[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 2 (Monday, January 17, 2005)]
[Pages 45-51]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls Church, Virginia

January 12, 2005

    Thanks for the warm welcome. Dr. Riddile, thank you for inviting me 
and Laura to come to your great school. He said, ``We're not very far 
from the White House.'' I said, ``Fine. I'll just drive over.'' It turns 
out, I didn't see any traffic. [Laughter]
    I want to thank all the students who are here today. Thank you for 
coming to let an old guy speak to you. Dr. Riddile said, ``Make one 
thing--make sure you do one thing, Mr. President.'' I said, ``What is 
that?'' He said, ``Keep the speech short. Students can't wait to get 
back into class.'' [Laughter] Here we go.
    I also want to thank the folks that Laura and I got to meet 
earlier--teachers and superintendent, parent. They explained to us why 
their school is so good. And we're here because this is a great school. 
I'll talk a little bit about that later on. But one thing for certain is 
that the philosophy of this school needs to be the philosophy of every 
school, and that is, you believe in the best for every student and you 
do what is necessary to make sure that every child--not groups of 
children but every child--can read and write and add and subtract and 
every child has got the potential to achieve his or her dreams in 
America.
    The first thing I want to do is congratulate the leadership of this 
school, the principal, the teachers, and the involved parents for a job 
well done.
    I want to thank Laura for traveling with me today. She's been 
traveling with me for a long time. [Laughter] And for a public school 
librarian, the highway has been a little bumpier than she probably 
thought. But she is--she shares the same passion I do, and that is to 
put systems in place to encourage every child to learn to read. And so 
thank you for coming, looking forward to working with you on education 
matters during the next 4 years.
    I want to thank Rod Paige, who's joined us. Rod is the outgoing 
Secretary of Education. Four years ago when I was looking at the 
Cabinet, I decided to pick somebody who had been on the frontlines of 
educational excellence. Rod was the former superintendent of schools in 
the Houston Independent School District. That's the frontlines, and the 
results of his hard work are noticeable in Houston. And I want to thank 
you, Rod, for not only serving in Houston but coming from the great 
State of Texas to serve our country for 4 years.
    I don't know whether the Senators will think this is breaking 
protocol, but Margaret Spellings is traveling with me today. Let's just 
say she is my domestic policy adviser and, if the Senate so decides, 
will succeed Rod as the Secretary of Education. I don't know where you 
are, Margaret. There you are. Thanks, yes. I suspect that if confirmed, 
the seat will improve. [Laughter]
    Again, I want to thank Mel Riddile for being such a fine principal. 
He's what I would call an educational entrepreneur. You can't have a 
good school unless you've got a good leader. And the principal is the 
leader of the school, and I appreciate you. I appreciate your spirit. I 
appreciate your vision, and I appreciate the high standards.
    And I want to thank the superintendent of schools for recognizing 
that this good man is a good principal. And I want to thank you for 
being here, Jack. Jack Dale--Dr. Jack Dale is with us, who is the 
superintendent of the Fairfax County public school district. Thanks for 
taking on a big job.
    I was pleased to see that United States Senators from the great 
State--or the Commonwealth of Virginia have joined us. Senator John 
Warner is with us today. I'm honored you're here, Senator. Thank you for 
coming. Senator George Allen is with us. Thank you for being here, 
George. Congressman Tom Davis, proud you're here. A member of the Stuart 
PTA, I presume? At one time--after all, his daughter Shelley graduated 
from the high school here. I want to thank you all for coming.
    I appreciate the attorney general of the great State of Virginia 
joining us, Jerry Kilgore. I want to thank all the State and local 
officials. Thanks once again to the students and parents for allowing me 
to come today.
    This is one of the first stops in the year 2005 for me. And there's 
a reason why it's one of the first stops, is we are dedicated to doing 
everything we can at the Federal

