[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
[January 5, 2004]
[Pages 5-8]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks in a Discussion at Pierre Laclede Elementary School in St.
Louis, Missouri
January 5, 2004
The President. Well, I'm glad to be here, Madam Principal. [Laughter] One of the things you find in a successful
school is a strong-willed, smart, capable principal. And that's
obviously the case here, and I appreciate your hospitality.
I'm here at Laclede because this is a school that has defied
expectations. It's defied expectations by raising the bar and believing
that every child can learn. That's not the case in some parts of our
country, unfortunately. In some parts of the country, schools just
shuffle kids through, and that's not right. That's not the American way.
This school is a school that has performed, you have to say,
brilliantly. Since 1999, 7 percent of the kids could read, and now 80
percent can read at grade level in the third grade. That speaks to
strong principals. It speaks to really good teachers. It says this
school has got teachers that believe in the capability of every child.
It says the school has raised standards and is not afraid to measure.
And see, one of the things I'm here to talk about is the No Child
Left Behind Act. Laclede has been named a No Child Left--Blue Ribbon No
Child Left Behind School. And the--inherent in this No Child Left Behind
Act is the desire to spend Federal money and spend it wisely. We've
increased budgets. The Title I money is up 43 percent since 2001--41
percent. The teacher training money is up. The reading program money is
up by 4 times. But finally, the Federal Government has said, ``Why don't
you show us whether or not that money is being well-spent. Show us
whether or not you believe every child can learn. Show us whether or not
objectives are being met.''
And this is exactly what's happening here at Laclede. As I was
reminded, Laclede was doing this before No Child Left Behind Act was
passed. Joyce was quick to point it out.
[Laughter] She may point it out again. [Laughter]
But the important thing is, inherent in the No Child Left Behind Act
was not only the desire to measure, the need to measure, the need to
show, the need to track each child, but it's also the trust of local
people to make the right decisions. See, you can't have a system that
is--meets objectives if you're hamstrung by Federal rules and
regulations. And so, inherent in the No Child Left Behind Act is trust,
trust of the principals, trust of the teachers, trust of the parents,
trust of the local officials, like Speaker Hanaway and Peter Kinder
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from the State house and State senate who are with us. I want to thank
you for coming, by the way.
I appreciate all the State officials who are here. I know we've got
some school board officials. You've got the ball in our--in terms of how
to achieve excellence. It's up to you. The Federal Government is a
source of money. It's now a source of inspiration. It's a source of
measurement. But it's up to the local people to really make it work.
I also appreciate so very much that Senator Jim Talent is with us. Senator, thank you for coming. Congresswoman
Jo Ann Emerson and Kenny Hulshof, and of course, Congressman Lacy Clay, whose district we are in. Congressman, thank
you very much for joining us today.
I went into a classroom of fourth graders. I asked this question, I
said, ``How many of you are going to go to college?'' You'll be happy to
hear that every hand went up. That's a good sign. They were also doing
something that was fundamentally important. They were practicing their
reading. I also asked the question, ``How many of you read more than you
watch TV?'' About 50 percent of the hands went up. [Laughter]
But what's important is for schools like--around the country to
understand what's happening here, and that is that the people here use
reading programs based upon what works--not what sounds good--reading
programs based upon the science of reading. And it's working.
And so I'm here to congratulate this school and to really hold you
up for the Nation to see what is possible when you raise the bar, when
you're not afraid to hold people to account, when you empower your
teachers and your principals to achieve the objective we all want. And
that's to make sure no child, not one single child in America, is left
behind.
I'm honored to be here at this Blue Ribbon School. And I appreciate
your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.
[At this point, the discussion continued.]
The President. Yes, you are. Listen, one of the things you hear, of
course, is that you can't test kids, see. You can't test. We test too
much. How do you know if a child isn't reading if you don't test? How do
you know who needs help? I mean, if the idea is to make sure not one
child is left behind, you better test.
The test isn't a punishment, you know. It's not to punish anybody.
The test is to determine who needs extra help. And that's exactly why
Laclede is doing well, I'm convinced, or one of the main reasons why.
They've got a book here that says, ``Every child matters. Every child
can learn, and therefore we're going to measure as to whether or not
we're meeting expectations for every child, not a few of the children
but every child.''
And so when you hear this talk about testing, testing is bad,
testing is--you know, teach the test, what testing is--what testing does
and what measuring does is determines whether or not every child is
learning and, if not, whether that child is getting the help he or she
needs early, before it is too late.
