    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [May 6, 2002]
    [Pages 723-727]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at Vandenberg Elementary School in Southfield
    May 6, 2002

        Thank you all very much for that warm welcome. I'm delighted to be
    here. Secretary Paige said that he's
    moving around the country to 25 different cities and school districts to
    make sure that the No Child Left Behind Initiative is put in place and
    implemented, and I just wanted to check up on him a little bit.
    [Laughter] And I'm glad I'm doing so here in Michigan.
        I picked Rod to be the Secretary of
    Education. One, I was comfortable with him as a person. We're both
    Texans. I saw him in action in Texas. I know how deeply he cares for the
    children all across our country. But I also wanted somebody that
    actually knew how to get things done. In Washington, we find all kinds
    of great theorists, people who talk about theory and philosophy. I was
    interested in somebody who actually had run a school district, who knows
    what it means to meet a budget, who knows how to deal with teachers, who
    insists upon high standards for every child. And Rod did that, and he's
    a great Secretary of Education. I'm so glad that he's here.
        I want to thank Sharalene as well. You
    know, one of the things you find out when you pay close attention to
    public education and you try to figure out what works, the good schools
    are those who have got good principals. Good schools are--[applause]. So
    I want to thank Sharalene for her hospitality. I know it's not easy to
    welcome the President. [Laughter] He's got kind of a small entourage--
    [laughter]--of 25 vehicles. [Laughter] But you all and your staff have
    done a great job. And I want to thank all who are responsible for
    helping put this event on for your hospitality.
        I want to thank your teachers as well. I'm real proud to be in the
    midst of teachers who are doing a great job.
        I made a wise choice when I asked a public school teacher to marry me. [Laughter] A lot of people are wondering
    how wise a choice she made when she said yes. [Laughter] But I'm sorry
    she's not here with me today. She cares deeply about the teaching
    profession, and one of her responsibilities that she's assumed is to
    help recruit young and old alike to become teachers in classrooms.
        I want to thank Cecil Rice, who's the
    superintendent of Southfield Public Schools. You and big Rod speak the same language. Good to have you here. I
    want to thank Congressman Joe Knollenberg;
    this is his district. Thank you for being here, Congressman; appreciate
    your time. I want to thank my friend, the Governor of Michigan, John
    Engler, for being here as well. Thank you,
    Governor. We've got Tom Watkins, who's the
    superintendent of Public Instruction for Michigan. Tom, thanks for
    coming. We've got the mayor. Thank you, Madam Mayor, for being here; appreciate you coming.

    [[Page 724]]

        We've got a young lady named Asya Obad here.
    Now, I want to tell you about Asya. Please stand up for a minute, Asya.
    [Applause] One of the things I try to do as I travel around the country
    is to remind people that if you live in America, you have a
    responsibility to your country and the community in which you live; that
    out of this evil that had been done to us, I believe can come some
    incredible good. And part of that good is neighbor caring for neighbor
    and people listening to the universal admonition to love a neighbor like
    you'd like to be loved yourself.
        And this young lady, who is a University of
    Michigan student, has done just that. She's a--one-time AmeriCorps
    volunteer?--two-time AmeriCorps volunteer. She works with a program
    called ACCESS, Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services,
    to help new students, new immigrant students to learn to read and write.
    In other words, she's a child who is getting her own education and, at
    the same time, working hard to make sure our community is strong. You
    see, America changes one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time. And
    while one person can't do everything, one person can make a significant
    difference in people's lives.
        I want to thank you for being here, and I want
    to thank you for the example you've set for people your age and for
    older people too.
        I want to thank the parents who are involved in their children's
    education. I got to tell you, I was impressed. It just reminded me how
    great America is when I came--went through the classrooms here. A young
    girl, just came from Iraq, reads--talks about core democratic values and
    why they're important. I mean, this is a great country, and it's a
    great--public schools are so important that we get it right. In order
    for the future of this country to be bright and hopeful, we've got to
    make sure every child gets educated, no matter where they're from or
    their background.
        You know, this little girl came, and she spoke--knew the alphabet,
    but that was it. And she was able, in front of the President of the
    United States and a press corps, to read about values that matter. But
    it's the same values that mattered to my little girls. I mean, it's the
    greatness of our country to share values and to be diverse and to
    welcome people from all backgrounds into America.
        And one of the unifying things about our country is the education
    system. It's an education system that can be incredibly hopeful. And
    it's one where, as a result of schools making right decisions, people
    from all backgrounds do get educated.
        The reason I'm here is because this is a successful school. It's a
    successful school because teachers care and work hard. It's a successful
    school because there is a mindset that says, every child can learn. It
    is a school that obviously welcomes people from all backgrounds, but it
    is also a school that doesn't kind of say, ``Well, certain kids are
    going to be too hard to educate. Let's just kind of move them somewhere
    else, kind of put them on the sidecar to nowhere,'' which happens. This
    is a school that welcomes the young child from Iraq, puts her in a
    classroom, provides a little special nudge when it comes to an
    interpreter, but gets her moving.
        This is a school that is not afraid to measure, a school that says,
    ``We want to know.'' You see, there are a lot of people in America who
    reject the notion of accountability in public education. I'm not one.
    See, I want to know. I want to know whether a child is learning to read
    and write or add and subtract, and I want to know early. It seems like
    to me that if we are concerned about every child and we have high
    standards that believes every child can learn, that in order to verify
    that, we ought to measure and not be afraid of accountability. This
    school is not afraid of accountability and, as a result, is excelling.

