This letter to the editor by Secretary Rod Paige appeared in The Nevada Appeal on October 31, 2003.
Dear Editor:
In her recent opinion column [One size won't fit all schools, October 22, 2003], Lorie Smith Schaefer observes that "Children come to school unequal economically, culturally, emotionally, physically and intellectually," and then implicitly suggests that some of these children should be left behind.
President Bush and I believe in the bright potential of every child, and we believe every child—no matter his or her background, family income, or Zip Code—can meet high standards when challenged to do so. That is the foundation upon which the No Child Left Behind law was written and passed by a broad bipartisan majority in Congress. The soft bigotry of low expectations for some students is no longer acceptable.
The goal of No Child Left Behind is to help schools ensure that 100 percent of their students achieve proficiency on state defined standards. Why 100 percent? Because to demand anything less is to assume from the outset that some children will inevitably be left behind, and that is not a concession President Bush or Congress is willing to make. And I doubt many parents in Nevada are willing to make that concession either.
There is no doubt No Child Left Behind is a tough law. True reform is never easy. But with the unprecedented levels of federal funding for education, new options for parents, historic amounts of flexibility for state and local leaders to target resources where they are needed most, and an emphasis on teaching methods and programs that have been scientifically proven to work, we're already off to a great start.
Sincerely,
Rod Paige
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