More Resources President's Remarks, Fact Sheet Photos

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today joined President Bush for a visit to Waldo C. Falkener Elementary School in Greensboro, N.C., to discuss how No Child Left Behind is working and how we can continue to improve education for every student.

"President Bush believes, as I do, that every child can succeed, and every child deserves a quality education, regardless of their race, where they live or their family's income," said Secretary Spellings. "With No Child Left Behind, he and the Congress turned that belief into the law of the land. And as a result, for the first time ever, we as a nation are holding ourselves accountable for ensuring every child—whether white, African American, Hispanic or Special Education—can read and do math at grade level by 2014."

Waldo C. Falkener Elementary School worked hard under No Child Left Behind and has met state standards for their students for three years in a row. It has also earned the North Carolina School of Distinction status for High Growth. There are 606 students enrolled in grades pre-K through 5 and 99 percent of the students are African American or Hispanic. Waldo C. Falkener Elementary School improved student achievement by using federal funding to pay for new laboratories, teacher collaboration and research on professional development; by placing a new focus on results and beginning to test frequently; and by launching a "Saturday Academy" for students whose test scores show they need extra help.

North Carolina was one of the first states in the nation to establish an accountability system and to have its testing plan approved under No Child Left Behind. North Carolina's test scores are showing improvement:

• The percentage of fourth graders in North Carolina with basic math skills rose 10 points between 2000 and 2005;
• The percentage of eighth graders in North Carolina with basic math skills rose about six points between 2000 and 2005; and
• For African-American fourth and eighth graders, North Carolina achieved some of the highest math scores in the Nation.

For more information on the No Child Left Behind Act visit http://www.ed.gov/nclb/.

A White House fact sheet on today's visit to North Carolina is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061018.html.

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