[[Page 46]]

level to improve public education. You can't have a hopeful America 
without a public school system that's working to the best of its 
abilities. I'm optimistic we can achieve that, and I'm optimistic we can 
achieve a lot of things. I'm optimistic we can spread freedom and 
therefore peace around the world. I'm optimistic that we can continue to 
protect our homeland.
    I'm looking forward to working with our fellow citizens to continue 
to spread the great compassion of America. I want to thank those of you 
in this audience who have contributed to the tsunami relief effort. I 
appreciate so very much our fellow citizens for joining President 
Clinton and President Bush in lending your heart, through your money, to 
help those who suffer. The Federal Government will continue to remain 
focused on making sure the victims of that natural disaster get the best 
help possible.
    I'm going to continue to work in 2005 to keep this economy of ours 
strong so people can find work. And one way to do so is to keep your 
taxes low and to reduce the burden of junk lawsuits and needless 
regulations on our Nation's employers. Looking forward to making sure 
that, to the best of our ability, that health care is more affordable 
and available.
     It's hard for me to come to a high school class and look at our 
youngsters and say, ``The Social Security system is in good shape,'' 
when I understand it's not. To the seniors of America, nothing is going 
to change when it comes to your Social Security check. But if this 
Congress doesn't join this administration in working to reform and 
strengthen Social Security, we will not be able to look at the high 
school seniors of today and say, ``We have done our duty in protecting 
Social Security for you,'' for after all, the system will be bankrupt by 
the year 2040. And now is the time for the United States Congress to 
join with the administration to save and strengthen Social Security for 
generations to come.
    To keep this country prosperous and to keep this country hopeful, 
we've got to make sure these public schools of ours stay strong. And we 
started on that road to strengthening every public school 3 years ago, 
when I signed the No Child Left Behind Act. The theory of this law is 
straightforward--it's pretty easy to understand--that in return for 
Federal dollars, we are asking for results. That makes sense if you're a 
taxpayer. It makes sense, frankly, if you're an innovative teacher and a 
strong principal. We're leaving behind the old attitude that it's okay 
for some students just to be shuffled through the system. That's not 
okay. And 3 years ago, we began to change the system that too often had 
given up on a child, primarily those children whose mothers or dads 
didn't speak English as a first language or those children who may be 
growing up in inner-city America, whose mom or dad didn't have big 
income levels. This administration believes and most people in America 
believe that every child can learn.
    And so we're raising the standards for every public school in 
America. If you believe every child can learn, then it makes sense to 
raise the bar, not lower the bar. If you believe every child can learn, 
then it makes sense to measure to determine whether every child is 
learning. That's called accountability, accountability for results. 
Accountability is so crucial to achieve our goal for every child 
learning to read, write, and add and subtract. Accountability helps to 
correct problems early, before it is too late. Accountability enables a 
good teacher to test a curriculum as to whether or not that curriculum 
is working. Accountability allows principals and teachers to determine 
whether methodology is working. Accountability also is a way to make 
sure parents stay involved in the educational systems across our 
country.
    You know, for a while, in certain districts, a parent--you'd ask a 
parent, ``How is your school doing?'' And the parent's natural reaction 
is, ``It's the best there is.'' In some cases, like the parents here at 
Stuart High, they're right. But in some cases, because there was no 
accountability system, they were wrong. Accountability system allows a 
parent or a local official or concerned citizen to compare results from 
one school to another within a district and from one district to another 
within a State. And that's important, because by putting parents in the 
center of the school system, it not only encourages parental 
responsibility; it enables parents to demand reform when there--reform 
needs to be done.

