U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today kicked off the annual celebration of the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The following are Secretary Paige's prepared remarks.

This annual gathering often seems like a family reunion. It is a renewal of friendships. But it is also a renewal of commitment and of partnership. We sense that we are not alone, islands in the stream. Instead, we are part of a network of colleagues, steadfast in our resolution and mission, linked to a glorious past and a prelude to an even more promising future.

Last year we had a very productive meeting. There was much to share. We spoke about the vital mission of HBCUs. We talked about No Child Left Behind and how it will benefit our students and our colleges. And we looked forward to the work of the HBCU Advisory Board.

This year I am pleased to report that we have made substantial progress in our work. Thanks to the president, the Congress, and so many of the people in this room, we have put in place a solid foundation upon which to build. Your mission--our mission--will be better served because of these actions. And in the next year, I believe we will make even greater strides forward for our students and our institutions.

Let me explain.

I believe we are crafting powerful, dynamic, and steadfast support for HBCUs. That support starts in the White House. The president has repeatedly expressed his strong commitment to HBCUs. He was proud to sign the executive order establishing a federal program to strengthen the capacity of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is fully supportive of the goals, leadership and work of the HBCU Advisory Board.

He has also provided unprecedented fiscal support. In the new 2005 budget, the president has set federal spending at $418.8 million for Aid for Institutional Development Programs, an increase of $18.8 million over 2004. This funding is going to institutions with high proportions of minority students, including HBCUs and Historically Black Graduate Institutions. The funding includes $240.5 million for HBCUs and $58.5 million for HBGIs. Four years ago, the president made a promise to increase funding for Institutional Development Programs by 30 percent during his administration, and he has done that with the new budget.

Students also benefit. For instance, student financial assistance would be increased in the president's 2005 budget. Overall, student financial aid would expand to more than $73 billion, excluding the consolidation of student loans. This is an increase of more than $4 billion or 6 percent over the 2004 level.

The number of recipients of grant, loan, and work-study assistance would grow by 426,000, to 10 million students and parents.

The budget also includes more than $832 million for the federal TRIO Programs and more than $298 million for GEAR-UP to provide educational outreach and support services to help almost two million disadvantaged students enter and complete college.

President Bush has proven again and again that he is an advocate for HBCUs. I know the president is proud of his HBCU initiative. It is a central part of his work in education. And I know the president appreciates the work of the board of advisors and Dr. Louis Sullivan. And the president has said he would do everything he could to help.

He has directed every federal department and agency to provide as much support as possible. I know that Dr. Sullivan has already met with 17 agency heads. We will meet with representatives from these agencies on September 16th to discuss implementation of their commitments and continued compliance.

Clearly, the federal government is moving from ad hoc support to more thorough, comprehensive, and predictable support, with a process to involve every relevant federal agency and guarantee that all commitments are met completely.

Let me give you an example. Recently, the Department of Education awarded a $1 million grant to the United Negro College Fund Special Programs, Hampton University and NAFEO. Under this grant, these institutions will:

• develop a collaborative effort to provide professional development and training for senior executives and governing board members;
• examine institutional operations to help avoid or lessen accrediting concerns and to meet regulatory requirements; and
• provide technical assistance in the areas of financial management, planning, evaluation, and professional development.

Such training is important for long-term fiscal responsibility and governance. Coupled with the increased levels of fiscal support in the budget, a foundation has been laid for greater fiscal support and closer partnership.

All of this will help HBCUs to better meet their challenges. The advisory board is working with federal agencies to enhance your infrastructure and promote greater financial stability. The president is providing support for your institutions and for your students. By any objective measure, we are in better shape because of these efforts. That is why I am so hopeful about the future.

But the future is exciting for other reasons, too. The quality of education that students are receiving in grades K-12 is improving, which means that your incoming students will be better prepared for college. The No Child Left Behind Act has made a profound difference already. Every state has an accountability plan in place. There has been considerable effort to place highly qualified teachers in every classroom. Education is now more inclusive, successful, and fair. This law will specifically benefit our disadvantaged and low-income students, who are precisely those primarily served by our institutions. The president and the Congress deserve much credit for holding the line against those who want to return to the old ways, which means silencing, ignoring, disrespecting, and disregarding our African American, Hispanic, low-income, special-needs, and English-learning students. And we are not going to turn back the clock.

We already see considerable evidence that the law is working. In the most recent results on the Nation's Report Card, or NAEP, the mathematics scores for fourth- and eighth-graders rose significantly across the board. Importantly, African American, Hispanic American, and low-income students accounted for some of the most significant improvements. As a result, the achievement gap is closing. Further evidence comes from a recent report by the Council of the Great City Schools, which reviewed test scores from 61 urban school districts in 37 states. Students in the largest urban public school systems showed significant improvement in reading and math in the first year under No Child Left Behind. And in the last few weeks my Department has received data from a number of states indicating remarkable, rapid improvements.

The president's new initiatives, announced at the beginning of the month, will build on our progress. The proposals will continue the culture of achievement and accountability. That's why he has proposed focusing on early literacy, channeling more support to the Early Reading First and Reading First initiatives, and helping children in middle and high school with the Striving Readers program.

And, in no small measure, these children will be saved because of the quality and inspiration of their teachers. But we will need more than two million new teachers in America's classrooms in the next decade. These are teachers who will need diverse academic backgrounds, are committed to teaching in urban or rural areas, and are well prepared for the classroom. Many of them must come from your institutions, because eight out of 10 African American teachers are graduates of HBCUs.

Simply put, we need your schools to help produce even more teachers of color. Our HBCUs have become premier institutions for urban studies. You have institutional linkages to our minority and low-income communities. These distinctive relationships benefit the entire country. And perhaps no benefit has more lasting influence than your graduates themselves, especially those who enter the teaching profession.

Last year, I asked you to strengthen your efforts by preparing more teachers. We need them even more desperately now. A recent report indicated only 10 percent of our nation's three million teachers are from minority communities. Only 6 percent are African American. Just 21 percent are men. This is unacceptable in a nation where more than 40 percent of students are from minority communities.

Because HBCUs are the primary source for African American teachers, we need your help. Students need good teachers, period. They also need good teachers who have similar life experiences, who understand their needs, who will not leave them behind. It is vital that this country produce more African American, Latino American, Native American, and Asian American teachers. The teachers you produce are a lifeline from your institution to our nation's elementary and secondary schools. The No Child Left Behind process is greatly enhanced by your participation.

In the last year, we have laid a solid foundation and developed new fiscal and educational programs to assist HBCUs. This is all well and good. But we must keep our sense of urgency and commitment, because so much remains to be done. And, above all, we must remain united in our advocacy and partnership. I am mindful of the advice given by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1955, spoken in trying times in Montgomery, Alabama. He reminded us, "In all of our actions we must stick together. Unity is the great need of the hour, and if we are united we can get many of the things that we not only desire but which we justly deserve."

That was then, but these are good words today. HBCUs have been important to the intellectual history of our nation and the world. You have bequeathed a substantial and lasting legacy. Your work--our work--is essential to the continued progress, leadership, and promise of this great nation. America needs our HBCUs to remain viable and successful. We cannot afford the death of even one HBCU.

I will do everything possible to search for every means of assistance. We must continue, and build upon, our essential partnership for our students and for the future.

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