[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 16 (Monday, April 25, 2005)]
[Pages 634-636]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Honoring the 2005 National and State Teachers of the Year

April 20, 2005

    Thank you all. Please be seated. Welcome. Welcome to the Rose 
Garden. And it's a beautiful day to continue the tradition of honoring 
America's finest teachers at the White House. We're really happy you're 
here.
    Somewhere along the way, all of us got to know a teacher who made a 
real difference in our lives. In my case, I married one--[laughter]--and 
I appreciate you. I appreciate my love for Laura. I appreciate Laura's 
love for teaching, and I appreciate the great job you're doing as the 
First Lady.
    She was raised in Midland, just like you were, Carol. Maybe that has 
something to do with it.
    We like to say in our household, teaching is more than a job; it is 
a calling. You know what I'm talking about. You wouldn't be sitting here 
if you had not heard the calling. By helping every child realize his or 
her potential, our teachers show their students that dreams can become 
reality. What a fantastic job, isn't it, to help somebody realize a 
dream can become a reality. All who answer the call to teach deserve our 
support, our respect, and our affection.
    Somebody who understands the role of a teacher is our Secretary of 
Education, Margaret Spellings, who is with us. Margaret has been a 
longtime friend. We were involved with education reform in Texas. We 
bring the spirit of reform to Washington, DC, and you're doing a fine 
job, Madam Secretary.
    The chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, John 
Boehner, is with us, from the great State of Ohio. Thank you, John. Bob 
Filner from California; Doc Hastings from Washington; Leonard Boswell 
from the great State of Iowa--welcome. Appreciate you all. I want to 
thank you for taking time out of your schedules to come here. This is an 
important moment, and I appreciate you recognizing it as such.
    I want to thank the Mayor. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming. I always 
like to tell the Mayor that it's important for the Mayor to fill the 
potholes--[laughter]--particularly close to White House, Mayor. And 
you're doing a fine job. Last time I saw the Mayor was at Opening Day. 
For those of you who follow professional baseball, you know that we've 
got the Nationals here in town. It's exciting for the Nation's Capital 
to have the Nationals. And one of the reasons the Nationals are here is 
because of the Mayor. And so, Mr. Mayor, thank you for your leadership.
    And City Councilwoman Carol Schwartz, who I referred to earlier--
Laura, Carol, and I were raised in Midland, Texas. Pretty long odds for 
three people raised in Midland to end up in Washington in the Rose 
Garden, by the way. [Laughter] But welcome, glad you're here, Carol.
    I want to thank the National Teacher of the Year finalists: Stan 
Murphy from California--San Diego, California; Vicki Goldsmith from Des 
Moines, Iowa; Tamara Steen from Washington State. We're proud you all 
are here.
    And of course, Jason Kamras, who is standing right here. I want to 
welcome his parents, Linda and Marvin. Thank you for coming. 
Congratulations on raising such a fine man. And Jeremy--Jason allowed 
his brothers, Jeremy and Michael, to show up as well. [Laughter] I asked 
one of the boys if they ever thought Jason would amount to anything. He 
told the truth. [Laughter] Jason has proved you wrong. [Laughter]
    I want to thank the 51 other State Teachers of the Year for being 
teachers and being such an accomplished teacher that you're being 
recognized here in the Rose Garden. We welcome you here. We thank you 
for your compassion. And we welcome your guests, as well.
    We welcome Tom Houlihan, the executive director of the Council of 
Chief State School Officers, and we appreciate you sponsoring this 
event. We welcome Ernie Fleishman,

[[Page 635]]