[[Page 47]]

It enables parents, when they see excellence, to do what every parent 
should do, and that is thank the teacher and the principal for a job 
well done.
    Accountability systems don't work unless there are consequences. And 
so in the No Child Left Behind Act, if a school fails to make progress, 
parents have options. They can send their child to free after-school 
tutoring, or they can send their child to a different public school.
    For the past 3 years, thanks to Rod Paige's hard work, these reforms 
have been put into action. All 50 States, plus the District of Columbia 
and Puerto Rico, have drawn up plans to measure performance in every 
school. And the reporting process is beginning to work.
    But more importantly than the process of putting reform in place is 
that we're beginning to see results. If you measure, you get to 
determine whether or not we're achieving things. Fourth grade math test 
scores across this Nation went up nine points between the years 2000 and 
2003. Eighth graders improved by five points in the same period. In 
other words, because we measure, I can now stand up and say we're 
beginning to close an achievement gap in America. We've got reading 
scores--reading scores for fourth graders increased in the vast majority 
of States that tested between 1998 and 2003, including Virginia. African 
American and Hispanic and Native American children are beginning to 
learn to read. There is a significant achievement gap in America, and 
that is not right. And we're closing that gap. And you know how we know, 
is because we measure, because we're willing to devise measurement 
systems, not at the Federal level but at the State level.
    The results in Virginia are strong. Last school year, 69 percent of 
the schools met their target for progress. That's up 10 percentage 
points from the previous year. That's great. Except I'm now focused on 
the other 31 percent, and I know the government here in Virginia will be 
as focused as well. Sixty-nine percent and an increase of 10 percent is 
really good news.
    But one day, I hope to be able to stand here in my term--or a future 
President or a future Governor--and say, ``We're up to 100 percent 
success in the great State of Virginia.'' That's what we want. We're not 
interested in mediocrity. We're interested in excellence, so not one 
single child is left behind in our country.
    African American and Hispanic students in your State improved their 
scores in reading and math. Things are happening in America. Things are 
happening in Virginia. A lot of it has to do with good principals and 
hard-working teachers, and I understand that.
    You know, the people of this country are probably saying, ``Why did 
you come to Stuart High School?'' And let me tell you why. It wasn't so 
long ago that Stuart High School was a troubled school. I can't remember 
what the words the principal used. I think he said that they deemed it 
to be a failure, if I'm not mistaken. Nobody--at least the people in 
this school didn't want to be called a failure. So you set out to do 
something about it. In 1997, the test scores were the lowest in Fairfax 
County and among the lowest in all of Virginia.
    By focusing on results and stressing the importance of reading, by 
making sure that the measurement systems focuses on each individual 
child, by not tolerating excuses for failure, this school has been 
turned around. And how do we know? See, I can say that with certainty--
in other words, I'm not guessing. I'm not saying, ``Oh, you know, the 
principal looks like a pretty good guy, and the teachers sounded smart, 
and the students are cheering loudly.'' [Laughter] I know because you 
measure. The test scores in reading and math are now above the State 
average, and the trend lines are excellent. Dr. Riddile told me what you 
would expect. He said, ``I am really proud of the students here.'' He 
said, ``We're willing to do what it takes for the students to succeed.'' 
I like that attitude, and I hope the parents like that attitude as well. 
``Whatever it takes for the students to succeed.'' He said, ``It's not 
magic. It takes hard work and smart work.''
    And that's something other schools can do. I'm here at Stuart High 
School because I want other schools who have got a student population as 
diverse as Stuart High School does to know that success and excellence 
is possible. And the goal for our high schools around our country is for 
them to achieve the same good results you've achieved here

[[Page 48]]

