    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [September 4, 2002]
    [Pages 1525-1529]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
    September 4, 2002

        The President. Thank you all. Thank you for coming. I want to thank
    you all for coming. I'm particularly grateful that some of the folks on
    the frontline of education reform are with us, not only here on the
    stage, but as I look out in the audience I see some familiar faces with
    people who are--refuse to accept the status quo when the status quo
    means mediocrity for our children.
        So I want to welcome you here. I also want to assure you that one of
    the big challenges that I see for our country, besides keeping the peace
    and making the homeland secure, is to insist that every child be
    educated. Notice I said ``every child.'' It starts with the mindset that
    every child can learn. And I don't need to tell that to the people in
    this room, but there is--some in our country believe in the--what I call
    the soft bigotry of low expectations. They don't believe in the bigotry,
    but because there's low expectations, there is a soft bigotry.
        And that's unacceptable. What that means is, there's certain kids
    just get shuffled through the system. Certain kids, they just get quit
    on. And we know who they are. They're generally inner-city kids, kids
    whose parents may not speak English as a first language. It's so much
    easier to walk into a classroom full of the hard-to-educate and say,
    ``See you later. We're just going to move you through.'' And those days
    have got to end, and the people up here on the stage and the people here
    in the White House understand--standing here, sitting here in the White
    House--understand those days are going to end, for the good of the
    country.
        One of the challenges is to make sure America is secure, is safe, is
    strong. But another one of our challenges is to make sure America is a
    better place for all of us, and that starts with insisting that every
    child get educated.
        This is a passion that is shared by Republicans and Democrats. I
    don't view this as a partisan issue; I view this as an American issue.
    And that's why I was pleased earlier in my administration to travel the
    country with some of the bill sponsors, two of whom are here, both
    Republicans and Democrats, to sign this bill. That's a good signal to
    America that we're coming together to work on what's right for the
    country.
        And I want to welcome Judd Gregg from the
    State of New Hampshire, who is one of those with whom I had the honor of
    traveling, and John Boehner, who's the
    chairman of the Education Committee of the House of Representatives, for
    being with us. And of course, an advocate for teachers and for
    education, Ralph Regula, is with us as well. So
    I want to thank the three Members of Congress for coming. I appreciate
    you boys coming over here after a long, long vacation. [Laughter]
        Representative. [Inaudible]--back. [Laughter]
        The President. Yes, back--[laughter]. Glad you're in town.
    [Laughter] But I do

    [[Page 1526]]

    really appreciate your work on education. You've been great.
        I also want to thank Rod Paige for
    agreeing to leave Texas--that's a hard thing for Texans to do--and come
    up here and serve his Nation. I didn't need any theorists in the
    Department of Education. I wanted somebody who had been on the
    frontlines, somebody that had actually been, in this case, a
    superintendent, somebody who had raised the bar, and somebody that had
    achieved results on behalf of all the students in that incredibly
    complex and difficult school district. And Rod did a fabulous job in
    Houston, and he's doing a darn good job here in Washington, DC. And Rod,
    I want to thank you for your leadership.
        I also want to thank the MATHCOUNTS champs who are with us. I told
    them--[applause]. Thank you all for coming. I told them, in my State,
    sometimes too often we think of the champ only on the football field.
    I'm glad they're here to show that there's champs in the math arena and
    in the science arena. These champs are just as important as any athletic
    champ we have in the country, and I want to thank them for setting high
    standards and working hard and showing your fellow classmates what is
    possible.
        And I also want to thank your teachers who are here. I know you
    represent teachers all across the country, and a great teacher can make
    a huge difference in a child's life, and these teachers with us today
    have shown exactly what I'm talking about. So congratulations to the
    student and teacher--[applause].
        So I understand the difficulty of changing a system that doesn't
    like to change. After all, I was a Governor at one time. And there is a
    certain--there's a certain unwillingness of people in the school system,
    certain school systems, to change. It's hard. I know that. And yet, the
    bill we passed says you've got to change. And so the meeting today is a
    way to tell people that change is possible; change can be orderly; and
    change can be, most important, productive for student and family alike.
        And that's what we're talking about here today. The bill said that
    one--one of the cornerstones of that bill that we passed said we're
    going to trust the local people. That's one way to put it, is it's not
    all the smart people in the world live in Washington. There's plenty of
    smart people outside of Washington. And there is certainly an attachment
    to the school system, the public school systems, for those who live in
    the public school system's taxing district, for example.
        Nobody cares more about the schools in their neighborhood than the
    parents and the teachers and the local citizens. And therefore, it made
    a lot of sense to pass power out of Washington, to create a certain
    amount of flexibility at the local level so people can chart their own
    path to excellence. This is one of the keys to success. And that's what
    this bill does.
        And so what we have done today is, we have asked people who have
    taken advantage of the flexibility, that have actually done some
    creative, positive, significant things, so others can see what works.
    It's important for those in the public school systems around America to
    understand that it is possible to change and have positive results
    without disrupting the school systems.
        And that's what we're here to talk about. And one of the
    cornerstones of any good school system is accountability. Now look, I
    have battled--I have fought the accountability fight for a long time.
    I've heard people say, ``You test too much''--particularly the students.
    [Laughter] My answer is, if testing determines whether you can read, too
    bad that we test. As a matter of fact, it's to your advantage that we
    test.
        How do you know, if you don't give people a chance to show us? How
    do you know? It's the systems that don't test are those that quit on the
    kids. It's the systems where people say, ``All kids can't learn.
    Therefore, let's don't try to determine

