, a lot of us have taken a hard look at how we
    live our lives, you know, the meaning of life. And that's good for our
    country. It's been an incredibly positive experience for Americans to
    sit around their dinner table and moms and dads to take a look at their
    kids and say, ``You know something, being a mom or dad is the most
    important job I'll ever have.'' It's been good for our country to--for
    people to go to their houses of worship and pray for guidance. It's been
    good for our country for people to say, ``Gosh, I want

    [[Page 30]]

    to fight terror by being kind to somebody else.'' And it's going to be
    good for our country, good for our country, when we as a nation focus on
    education again, focus on making sure our public education is the best
    school system in the entire world. That's what America is about.
        It has been an honor for me to travel and to work with the four men
    on the stage who've made this bill possible. They have shown the country
    what can happen when good, honorable people set their minds on getting
    something done. They have shown that when you work with an
    administration, that when you set clear goals and you set aside all the
    bickering and you push aside all those on the fringes trying to tear
    down the process, that good people from both parties can achieve
    something strong for America. And that's exactly what we've done.
        Thank you all for coming, and God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:20 p.m. in the Lundholm Gymnasium. In his
    remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire; Joan R.
    Leitzel, president, University of New Hampshire; and Nancy B. McIver,
    2002 State Teacher of the Year for New Hampshire. H.R. 1, the No Child
    Left Behind Act of 2001, approved January 8, was assigned Public Law No.
    107-110.