Remarks of Secretary Paige, CCSSO General Session, San Diego, CA
FOR RELEASE:
July 28, 2002
Thank you, Suellen, for that introduction and for your leadership. Thank you all for inviting me. I have enjoyed visiting with each of you. Of course, I'm a big fan of Tom's and all that he's doing. Tom and I got to spend time together in Washington this week—got some work done. Tom, thanks for your friendship and the way you are directing this organization.
Every day I am reminded what an honor it is to be Secretary of Education and to serve this President. In the crisis-filled months since last September 11th, he has been an unyielding force for freedom. Yet even standing toe to toe with terrorism, President Bush has never once lost his laser-beam focus on what matters most back here at home: educating our children.
A few days ago, I spoke at Georgetown University at a Summit on Afghanistan. The Afghan Ministers came Washington to discuss rebuilding their country. And what was so striking in the discussions is how different their education challenge is from ours.
They are literally starting over from scratch—building from the rubble up. And Mike Ward—if he's here—understands this. He's been there. They need basics like chairs and blackboards. Pencils and pads. Teachers and curriculum and buildings to school an estimated 40,000 K-12 students. Their task is Herculean. Ours is not.
We don't have to start from scratch. We have a good education foundation. And the reforms of No Child Left Behind build on that foundation to create world-class schools that the President envisions.
As we work to implement these reforms, I think it's critical to keep our mission in perspective. Our job is to make a good system great. And we can do this. We have the tools. We have the framework for change in the No Child Left Behind Act. And we have the educational expertise that is the envy of the world. All we have to do is knuckle down to the task. And we have to stay in close communication.
Back in January, when we met at Mt. Vernon, we started on a mission together. I really appreciate your willingness to meet again as a group and continue the dialogue.
Individually, my door is always open to you. My staff is always available for you. I want you at the table every step of the way in this historic endeavor. You are on the front lines every day and I want to hear from you.
You may have noticed your input in our recent AYP guidance letter. The exact language that some of your members suggested was incorporated. That was not a coincidence. I am personally overseeing the implementation of this bill.
One of the things I plan to do over the next two months is to have three separate occasions where chiefs—just the chiefs and I—sit down and have frank discussions about the kinds of things we need to do to make the bill work.
Some of you have told me that you are confident that we are going to make this work—that it may be tough—but the goal is noble and we will succeed. And I appreciate that can-do spirit.
We all know the devil's in the details. And the Education Department is diligently working on those details. It's worth noting that the last time ESEA was reauthorized in 1994, it was not the massive length of No Child Left Behind.
You've seen the size of the new bill. It looks like War and Peace. But despite the fact that this most recent reauthorization is far more comprehensive and complex than the one in 1994, we have moved faster on every stage of the process. Back in 94, they were still issuing guidance two years after the law went into effect.
This time, we had finalized regulations on standards and assessments within six months. And we have provided guidance letters to help you in the interim. Granted, if I'd had my druthers, you would have had everything you wanted the moment the President put pen to paper on January 8th.
But I didn't want people in my department to sit in their cubicles, writing regulations. I wanted us to reach out to you, to teachers and principals—practitioners all across this nation—so what we put out reflects the real world of education—not the mindset of Washington, DC.
I believe we have balanced the need for early guidance with the President's desire—and my desire—for high-quality and broad input. We talk regularly with Senators Gregg and Kennedy, and Representatives Boehner and Miller.
All four are as committed as the President to seeing this bill implemented. They need us to hang tough—and through thick and thin, keep the lines of communication open and honest.
That's why this new AYP letter is so important. Accountability is central to the success of No Child Left Behind. This letter provides the core principles to guide us. I know that you've got many questions about compliance—about 3-8 testing... high school accountability models... the "n" factor... reducing the achievement gap among subgroups…differences between assessment and accountability... and data integrity.
And I want to make sure you get answers to all your questions. So when I finish talking I'm going to take your questions. And what I can't answer, the experts I brought with me can. And if you have more when you leave, then let us know.
The President, the Congress and I are very serious about implementing these reforms. We want you to succeed. And I know you want that, as well. That is why I am pleased to announce that we are going to partner directly with this organization. Specifically, we are going to contract with you to provide technical assistance to the states on data management, assessment, and accountability.
The goal is to help states create solid academic assessments and build on their current accountability efforts so they can fully comply with No Child Left Behind. In line with this, I am also pleased to announce some changes in how we select Blue Ribbon schools.
It is now called the No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools program. Only schools that are academically superior in their states or that can demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement will be singled our for Blue Ribbon honors. The Blue Ribbon awards will now reflect the goals of No Child Left Behind.
And the President and I are counting on you—the state Chiefs—to nominate the public school candidates for this coveted prize. You are where the rubber hits the road. We look forward to seeing your recommendations. What we are working to accomplish is truly historic. This is a profound moment in education.
And years from now, people are going to look back on all that we accomplished together, and they are going to say: That was the tipping point.
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.
I'll be happy to take your questions now.
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