This letter to the editor by the Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Innovation and Improvement, Morgan Brown, appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on February 28, 2007.

Any way you measure it, George W. Bush has done more for school choice than any other president ("School choice: Missed opportunity," Editorial, Feb. 19 and PghTrib.com).

Establishing the nation's first federally funded K-12 scholarship program in Washington, D.C.? Check.

Helping states and school districts develop innovative school choice programs? Check.

Investing more than a billion dollars to expand charter schools? Check.

Providing new educational options for poor children in chronically underperforming public schools? Check.

Much of this progress was made possible by the No Child Left Behind Act. Under the law, millions of children in underperforming schools have been made eligible for transfers and free transportation to better-performing traditional or charter public schools. Not coincidentally, the number of charter schools has nearly doubled since the president took office.

Our proposed 2008 education budget builds on this legacy.

Our primary focus remains on improving reading and math achievement, especially among disadvantaged students. We will continue to light a spark of reform so that all schools become better places in which to learn.

Morgan Brown
Assistant Deputy Secretary
Office of Innovation and Improvement
Washington, D.C.