April 11, 2002
PAIGE FIELDS TEAM TO LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND
Latest stop on tour across America energizes U.S. Department of Education
Saying it will take a team effort to leave no child behind, U.S.
Secretary of Education Rod Paige today was joined by Washington
Redskins' All-Pro Darrell Green, Dorothy Height of the National Council
of Negro Women (NCNW), parents, students, his leadership team, other
U.S. Department of Education employees and others for a rally to
celebrate the No Child Left Behind Act and unveil a creative new look at
the Department's headquarters in Washington, D.C.
"If we're going to create a school system that educates 100 percent
of our children, it will take a team--parents, students, government and
civic leaders, Department of Education employees and committed Americans
like Darrell Green and Dorothy Height--working together to get it
done," Secretary Paige said. "We must work as a team to meet the bold
goals President Bush has set and to give our children the chance to
achieve their dreams."
During the event on the Department's plaza, the secretary unfurled
new banners that will be draped along the Maryland Avenue side of the
headquarters building to highlight the importance of the new law.
"This banner and the law it represents are a reminder of the unity,
spirit and bipartisan commitment of No Child Left Behind," Secretary
Paige said. "It will remind us of the bipartisan recognition that we
will measure the success of our schools by one measure and one measure
alone: whether our boys and girls are learning."
Paige also unveiled a new look at the Department of Education: red
schoolhouses, originally built at each entrance of the Department's
headquarters because of upcoming renovations to the building's façade,
that remind employees and passersby of the most significant education
reforms ever and the important work the Department carries out on behalf
of America's children.
"These protective shelters have been painted as a reminder--a
reminder that we do not serve a faceless bureaucracy or an unchangeable
system. We serve an ideal. We serve the ideal of the little red
schoolhouse," Secretary Paige said. "It is one of the greatest symbols
of America--a symbol that every child must be taught and every child
must learn, that every community was involved and every parent's input
valued. Those little schoolhouses were built to serve a need: to equip
children for the future as citizens and workers."
Paige also noted that parents and other visitors to the building will
be able to pick up information and materials about the No Child Left
Behind Act from the new schoolhouses.
Today's event was Paige's third stop on his No Child Left Behind Tour
Across America.
On Monday, Paige joined nearly 2,000 students, parents and others in
Albuquerque, N.M. to kick off the tour. Yesterday, Paige was with
nearly 1,000 Georgians to enlist their support to strengthen our schools
and leave no child behind.
Other stops will be announced at a later date.
Last month, Paige and Height unveiled a new partnership between the
Department of Education and the NCNW to close the achievement gap
between African American children and their peers.
Green created the Darrell Green Youth Life Foundation in 1988 to open
doors of opportunity for boys and girls in Washington, D.C., whose
family lives and circumstances are limiting their chances to lead
educated, moral and well-adjusted lives. His Youth Life Learning Centers
have established a record of academic excellence and positive behavioral
changes among its students. In addition to Washington, D.C., the program
has expanded to Nashville, Tenn.; Berryville, Va.; Greenville, S.C.; and
Durham, N.C.
Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which President Bush
signed in January, states and school districts will develop strong
systems of accountability based upon student performance. The new law
also gives states and school districts increased local control and
flexibility, removing federal red tape and bureaucracy and putting
decision making in the hands of those at the local and state levels.
Parents of children from disadvantaged backgrounds will have options
under the new law to participate in public school choice programs or
obtain supplemental services such as tutoring. Also, teachers around the
country will be encouraged to use teaching methods based upon scientific
research that show they have been proven to work.
For more information about the No Child Left Behind Act, visit
www.nochildleftbehind.gov -- a one-stop shop for parents and families,
teachers and principals, local and state officials and members of the
business and civic communities.
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