at Stuart. Seems like a realistic goal, and yet, many of our Nation's 
high schools face serious challenges.
    Out of 100 ninth graders in our public schools, only 68 will 
complete high school on time. Now, we live in a competitive world, and a 
68 percent graduation rate for ninth graders is not good enough to be 
able to compete in this competitive world. In math and science, the 
problem is especially urgent. A recent study showed that American 15-
year-olds ranked 27th out of 39 countries in math literacy. I don't know 
about you, but I want to be ranked first in the world, not 27th.
    I view the results in our high school as a warning and a call to 
action. And I believe the Federal Government has a role to play. As you 
can tell, I believe the Federal Government had a role to play in primary 
education, and I believe the Federal Government has a role to play in 
secondary education. Up to now, the reforms, as I've explained to you, 
focused on the primary schools. Today I propose a $1.5 billion 
initiative to help every high school student graduate with the skills 
necessary to succeed.
    Before you get too nervous, please understand that I strongly 
believe in local control of schools. I don't believe you can have 
innovation at Stuart High School if the Federal Government is trying to 
teach you how to run your school.
    The role of the Federal Government is to serve as a funding source 
for specific projects and an instigator for accountability systems. The 
accountability system is, of course, devised by local people. The State 
of Virginia has devised its own accountability system. I don't believe 
in a Federal test. I believe a Federal test leads to Federal control, 
and I believe Federal control of the public school systems leads to 
failure. And so I believe the Federal Government has an obligation to 
help in a way that helps local districts and local schools achieve our 
objectives.
    Some of that money ought to be--that I've just announced will go to 
early intervention programs. Under this plan, high school teachers will 
analyze eighth grade test data for incoming ninth grade students so that 
when they see a student at risk of falling behind, the teachers and the 
parents can get together and design a program to help make sure that 
child can catch up, before it's too late. I believe in programs being 
flexible and uniquely tailored to each student's needs, just like you do 
here at Stuart High School. And so this program will enable and help 
school districts and schools intervene early, assess and design programs 
that meet the needs of that particular student.
    To support intervention plans, I believe we need to improve the way 
the Federal Government funds high schools. The Federal Government--oh, 
we've got a lot of programs designed to help high school students; over 
the years, programs have developed. The problem is they're like silos. 
They're prescriptions that may not meet the needs of the local high 
school or the local school district--you know, a program to promote 
vocational education or to prepare for college preparation or to 
encourage school restructuring. They all sound fine, and they're all 
important. But they may not be what is necessary for a particular school 
district or a high school to achieve the objective of teaching every 
child to read and write and add and subtract. So I believe we ought to 
consolidate the high school improvement programs so that States have the 
flexibility to choose the program that works best for their students.
    See, we've got to be careful about prejudging results in Washington, 
DC. We ought to say, ``You can achieve the results, and here's the 
flexibility necessary to do so.'' And by giving you flexibility, it 
means we're more likely to achieve the results that we all want.
    To ensure that the intervention programs are working and graduates 
are prepared, we need to be certain that high school students are 
learning every year. So the second component of my high school 
initiative is to measure progress with tests in reading and math in the 
ninth, tenth, and eleventh grade. Listen, I've heard every excuse in the 
book not to test. My answer is, how do you know if a child is learning 
if you don't test? We've got money in the budget to help the States 
implement the tests. There should be no excuse saying, ``Well, it's an 
unfunded mandate.'' Forget it. It will be funded. I've heard people say, 
``You're teaching the test.'' If you teach a child to read, they'll pass 
the test. Testing is important. Testing at high school

[[Page 49]]

