Remarks of Secretary Paige at Linden Recreation Center, Columbus, OH
FOR RELEASE:
September 19, 2002
I want to thank you for that introduction and for having us here.
You've got some good friends of education here in Ohio:
- Senator Mike DeWine
- Representative Patrick Tiberi and
- Deborah Pryce
Thank you for your commitment to our children.
I want to thank the good folks here at Linden for your good work. We just finished a tour and I am so impressed with what you've accomplished. Places like this give me hope. We need more like you.
I want to thank my colleague Secretary Thompson. Our two agencies have a joint task force whose focus is staying out front on the research on early childhood education.
And I know that Secretary Thompson believes as I do—and as the President does—that Head Start programs like this one can play a huge role in the lives of so many children in America.
And we are grateful for the valuable health, nutrition and social programs that you here at Linden are providing. We are especially grateful for what you are doing to help these wonderful children develop the pre-reading and language skills they need to learn.
Thanks to you, these children are literally getting a head start on success.
We all know that children who grow up in a reading-rich learning environment—where they are encouraged to develop their language and comprehension skills early—these are the children who arrive at school ready to learn the one skill upon which all others depend: reading.
A child who can read is a child who can learn and succeed, in school and in life. Many children in our nation's schools learn to read right away, and they go on and do well.
But too many children miss the boat on reading. The 2000 NAEP national report card showed 68 percent of our nation's fourth graders were not proficient in reading. 68 percent.
Some might say, what's wrong with that? They're only in 4th grade. They'll catch up. But the research shows that a child who cannot read well by 3rd grade has almost no chance of ever catching up.
President Bush looked at this and said, This is unacceptable. We want every child to learn. And we're going to do whatever it takes to make sure that every child learns—starting with reading.
That is why his bipartisan, historic reforms of No Child Left Behind include the most comprehensive and revolutionary reading initiative ever in this country—Reading First and Early Reading First.
President Bush's Reading First initiative:
- tripled the level of funding for reading instruction between 2001 and 2002
- insists on science-based reading programs that work
- will provide $6 billion in grants to states over the next six years for K through 3 reading instruction
- provides significant increases in state funding for teacher development
For the past two decades, reading achievement has remained flat. Reading First grants will help states boost scores in four important ways. These grants will:
- Encourage the use of research-based reading programs that work
- Ensure that every child's progress is measured using the best diagnostic tools
- Increase professional development and support for teachers
- Help measure reading achievement in grades K-3
The President oftentimes says that you can't fix what you don't know exists. And Reading First gives teachers the tools to diagnose reading difficulties early and in time to get children the help they need to be good readers.
The President is also mindful that how well children learn depends on what they know when they first arrive at the schoolhouse door.
I know. As a Superintendent of one of the largest school districts in the nation, I was constantly concerned about the children coming into our education system. I started my own pre-K program because too many didn't have the basic skills that are so important for them to learn and excel.
The President's Early Reading First initiative provides $75 million to provide teacher development and materials to help boost the pre-reading and early literacy skills for children in danger of getting left behind before they even start.
And if anyone thinks this initiative is a pipedream, they can take inspiration from this center.
This is a great example of what good teacher development can do. A year ago, the Department of Education gave CIRCLE a grant to study how they could improve pre-K. And it's made a huge difference.
At sites in California, Maryland and here in Columbus, CIRCLE is giving teachers professional development—and they are carefully researching the effects.
Now this is a model of what all Head Start, preschool and early childhood programs need to be doing on cognitive skill development.
I commend the teachers here, because you are proof of what good things can happen when you are open to change.
The three skills that have the best predictive validity for whether children become successful readers are: vocabulary, phonemic awareness, and letter recognition.
Children in these classrooms are learning all of those things.
Every child in America deserves a great education. And the best teachers in the world are those just like you—teachers who put the best research into practice, and who help children develop a love of books and reading.
You are helping set the tone for the rest of their lives—a life-long love of learning. Thank you.
Nothing is more basic than reading. And every one of us—educators, community leaders, and parents—must do our part to make sure that every child reads at or above grade level by third grade.
The parents are a child's first teacher; the home a child's first classroom. Everywhere I go, I encourage parents to give their children the tools to start learning early—by introducing them to books as babies—and by reading to them as they grow. We as a nation must strive to be families of learners.
I refuse to accept anything less in a country as great as ours. Our children are our future.
We know what works when it comes to reading. Science tells us what it takes to teach a child to read. And this Administration is not just listening, we're acting.
And I really believe that, years from now, people are going to look back on the compassionate vision of this President and say, That was the tipping point.
That's when they raised the bar and student achievement soared.
That's when leadership triumphed over politics and no child was left behind.
That's when all Americans—no matter the color of their skin or the accent of their speech—finally—finally—got a fair shot at achieving their dreams.
Thank you.
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