We've got to stop this business about just shuffling kids through
the schools in America. We've got to stop social promotion and focus on
whether or not each child is getting the instruction he or she needs,
and that's exactly what this book says, and that's why I'm here at
Laclede to tout this program, because you're making great sense.
[The discussion continued.]
The President. Yes, I think it's important. The Federal Government
can help, and we have. I think we've increased the teacher training and
recruitment budget significantly, like by about 40 percent since 2001.
And that's important to make sure teachers have the skills necessary to
be able to teach. I mean, it's one thing to have a good heart; it's
another thing to be able to have the skills necessary to put--to
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match the good heart with the capacity to pass on knowledge.
And so the Federal Government is helping on teacher recruitment,
teacher training, and that's an important aspect of the No Child Left
Behind Act. It's essential that we continue to monitor what works,
whether the curriculum you're using makes sense--that's what measurement
helps a school to understand--and whether or not a teacher needs a
little extra help in order to be able to impart the knowledge that he or
she is desirous of doing.
I know we've got a parent here. By the way, the first teacher of any
child is a mom and a dad. And it's--this parent right here is a good
teacher. Thank you for being here.
[The discussion continued.]
The President. Speaking about volunteers, one of the really true
strengths of our country is the heart and soul of the American people.
Today with us--I met a fellow at the airport who is now with us here
today. His name is Jeff Tank. Probably never heard
of Jeff. He is a volunteer with Big Brothers and Big Sisters. January
happens to be National Mentoring Month.
Where are you, Jeff? There he is. Jeff, by the
way, when I went to the airport, he said, ``This isn't about
recognition, recognizing me.'' I said, ``Yes, it is, because you
represent a lot of other good people who are taking time out of your
lives to make a difference in a child's life.''
Schools need volunteers. Schools need mentors. Big Brothers and Big
Sisters is a fabulous program that provides that kind of--that provides
that kind of mentoring and help. Whether you're the superintendent of
schools or the chairman of the school board or the President, we all
need to be out encouraging people to volunteer.
I always say that part of ushering in a era of personal
responsibility means that people have to be responsible for the
communities--for the schools in the community in which they live. You
just can't trust that some faraway Government is going to make the
correct decisions for the local communities. And if you're interested in
the quality of education and you're paying attention to what you hear at
Laclede, why don't you volunteer? Why don't you help and mentor a child
how to read? Why don't you join us all in changing America one child at
a time?
And so, Jeff, I want to thank you for coming.
I want to thank you for the example you have set for others in the
community of St. Louis and hope that others will follow your example.
And a great place to start to volunteer is to show up at a local public
school and ask the principal what you can do to help change a child's
life.
So thank you for reminding me about the importance of being a good
mom and a great volunteer as well.
Listen, making sure every child learns to read and making sure every
child is educated is a--the number one domestic priority of this
country. It is essential we get it right.
Laclede Elementary School shatters stereotypes. It shows that we can
have excellence in every single classroom across this country, that it's
not just suburban America where we find excellence. You can find
excellence in inner-city America. You find excellence in rural America.
You find excellence where you've got great principals and teachers and
leadership willing to raise the standards, willing to challenge every
child, because you believe in every child. You find excellence where
you're willing to measure and then correct when things aren't going the
way they should. You find excellence when you've got skilled teachers
carrying around a book that measures the ability of each child, not a
collection of children but every child, and so that you can then qualify
the curriculum to meet the needs of that child.
And I am here for the simple reason to show what is possible all
across America. And what is possible is to take reading
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scores from 7 percent to 80 percent in places like St. Louis, Missouri,
and elsewhere. I want to congratulate you for setting the standard. And
keep raising the bar. Make sure that other 20 percent gets up to grade
level at third grade--I know you will--and you will have done your duty
as educators and Americans to make sure that our children, the very
future of the country, have got the capacity to succeed in the greatest
land on the face of the Earth.
Thank you all for coming. God bless.
Note: The President spoke at 2:33 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
Yolanda Moss, principal, and Regina Davis, parent and volunteer, Pierre
Laclede Elementary School; Joyce Roberts, executive director, Middle
School and Priority School Education, St. Louis Public Schools, and
former principal, Pierre Laclede Elementary School; Catherine Hanaway,
speaker, Missouri State House of Representatives; and Peter Kinder,
president pro tempore, Missouri State Senate. He also referred to Title
I of the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 (Public Law No. 103-
382), which amended Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (Public Law No. 89-10).