levels will help us to become more competitive as the years go by. 
Testing in high schools will make sure that our children are employable 
for the jobs of the 21st century. Testing will allow teachers to improve 
their classes. Testing will enable schools to track. Testing will make 
sure that diploma is not merely a sign of endurance but the mark of a 
young person ready to succeed.
    The principal of this great school said we spell hope: R-E-A-D. I 
thought that's a pretty darn good slogan. And the reason why that's a 
good slogan is, to make sure every high school student has a chance to 
realize his or her dreams, each graduate must read--must know how to 
read. You can't--you cannot achieve in America if you cannot read, and 
yet too many of our children cannot read. And so I'm asking Congress to 
increase funding for my Striving Readers Initiative to $200 million. 
We'll use these resources to help more than 100 school districts train 
teachers in research-based methods so they can provide effective 
interventions for middle and high school students struggling in reading.
    There is such a program here at Stuart. One reason why Stuart is 
doing so well is because you've got an intervention program when it 
comes to reading. How do I know? I met with the intervener. [Laughter] I 
met with the person who designed the reading program. I met with the 
person whose force of personality is so huge that not only are people 
working on reading in reading classes, but they're doing so at P.E. and 
math. And that is the reading coach, Sandy Switzer, who is with us 
today. Thank you for your--she knows what she's talking about. And as a 
result, the high school students here are reading.
    And it sounds odd, doesn't it, for the President to stand up and 
say, ``We need to focus on reading in high school.'' But that's the 
state of affairs. Someday, when No Child Left Behind is fully 
implemented and kicked in, there are not going to need to be early 
intervention programs or intervention reading programs in high school. 
But today, we need them. And therefore, this program will help school 
districts make sure that at the very minimum, a high school graduate has 
got the capacity to read.
    I met with Zenab Abu-Taleb today. She is from Syria. And three of 
her daughters--one has gone to this school, and two others--by the way, 
one of them is going to college, which is a fantastic achievement for 
the family. And she was talking about what it means to have her 
daughters in Ms. Switzer's reading program. And I'm not going to put 
words in her mouth, but I will describe the excitement that she had in 
her voice when she talked about the fact that her girls are learning to 
read, are becoming literate. She did something pretty smart, though, by 
the way, and I hope other parents around the Nation follow suit. She 
said to her girls, ``You will be reading more than you watch TV.'' 
[Laughter] That's pretty hard to do.
    She's excited by the fact that Ms. Switzer and the teachers here are 
using research-based reading programs. I'm sure some of you are aware of 
these reading debates that go on around the country. Endless hours of 
air time are spent--``This one works. This one doesn't work.'' The only 
way you can know is you measure.
    And so Ms. Switzer has taken a program that achieves measurable 
results and is spreading it all across this school. And as a result, the 
students here are improving dramatically when it comes to reading. And 
as a result, test scores in other subjects are improving dramatically as 
well. Congratulations for a job well done.
    To make sure that people can find work in the 21st century, high 
school graduates also need a firm grasp on math. I'm proposing a $120 
million initiative to improve high school math. With these funds, school 
districts will set up programs to train math teachers in methods proven 
to succeed. Every student should be prepared in math so that every 
graduate has the skills necessary to succeed.
    I talked to Stuart Singer. He's a math teacher here. You may have 
heard of him. He's only been here 32 years. [Laughter] He recognizes 
what I recognize, that the best jobs are those that require math, some 
sense of understanding of math. And too many of our students don't 
understand that--understand math. And we've got to get it right. I want 
to thank you for teaching, Stuart. Stuart, by the way--you're not going 
to believe

[[Page 50]]