    [[Page 725]]

        There are people who are afraid of accountability systems, and
    therefore, I become suspicious. Because if you don't want to measure, it
    kind of makes me worry that maybe you're a little--you're not confident
    about either your teacher quality or your curriculum. If you're afraid
    to be held accountable, something must be going wrong. That's how I view
    it.
        What I don't like is a system that quits on kids, and neither should
    you. This school doesn't quit on kids, and that's why it's heralded for
    its excellence. You see, there can be a mindset in American schools that
    say, ``Well, there are certain kids that can't learn, and therefore,
    let's just move them through.'' The easiest thing to do is to shuffle
    them through, and one way to make sure that happens is to have no
    accountability. One way to make sure that it's--you take the easy path,
    which is give it your best shot and hope you get it right, is not to
    measure.
        And that's happened for too long in America. I'm going to be honest
    about it. When you've got so many fourth-graders who can't read at grade
    level, something has gone wrong. And by the way, if they can't read at
    grade level at fourth grade, you're not going to be reading at grade
    level at eighth grade, and you're not going to be reading grade level at
    high school. And all of a sudden, the great American hopes and dreams
    may not be extended in every neighborhood.
        And so one of the reasons I'm so insistent upon accountability--and
    Sharalene is as well, and Rod is--is because we need to know whether or not
    children are able to read early and, if they're not, use the
    accountability system as a way to correct problems. Sharalene was
    telling me that when this school begins to get a sense that a child is
    beginning to fall behind, the accountability system steps up; it doesn't
    decrease. There is a constant attention being paid to a child and
    whether or not that child is getting the right instruction.
        And I think that's not only healthy; I think it's great for the
    children. If the goal for America is no child left behind, let's make
    sure we view each child as an individual; test him or her as to whether
    or not she can read, write, add, or subtract; and correct his or her
    problems early, before it's too late. And you mark my word, what's going
    to happen: High standards, accountability, and local control of schools
    will mean that the public school system is going to be the greatest it
    can possibly be.
        We have responsibilities throughout our society. We have
    responsibilities. The Federal Government has responsibilities.
    Generally, that responsibility is to write a healthy check, and we did
    so in the 2002 budget: $22 billion for secondary and elementary schools.
    It's an increase of 25 percent. We've increased money by 35 percent for
    teacher recruitment, teacher retention, teacher pay.
        But in--my attitude is, if you spend something, you ought to get
    results for it. We ought to know. And that's why we insist--and this is
    what Rod is doing by traveling around the
    country saying, ``In return for Federal help, you've got to measure.''
    The State of Michigan, the State of Texas, the State of anywhere else
    has got to develop an accountability system that measures grades 3
    through 8, to show not only the taxpayers but mothers and dads whether
    or not expectations are being met.
        Local districts have a responsibility. Local districts have a
    responsibility to support the teachers. They have a responsibility to
    develop the accountability systems. They have a responsibility to reject
    curriculum that do not work. They have a responsibility to challenge the
    status quo. They have a responsibility to provide an education system
    that is not only good for teachers and principals but an education
    system in which parents are involved.
        Parents have a responsibility in the public education system of
    America. You have a responsibility to make sure your child

