WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today joined Mrs. Lynne Cheney and several national experts on early childhood learning and development who presented additional research and recommendations regarding early learning during the final session of the White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development -- Ready to Read, Ready to Learn. During his remarks to the group of more than 400 government, education, community, and philanthropic leaders from across the country who were invited to attend the summit meeting at Georgetown University, Secretary Paige also unveiled a new federal effort to develop and promote research-based cognitive development activities for preschool-age children.

Co-hosted by Laura Bush, Paige and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson, the summit was created by Mrs. Bush to highlight the early learning activities that parents and educators can use to prepare young children for school.

Secretary Paige called the summit the first step in a long range and widespread effort to raise public awareness of the science of and need for early childhood cognitive development. He described the new task force of senior education and health and human services department officials announced at the meeting as a way to put the research and recommendations presented during the course of the summit to work in government programs for young children. "Together, the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services will ensure that the Head Start and preschool programs we support are doing the right things and getting results," Paige said. "We will also work to make sure every adult who cares for a child understands the methods we have learned at this summit and will use them at home. In other words, we will get the government's house in order, and spread the word to all the other houses, too."

Dorothy Strickland, professor of reading at Rutgers University, addressed the summit participants as well to describe the role of parents and grandparents in early childhood development. "Concern for the cognitive development of children is on our national agenda," Strickland said. "The attention is well deserved, since cognitive development is the basis for all human learning and is closely tied to the development of language and literacy."

The summit participants also heard from the newly installed assistant secretary of education for elementary and secondary education, Susan Neuman, who described her own research on how children's surroundings affect how and when they learn to read. "Most often there is more than a healthy skepticism between teachers, administrators, and families," Neuman told the audience. "Yet there is no way that we can be successful without parental involvement and parental choice." Closing the summit, Secretary Paige challenged the participants to spread the word about what adults can do to help children learn. "We will encourage adults to read with children and encourage teachers to stress cognitive development with their young charges,"

Paige said. "We need to build a bridge between powerful scientific research, homes, and preschools and make sure that adults know how vital it is that children have strong cognitive development, even before they enter school. I look forward to working with you and with teachers and parents around the country to ensure that no child is left behind."

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Speakers who addressed the second session of the summit are listed below in the order in which they appeared:

Reid Lyon, chief, Child Development and Behavior Branch, National Institutes of Health
Dorothy Brown, provost, Georgetown University
Dorothy Strickland, Professor of Reading, Rutgers University
Kathleen Sanders Reif, director, Wicomoco County (Md.) Library
Kathy R. Thornburg, president, National Association for the Education of Young Children
Darrell Shumway, chairman of the board, Association of Community College Trustees
Susan B. Neuman, assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education
Lynne V. Cheney
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige

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