this--falls in the incredibly-small-world category. He graduated from 
SMU in Dallas the same year that Laura graduated from SMU in Dallas. I 
asked them if they ever went to the bar together, but--[laughter]--both 
of them said no, they were in the library, which--[laughter]--probably 
distinguishes their college career from mine. [Laughter]
    One of the things we must be willing to always do is raise the bar. 
We've got to continue to raise the bar in our high schools. And one of 
the best ways to do so is by promoting advanced placement and the 
international baccalaureate programs. At Stuart High, you've got a 
fantastic IB program. It really means that you're willing to challenge 
every student. That's what it says. It just says we're not going to be--
we just simply will not accept the status quo, that we're going to try 
to bring innovative programs to this school to continue to raise the 
bar, to challenge students as best as we possibly can.
    Stuart, by the way, offers an IB course--or IB courses. He talks 
about former students that have come back from college that have taken 
the IB classes, and he says the sacrifice--they say the sacrifice is 
worth it. It makes a big impact. And that's important.
    And so for the students here wondering whether or not the American 
experience or the American future belongs to you--absolutely. But it's 
up to you to decide to continue to soar and to seek new heights. And 
this school, one reason Stuart succeeds is because the school 
continually raises standards and raises expectations.
    And that's what we need to do around the country. Every student with 
the passion and ability to take an AP or IB class should have the 
opportunity to do so. That's why we've increased Federal support for AP 
and IB programs--a 73 percent increase over the current amount is what 
I'm proposing. These programs will help school districts train teachers 
to offer college-level courses. In other words, you can't offer a 
program in a high school unless the teachers are trained to do so.
    And we also need to help low-income students pay for the tests. It 
does not make any sense that a family budget, when it comes to taking AP 
tests or IB tests, should stand between a student's dreams and the 
ability to take the test.
    Another way to encourage students to take demanding courses is 
through the State Scholars Program. In Virginia, you have a similar 
program which gives high schoolers an incentive to take advanced courses 
in math and science and other subjects. That makes a lot of sense. 
Taking high-level courses like these makes the graduates more likely to 
succeed. And so it makes sense for the Federal Government to work with 
the State government and the State government to work with the local 
districts to continue to provide incentives to encourage students to 
take tougher and tougher courses, to take a more rigorous course load. 
And so we're going to continue to fund State Scholars Programs around 
the country because they get results.
    And I believe another way to encourage students to take rigorous 
classes is to enhance the Pell grant scholarships for low-income 
students who've completed the State Scholars Program. High achieving 
students who take rigorous course loads will receive up to an additional 
thousand dollars during each of their first 2 years in college.
    Let me talk about our Nation's teachers. I was the Governor of Texas 
once, and one our great Governors was Sam Houston. And he had been a 
United States Senator and a Governor. He was actually the President of 
Texas. We were a country once. [Laughter] He had a lot of interesting 
jobs. He was quite a colorful character. They asked him, toward the end 
of his life, what was the most important thing he had ever done. He 
said, ``Being a teacher.'' I want to thank the teachers who are here. 
You've got a tough job, but you have a vital job.
    By the way, I want to thank the parents who take an interest in your 
child's education. A mom or a dad is the child's first teacher. And a 
school--I bet you've got a pretty strong PTA here, and I want to thank 
the parents for staying involved with the school. The teachers, I know, 
appreciate it. I'm sure the principal appreciates it--most of the time. 
[Laughter] But I appreciate your involvement. It means a lot.
    Lastly, I want to thank the Congress for sending a bill called the 
Crayola Credit,

[[Page 51]]

which reimburses teachers for up to $250 of out-of-pocket classroom 
expenses. It's an important signal that we care about our teachers. It's 
a proper use of Federal legislation.
    We also passed a good piece of legislation that expanded loan 
forgiveness from $5,000 to $17,500 for talented math, science, and 
special ed teachers who teach at low-income schools. I thought that was 
a good piece of legislation. Unfortunately, it's about to expire. So I 
would hope the Congress--we can work with the Congress to make loan 
forgiveness permanent. It sends the right signals to our teachers and 
helps school districts that are looking for good teachers to attract 
those teachers.
    And finally, I believe the Federal Government can put a program 
together to help reward success for our teachers. I proposed a new $500 
million incentive fund to reward teachers who get results. Teachers 
could qualify for an award by raising student performance or closing the 
achievement gap or volunteering to teach in low-income schools. That 
will be up to the local districts, to decide how to disburse the money. 
But I think it makes sense to encourage excellence by providing a $5,000 
bonus to nearly 100,000 outstanding teachers across the country. The 
program won't be administered at the Federal level. It will be 
administered at the State and local level. But it's a way to help say to 
teachers, ``Thanks for a job well done. Here's a little extra because of 
merit. Here's our way of saying thanks for doing what you want to do, 
which is provide excellence.''
    And so here's some practical ideas for the Congress to consider as 
we head into a new session, to make sure that the good folks of this 
country understand that we're committed to education reform at all 
levels. We're making great progress because of the No Child Left Behind 
Act. I will vigorously defend the No Child Left Behind Act. We will not 
accept rolling back the accountability systems in the No Child Left 
Behind Act, because I believe the accountability systems are beginning 
to make a huge difference in the lives of children from all walks of 
life across this country.
    Here's some ideas to help ninth graders when they're coming into 
high school, so we can assess their problems and meet their needs before 
they lose hope, so the 68 percent graduation number soars. Here's a way 
to help reward teachers. Here's a way to provide good incentives. Here's 
a way to make sure that we achieve what we all want, the best school 
system in the world.
    Thank you for letting me come by to visit. May God bless you all. 
Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 10:31 a.m. in the school's main gymnasium.