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Capitol Comment
by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Helping Our Children Succeed as They Head Back to School
August 31, 2007
Like moms and dads all across Texas, I spend time each fall shopping for school supplies and filling backpacks with crayons, safety scissors and number two pencils. As parents we do our best to prepare our children for the year ahead and to help them succeed in school. But, this success depends on quality education.
America’s leadership in an increasingly global economy was built, in part, on the collective genius of our science and technology innovators. Our children, the next generation of Americans, have the ability to maintain and expand this competitive edge. However, as Benjamin Franklin once said, “genius without education is like silver in the mine.” Unless we provide our children with the knowledge and skills they need, their potential to better themselves and our nation will go untapped and unfulfilled.
The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 has greatly improved educational opportunities for millions of American families. Every child deserves a chance to succeed, and this legislation holds educators accountable to provide results for the federal funding they receive. The non-partisan Center for Education Policy affirms that many states have seen reading and math test scores increase since NCLB was passed. And, under this Act, discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Education has increased by more than 36 percent to support key programs that help our children succeed in school, from pre-kindergarten to college.
Development experts tell us that the earlier a child begins learning to read, the better their future academic performance will be. For this reason, I voted to allocate $6.88 billion to the Head Start early childhood reading program for fiscal year 2007, more than doubling its budget since I came to the Senate in 1993. Texas educators have used this funding to introduce the program in their communities, and thousands of our children have experienced its benefits.
We also know that each child learns at a different pace, and in a different way. I strongly support giving parents the power to choose options that best fit their child’s needs. Single-sex schools, for example, can offer a less intimidating and more productive classroom environment, and help children flourish with a non-traditional approach. After witnessing the success of such schools firsthand, I sponsored an amendment to NCLB that gives local districts the flexibility to better serve their students.
Well-trained teachers are crucial to quality education. The “Transition to Teaching” program I helped create through an additional amendment to NCLB helps individuals with ten or more years of military service become certified to teach and pass on their valuable skills. This initiative has placed thousands of qualified teachers in high-need subjects such as math, science, computer science and foreign languages in more than 40 states.
Nevertheless, NCLB does have its critics. I welcome your suggestions on how the bill can be improved. But, we must maintain the major emphasis on accountability and early detection of children not performing at their grade level.
As the Senate considers reauthorization of this vital legislation this month, I will work to continue the progress we have made on behalf our children’s education, and amend the elements of the Act that require improvement. Our nation’s future depends on their success, and they depend on our support.
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