Remarks of Secretary Paige, Carson Elementary School, Los Angeles, CA
FOR RELEASE:
July 22, 2002
Thank you for that introduction, Congresswoman Millender-McDonald.
It's great to be in Los Angeles for the 16th stop in our No Child Left Behind Tour of America. I'm pleased that Superintendent Romer could join us—as well as other distinguished friends of education here in California.
I always want to thank Principal DiJulio for the great tour and for her hospitality.
And I thank all our young friends for being here. I see a lot of happy faces—and that's good. That means you're excited about being here. You're excited about learning. Maybe I'm looking at a future Secretary of Education—or even President. I hope so.
Our President hopes so, too. That's why he is working so hard to make every school in America the best it can be. So every child in America—every child—can learn and soar as high as their dreams will take them.
When he took office, President Bush promised to fundamentally change the structure of our education system, so every child in our public schools learns and no child is left behind.
Thanks to the bipartisan work of Congress and our President our schools have a new tool to ensure that all our children get the world-class education their parents sent them to school for. And that tool is the historic education reforms of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
No Child Left Behind gives local parents and teachers and school boards the flexibility and the resources to chart your own course to excellence.
Federal funding for education is at an all-time high.
We now have the largest education budget for high-need schools in U.S. history—double what the Department of Education received only a few years ago in 1996.
And the President's most current budget request to Congress calls for $56.5 billion in discretionary funding for education—a 34 percent increase over education funding levels when he took office.
The message to districts and schools is: Do whatever it takes to help every child learn and succeed.
I was Superintendent of the 7th largest school district in the country and I am a proud advocate of our public schools. President Bush's daughters attended public school and he loves teachers so much he married one.
And we are just as serious as we can be about implementing these new reforms.
We know what a difference they are already making in the lives of children all across our great nation.
The President put his finger on it when he said, "Education is the new civil right."
No Child Left Behind is more than just a law; it's a revolution. A profound moment in time. And years from now, people are going to look back on the compassionate vision of this President and they are going tosay, "That was the tipping point for education."
That's when they raised the bar and student achievement began to soar.
That's when leadership triumphed over politics and no child was left behind.
That's when we created great schools worthy of a great nation.
That's when all Americans—no matter the color of their skin or the accent of their speech—finally got a fair shot at achieving their dreams.
Now I want talk with our young friends here.
Your teachers, your President, your moms and dad and I are all working hard to help you get a great education so you can do all those things you dream of doing.
But you've got to do a few things, too. One of the best things you can do is read more than you watch TV. Everything you need to learn and succeed in school and in life is between the pages of good books. So read, read, read.
You've also got to set high goals for yourselves and then work hard to achieve them. Ask anyone who's been a success and you'll hear the same.
Most importantly…never give up.
Success at anything takes work—and not being afraid of failure.
You know who Michael Jordan is? Did you know that the great Michael Jordan—got cut from his high school basketball team?
He did. And you know what he said about that after he'd grown up and become a basketball star? He said: "Failure always made me try harder the next time…. If it turns out my best isn't good enough, then at least I'll never be able to look back and say I was too afraid to try."
So that's my challenge to you today. Be like Mike. Read more than you watch TV… Aim high…Work hard… And never give up.
I know you can do it.
Thank you for letting me spend this time with you. Be nice to your teachers.
God bless you all. And God bless America.
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