the senior vice president of Scholastic, Inc., which is a sponsoring 
organization of this event. We welcome Tom McInerney, the CEO of ING 
U.S. Financial Services, which is one of the sponsors of this event. 
Obviously, this is a big event to have required three sponsors. 
[Laughter] We're glad you're here. We want to thank the chief State 
school officers who are here today.
    I want to pay particular respect to an educational entrepreneur who 
has shown one person can make an enormous difference. Wendy Kopp, the 
president and founder of Teach For America, is with us. And we welcome 
you back to the White House, Wendy, and we're glad you're here. There is 
a reason why Wendy is here, which you will hear in a minute.
    America's teachers help our students develop the schools--skills 
they need to succeed in our schools. That's what you do. You teach a 
child how to read and write, but you also teach a child how to think and 
hope. Teaching is a demanding job. It's an incredibly demanding job. And 
I hope our fellow citizens understand how hard it is to get to the 
classroom every day and to keep your spirits up, to keep your vision 
clear about what is possible, and to keep your patience. I'm sure we 
tested our--patience of our teachers a lot, Mayor, when you and I were 
growing up. [Laughter]
    I appreciate the fact that good teachers instill a passion for 
learning. You know, passion is a powerful world--word, and that's why 
the teachers are here with us, because they have instilled a passion for 
somebody to go to class every day to learn. When young people become 
good students with big dreams, they become better citizens. Our country 
is better off as a result of our teachers instilling passion and hope.
    We expect a lot from our teachers, and teachers have a right to 
expect a lot from us. Education is one of the top priorities of this 
administration and this Congress. That's why we passed the No Child Left 
Behind Act. People from both parties came together. I love the spirit of 
the No Child Left Behind Act. I suspect the teachers love the spirit of 
challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations. People believe that we 
ought to set high standards and believe that every child--and if you do 
believe every child can learn to read and write and add and subtract, it 
makes sense to determine whether they are, so we can--and if not, so we 
can solve problems early, before it's too late.
    Because of teachers and hard work, because we expect every child to 
learn to read and write and add and subtract, there's an achievement gap 
in America which is closing. I can say it's closing because we measure 
to find out if it is closing. I'm proud to report that test scores are 
up. In fourth grade, math test scores are up across the Nation by nine 
points over the last 3 years. Eighth graders improved by five points 
over the same period of time. We're making progress.
    There is more to do. Margaret and I believe we ought to build on 
this success by bringing higher standards and accountability to the 
Nation's high schools. I'm sure the Nation's finest teachers share our 
commitment that every student must be prepared for college and, 
therefore, prepared for the jobs of the 21st century, so we can say 
after it's all said and done, no child was left behind in our country.
    One of the finest teachers in our country is with us today. He is 
the 2005 National Teacher of the Year, Jason Kamras. He teaches 
mathematics at John Philip Sousa Middle School, right here in the 
Nation's Capital. Jason joined the Teach For America program. He did so 
because he wanted to show students, the so-called ``hard to educate,'' 
that with high works and high standards, they can overcome any challenge 
they face.
    The Teach For America program asks for a 2-year commitment. Jason is 
now in his 8th year of that 2-year commitment. Because he chose to stay, 
countless students have better lives and they have a better future. He's 
usually at work at 7 a.m., and he rarely leaves before 7 p.m. He's had 
high expectations for himself, and he sets high expectations for his 
students. He works tirelessly to raise math scores, and his students are 
responding. Jason says, ``Nothing surpasses the joy I feel when a 
student proclaims proudly, `Mr. Kamras, now I get it.' '' I suspect the 
teachers here understand exactly what he means by saying that.

[[Page 636]]

    Like all great teachers, Jason knows that his students' needs do not 
end when the school bell rings. He understands that at the end of the 
day, there's more work to be done. And so he cofounded a program called 
EXPOSE, which takes students out of their southwest Washington 
neighborhoods to places like the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials or the 
National Gallery of Art.
    Jason is also teaching his students how to produce photos about 
their lives and communities. I think you'll find it interesting to know 
that these photos have been shown at the Capital Children's Museum and 
other places around the District. In other words, Jason is building 
self-esteem.
    When his students need individual attention, Jason is always there 
to support them, interestingly enough, even after they've left the 
school. I suspect this is some of your--some of you all share the same 
experience. When one of his former students was preparing for the SAT, 
Jason studied with him three times a week for 10 weeks. Isn't that 
interesting? The guy got a 1300 on the test. He now goes to Morehouse 
College in Atlanta. He's majoring in electrical engineering. He is the 
first person in his family to go to college.
    He says, ``I owe most of my success to Mr. Kamras. I do not know 
where I would be without him. He's more than a teacher to me. He is a 
true friend.'' Gosh, it must make you feel good as teachers to have 
somebody say, ``You made a lot of difference in my life. You are a true 
friend.''
    Today America expresses its appreciation to Jason and to every one 
of our outstanding State Teachers of the Year. You give our young people 
the benefit of your knowledge, your support, your friendship. Your 
students are fortunate, really fortunate, to have you in their lives. 
And our Nation is fortunate to have you guiding the next generation of 
Americans.
    God bless you all for your hard work. God bless your families as 
well. It is my honor to introduce the 2005 National Teacher of the Year, 
Jason Kamras.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 11:10 a.m. in the Rose Garden 
at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor Anthony A. 
Williams of the District of Columbia; and District of Columbia 
Councilmember Carol Schwartz. The transcript released by the Office of 
the Press Secretary also included the remarks of the First Lady and Mr. 
Kamras.