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    whether they are learning.'' Those are the systems where we've really
    got a challenge. And one of the things we did say is, if you receive
    Federal money, we want to know whether or not you're succeeding. If you
    want to--all the Title I money we're sending out, we expect there to be
    results because, you see, we believe every child can learn.
        And there are creative things you can do with the accountability
    system, such as what they're doing in Indiana. And Suellen is here. For a while I thought she was from central Texas,
    with the name of Suellen--[laughter]--but it turns out--it turns out
    she's from Indiana. But they have got a--they decided, and wisely so, in
    the State of Indiana, that they're going to post results so people know,
    so parents know, so teachers know.
        You see, with information, people can make constructive change. You
    can determine whether or not the curriculum you are using works.
    Accountability is incredibly important for the school systems. People
    shouldn't fear accountability. They ought to welcome an accountability
    system as a useful tool to make sure no child is left behind, a useful
    tool to make sure they make constructive improvements in their school
    districts and in their schools.
        And Indiana has made a creative decision to put on the Internet,
    amongst other things, how the schools are performing, a comparative
    analysis of school performance, how the school's teachers--how many
    school teachers are certified under Indiana law. They can compare
    schools within a district. It is a useful way to use accountability as a
    management tool. It is also a useful way to encourage citizen
    involvement. You see, the more information a parent or a citizen knows,
    the more likely it is that parent or citizen is going to be involved in
    a school district.
        Too often people say, ``My schools are doing just fine.'' You all
    have heard that more than I have. Too often people--``Everything is just
    fine in my school. How do I know? My child told me,'' until you see a
    comparison, and then you realize that perhaps we need to ratchet up the
    bar a little higher. We need the make sure that the standards are
    raised, because every child counts here in this country.
        We've also got to make sure that the schools--the accountability
    system insists that the--that each child is recognized. There's a fancy
    word for it called ``disaggregation of data.'' I don't want to disturb
    the press corps by using a long word. [Laughter] I know what it means.
    [Laughter] You see, we've got to make sure that we focus on an
    individual basis. This idea of lumping people into large groups of
    people will diminish the capacity of an accountability system to make
    sure no child is left behind. The State of Florida has been on the
    leading edge of making sure the accountability system is--challenges the
    soft bigotry of low expectations. And I want to thank Jim for coming--and tell the Governor
    hello. [Laughter]
        I also believe there ought to be a consequence. If there's failure
    or mediocrity, something else has to happen. Otherwise, you've set up a
    nice system, but nothing changes. Without a consequence, without
    something to challenge the status quo, the status quo will remain.
        And so therefore, one of the things--one of the interesting
    innovations that we put in the bill that I think is--probably can be
    used in a very creative way for school districts all around the country,
    is the capacity to have after-school tutoring--the money follows the
    child--and that there can be a lot of creative ways to set up after-
    school tutoring. People can go outside the system to do--to have these
    after-schools--after-tutoring classes.
        There can be a whole kind of entrepreneurial effort made. There can
    be a charter schools--after-school charter schools, with funding
    available, because the money follows the child. It's a very wise thing
    that the State of Colorado and Colorado Springs School District is
    taking advantage of.

