16 Jan. 3 / Administration of George W. Bush, 2004 Federal funding for elementary and high Remarks in a Discussion at Pierre school education from about $25 billion in Laclede Elementary School in 2001 to more than $33 billion in 2003, an St. Louis, Missouri increase of about 36 percent and the highest level ever. January 5, 2004 We’ve committed $1.8 billion in grants to The President. Well, I’m glad to be here, help train tens of thousands of teachers to Madam Principal. [Laughter] One of the use effective reading instruction methods things you find in a successful school is a and materials. We expect schools to do their strong-willed, smart, capable principal. And job, and we’re helping them to do their job. that’s obviously the case here, and I appre- So there’s no excuse for failure. When we ciate your hospitality. set a high standard, we are showing our belief I’m here at Laclede because this is a school in the capacities of every child. And when that has defied expectations. It’s defied ex- we prepare them to meet a high standard, pectations by raising the bar and believing we’re giving them a better chance in life. that every child can learn. That’s not the case High expectations set children on a path to in some parts of our country, unfortunately. success. I’m pleased to report that the No In some parts of the country, schools just Child Left Behind Act is helping put more shuffle kids through, and that’s not right. of America’s children on that path, so they That’s not the American way. succeed in school and in life. This school is a school that has performed, Thank you for listening. you have to say, brilliantly. Since 1999, 7 per- cent of the kids could read, and now 80 per- cent can read at grade level in the third NOTE: The address was recorded at 9:55 a.m. on grade. That speaks to strong principals; it January 2 at the Bush Ranch in Crawford, TX, speaks to really good teachers. It says this for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on January 3. The tran- school has got teachers that believe in the script was made available by the Office of the capability of every child. It says the school Press Secretary on January 2 but was embargoed has raised standards and is not afraid to for release until the broadcast. The Office of the measure. Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this address. And see, one of the things I’m here to talk about is the No Child Left Behind Act. Laclede has been named a No Child Left— Statement on Afghanistan’s Adoption Blue Ribbon No Child Left Behind School. of a New Constitution And the—inherent in this No Child Left Be- hind Act is the desire to spend Federal January 4, 2004 money and spend it wisely. We’ve increased budgets. The Title I money is up 43 percent I congratulate the people of Afghanistan since 2001—41 percent. The teacher training on the adoption of their new constitution. money is up. The reading program money This document lays the foundation for demo- is up by 4 times. But finally, the Federal Gov- cratic institutions and provides a framework ernment has said, ‘‘Why don’t you show us for national elections in 2004. A democratic whether or not that money is being well- Afghanistan will serve the interests and just spent. Show us whether or not you believe aspirations of all of the Afghan people and every child can learn. Show us whether or help ensure that terror finds no further ref- not objectives are being met.’’ uge in that proud land. This new constitution And this is exactly what’s happening here marks a historic step forward, and we will at Laclede. As I was reminded, Laclede was continue to assist the Afghan people as they doing this before No Child Left Behind Act build a free and prosperous future. was passed. Joyce was quick to point it out. VerDate jul 14 2003 01:23 Jan 13, 2004 Jkt 203250 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 1244 Sfmt 1244 E:\PRESDOCS\P02JAT4.009 P02JAT4 Administration of George W. Bush, 2004 / Jan. 5 17 [Laughter] She may point it out again. count, when you empower your teachers and [Laughter] your principals to achieve the objective we But the important thing is, inherent in the all want. And that’s to make sure no child, No Child Left Behind Act was not only the not one single child in America, is left be- desire to measure, the need to measure, the hind. need to show, the need to track each child, I’m honored to be here at this Blue Ribbon but it’s also the trust of local people to make School. And I appreciate your time, and I the right decisions. See, you can’t have a sys- look forward to hearing from you. tem that is—meets objectives if you’re ham- At this point, the discussion continued. strung by Federal rules and regulations. And [ ] so, inherent in the No Child Left Behind Act The President. Yes, you are. Listen, one is trust, trust of the principals, trust of the of the things you hear, of course, is that you teachers, trust of the parents, trust of the can’t test kids, see. You can’t test. We test local officials, like Speaker Hanaway and too much. How do you know if a child isn’t Peter Kinder from the State house and State reading if you don’t test? How do you know senate who are with us. I want to thank you who needs help? I mean, if the idea is to for coming, by the way. make sure not one child is left behind, you I appreciate all the State officials who are better test. here. I know we’ve got some school board The test isn’t a punishment, you know. It’s officials. You’ve got the ball in our—in terms not to punish anybody. The test is to deter- of how to achieve excellence. It’s up to you. mine who needs extra help. And that’s exactly The Federal Government is a source of why Laclede is doing well, I’m convinced, money. It’s now a source of inspiration. It’s or one of the main reasons why. They’ve got a source of measurement. But it’s up to the a book here that says, ‘‘Every child matters. local people to really make it work. Every child can learn, and therefore we’re I also appreciate so very much that Senator going to measure as to whether or not we’re Jim Talent is with us. Senator, thank you for meeting expectations for every child, not a coming. Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson few of the children but every child.’’ and Kenny Hulshof, and of course, Congress- And so when you hear this talk about test- man Lacy Clay, whose district we are in. ing, testing is bad, testing is—you know, Congressman, thank you very much for join- teach the test, what testing is—what testing ing us today. does and what measuring does is determines I went into a classroom of fourth graders. whether or not every child is learning, and I asked this question, I said, ‘‘How many of if not, whether that child is getting the help you are going to go to college?’’ You’ll be he or she needs early, before it is too late. happy to hear that every hand went up. We’ve got to stop this business about just That’s a good sign. They were also doing shuffling kids through the schools in Amer- something that was fundamentally important. ica. We’ve got to stop social promotion and They were practicing their reading. I also focus on whether or not each child is getting asked the question, ‘‘How many of you read the instruction he or she needs, and that’s more than you watch TV?’’ About 50 percent exactly what this book says, and that’s why of the hands went up. [Laughter] I’m here at Laclede to tout this program, be- But what’s important is for schools like— cause you’re making great sense. around the country to understand what’s The discussion continued. happening here, and that is that the people [ ] here use reading programs based upon what The President. Yes, I think it’s important. works, not what sounds good, reading pro- The Federal Government can help, and we grams based upon the science of reading. have. I think we’ve increased the teacher And it’s working. training and recruitment budget significantly, And so I’m here to congratulate this school like by about 40 percent since 2001. And and to really hold you up for the Nation to that’s important to make sure teachers have see what is possible when you raise the bar, the skills necessary to be able to teach. I when you’re not afraid to hold people to ac- mean, it’s one thing to have a good heart; VerDate jul 14 2003 01:23 Jan 13, 2004 Jkt 203250 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 1244 Sfmt 1244 E:\PRESDOCS\P02JAT4.009 P02JAT4 18 Jan. 5 / Administration of George W. Bush, 2004 it’s another thing to be able to have the skills you hear at Laclede, why don’t you volun- necessary to put—to match the good heart teer? Why don’t you help and mentor a child with the capacity to pass on knowledge.