    [[Page 726]]

    comes to school with the understanding that they're going to be polite
    when they get in the classroom, with the understanding that they'll
    treat their teacher with respect, with the understanding there are
    certain manners that are important. If you expect your child to be well-
    educated, you have the responsibility of making sure your child gets
    educated starting at home, with some basic fundamentals.
        One of the things I like to try to remind parents, that it'd be
    helpful if you insisted that your child read more than they watch TV. As
    a veteran of teenage years, that's easier said than done; I understand
    that. [Laughter]
        But it's--all of us must assume responsibilities if we expect the
    best for every single child. The Federal Government has got
    responsibilities; the State Government has got responsibilities; the
    local districts have responsibilities; mothers and dads have
    responsibilities; the business community has responsibilities.
        The Michigan business community has got responsibilities to be
    involved with the public education system in Michigan. I mean, after
    all, we're educating potential heads of businesses and employees. And
    business Michigan must support education, must support the
    accountability systems, must support the infrastructure necessary to
    make sure that the school systems in Michigan work.
        Tomorrow I'm meeting with executives from around the country. I'm
    going to remind them that they have a responsibility, as good corporate
    citizens, not only to make sure that we understand all their assets and
    liabilities on their balance sheets; that when it comes time to treating
    their shareholders and employees with integrity, they must do so; that
    we expect there to be honesty in reporting; but business communities
    have the responsibility as well to support public education in America.
        So I believe firmly we're on the right track. First of all, we
    herald the importance of public education in America. Being on the right
    track means you understand the importance of public schools in our
    country. Anybody who doubts the importance of public education need to
    come to this school and go see the classrooms that I saw, its diversity.
    I believe one of the strengths of America is our diversity. I know one
    of the strengths is the common values that we all share. And I saw that
    living example in the classrooms I visited.
        Secondly, we have the right mindset in America, and that says, every
    child can learn. You've got to start thinking that. If you don't believe
    every child can learn, then the ones you don't believe will learn, won't
    learn. Every child can learn. Notice I didn't say every group can learn.
    I said, every single child can learn. It's a belief that we've got to
    focus our attentions on each child.
        It says that we trust the local people. Listen, we don't want
    Washington, DC, managing public education. Trust me, one size isn't
    going to fit all. It's just not. I know that some will say that's a
    trite slogan. It's true. It's true. You've got different issues here in
    Michigan than we have in Texas, and there's different issues here than
    they have in California. And that's why we want to have flexibility at
    the local level. We've got to trust teachers and principals to design
    what works. There needs to be flexibility.
        But we must be wise enough to measure. See, we must incorporate
    accountability and then be quick enough to change when we find failure.
    And mark my words, what's going to happen: We're going to start seeing
    great progress.
        This school is living example of great progress: Kind of at the
    bottom of the measurement standards, if I'm not mistaken, 5 years ago,
    and now you're soaring off the chart. It shows what's possible. We want
    every school soaring off the chart. We don't want schools languishing in
    mediocrity and excusemaking. We want the best

    [[Page 727]]

    for every child. That's what America's future is all about. It's about
    making sure that every single child gets educated.
        I love to ask the question when I go into a classroom, ``Are you
    going to college?'' It makes me feel so great to see every hand pop up--
    every hand. And that starts with making sure that every child gets a
    good education. And you're doing so at this school, and I'm proud you've
    invited me to come. And on behalf of a grateful nation, thank you for
    doing your job and doing it with excellence.
        God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:44 a.m. in the school's multipurpose
    room. In his remarks, he referred to Sharalene Charns, principal,
    Vandenberg Elementary School; and Mayor Brenda L. Lawrence of
    Southfield.