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        You see, if every child matters and your accountability system
    points out some are falling behind, this bill provides the resources
    necessary to make sure people catch up early, before it's too late.
    That's one of the keys to success, is that when you identify somebody
    who is failing, you get on it right away, and you help that person
    early, before it's too late. And a good way to do it is to take
    advantage of the after-school tutoring program we have in the bill. It's
    really creative.
        Once people see what's available and understand the options, there's
    going to be some--I predict there will be some creative responses, just
    like Colorado Springs' response, around the country.
        It's also important that their public school choice be fully
    implemented. You see, when the parents start to move, it gets people's
    attention. And one of the things in this bill says that we expect and
    will facilitate the capacity of parents to make different choices for
    their students if they're dissatisfied with the quality of education
    that their student, that their child is receiving.
        And St. Paul, Dr. Harvey, has done a
    very good job of making sure that those options are not only well-
    known--you see, sometimes what happens is, the school districts don't
    really make it clear what can happen or what should happen. The lack of
    knowledge for citizens means that lack of opportunity is--that people
    don't have the opportunities that they can achieve what is necessary to
    start insisting that every child be educated. And so Dr. Harvey not only
    has worked hard to educate parents about what is available but has also
    worked in the school district to make sure people understand within the
    school district that this is an important part of educational excellence
    for every child.
        The--as I said, I--options and consequences are all a part of making
    sure that the accountability system works. And here are two examples of
    school districts in our country seizing the moment to make sure that
    excellence prevails.
        I also want to congratulate Arkansas and Alabama for their work on
    reading, because the truth of the matter is, no matter how fancy we get
    with systems, if kids can't read, it doesn't matter. It's hard to be a
    math scholar if you can't read. It's hard to be a scientist if you can't
    read. And so we have decided here at the Federal level to make a
    national initiative being one that every child's going to read. And the
    reason Arkansas and Alabama are here is, they also understand that it
    requires a curriculum that works, if you want every child to read. They
    don't need fancy theories or what may sound good. Science is not an
    art--I mean, reading is not an art; it's a science. We know what works.
        And these schools, and these States, have adopted what works. And as
    you heard about from Alabama, Dr. Mitchell, they have retrained 2,500 teachers. Retraining is
    the right word; they've been trained once. Now they're being trained in
    a curriculum which will work, and it's essential we focus on reading
    first.
        If you have an accountability system, it is unfair to have a society
    in which not every child kind of starts at the accountability system at
    the same place. It's not going to work the way we want it to work. And
    so the best way to make sure that the accountability system has merit
    and we can accurately measure is to start teaching our children how to
    read early in life--I mean early--with a curriculum which works, and the
    willingness for States to recognize that sometimes teachers haven't been
    trained properly, and they need to be retrained. And that's what they
    did in Alabama. It's what we did in Texas, by the way. We spent time,
    money, and efforts to retrain our teachers, to give them the tools
    necessary so that they can do what they want to do, and which their
    desire is to do, which is to be as good a teacher as they can possibly
    be.

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        And so here are examples of--two examples of Reading First
    initiatives, which are on the leading edge of reform. They challenge the
    status quo when it doesn't work. They understand what I know, that
    reading is the new civil right. It's a part of making sure our students
    are free citizens. And we're going to do it. You watch here in America.
    This program is going to have a huge impact as we continue to insist
    that no child be left behind.
        And finally, New York City deserves a lot of credit. You hear about
    teacher shortages here and there in other places. But sometimes they're
    so bound in rules and regulations, and challenged because they're unable
    to be entrepreneurial in their willingness to hire, the shortages
    persist. But Joyce Coppin has figured out a way
    to have alternative certification, an intense recruiting campaign with
    New Teacher Project. I mean, this district has hired more than 2,000
    teachers this year, through a city's alternative certification program.
        They saw a problem, and instead of being hidebound by the old way of
    doing things, they said, ``Let's solve the problem first.'' Let's make
    sure we solve the problem. You can't--if--children will be left behind,
    unless there's teachers in the classrooms. And Joyce, I want to thank you and thank your folks there in New
    York City for showing America what is possible, that it's possible to be
    creative and to use your imagination and to solve a teacher shortage
    that might exist.
        It is essential that Americans understand, from the examples we've
    seen here, that change is positive, change is incredibly important to
    achieve the goal which we all want, and that is to have the best public
    school systems in the world and make sure no child is left behind.
    There's no doubt in my mind that these goals are achievable, because
    we're America, and there's nothing we can't overcome.
        The first step is to overcome timidity, and the first step is to
    overcome an unwillingness to confront mediocrity. And I think school
    districts and leaders around the country, when they realize what is
    possible from examples here, will be more than willing to challenge the
    status quo if the status quo is failing, to insist every child can
    learn, to raise the bar, and by raising the bar, raise the hopes of
    everybody who's lucky enough to be called an American.
        So I want to thank you all for your leadership. I appreciate very
    much your commitment to your States, to the children in your States, and
    to the greatest nation on the face of the Earth.
        May God bless you all, and may God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 3 p.m. in the East Room at the White House.
    In his remarks, he referred to Suellen K. Reed, Indiana superintendent
    of public instruction; Jim Horne, Florida secretary of education; Gov.
    Jeb Bush of Florida; Patricia A. Harvey, superintendent, St. Paul Public
    Schools, St. Paul, MN; Katherine Mitchell, director, Alabama Reading
    Initiative; and Joyce Coppin, chief executive of the division of human
    resources, New York City Department of Education.