More Resources Press Release

Thank you, Susan Patrick, for that kind introduction. Let's give the students from Forest Park High School in Virginia another round of applause. It's inspiring to see what our children can do with technology.

Each of our panelists today understands the importance of technology in the classroom. I want to thank Phillip Bond for being here today. He is under secretary for technology at the U.S. Department of Commerce. I also want to thank St. Louis Assistant Superintendent Myrtle Reed. And I want to welcome Mark Edwards, who is the dean of the College of Education at the University of North Alabama.

Tomorrow will mark the third anniversary of the day when President Bush started a revolution in our schools with the stroke of a pen. I was there that day. I peered over the president's shoulder and watched as he signed his name to the most important educational reform bill of our lifetime. That bill was the No Child Left Behind Act. And it has forever improved our schools.

No Child Left Behind promised our children a brighter future-a future where schools make sure all children succeed … a future where parents have more choices … and a future where we embrace the potential for technology to change the way schools teach and students learn. In this spirit, I am proud to release a new report to Congress today with my recommendations for a National Education Technology Plan.

From laptops in classrooms to digital textbooks, technology is transforming how we think about education. If we are to realize the promise of No Child Left Behind, we must continue to welcome these changes.

Computers have changed the way the world works. And we need to make sure our children have the skills to compete in this new global economy. Every single child deserves the opportunity to succeed in the 21st century.

When President Bush and I first came to Washington four years ago, we saw that the doors of opportunity were closed to millions of our most vulnerable students. These students passed in and out of our schools without learning anything. They entered the real world without any of the basic skills needed to succeed in life.

Before No Child Left Behind, we tried to mend this problem by simply throwing more and more money at it. Between 1966 and 2000, the federal government spent almost $130 billion on programs for disadvantaged students, but little changed.

We needed to do better. And we knew we could if we held schools accountable for results and gave parents more choices. So we passed No Child Left Behind and forever changed the culture of our schools. The law set a new expectation-an expectation that every single child can and will succeed in school and in life.

No Child Left Behind has reintroduced accountability to our schools. And a key part of accountability is listening to your clients. In the education business, we have the most important clients in the world-our children.

So when we prepared our recommendations for a National Education Technology Plan, we did something very novel. We listened to the advice of over 200,000 students. And it turns out our kids know a thing or two about computers.

They have grown up with the World Wide Web at their fingertips. Many of them cannot even remember a world without the Internet. They see the potential for computers to revolutionize the classroom. And they are worried that schools are not keeping up with the times.

We must not fall behind. A business that does not keep pace with change will soon be out of business. And our schools are no different. We must seize the moment and the new opportunities before us. No Child Left Behind has given us a mission. And technology offers us another means to achieve it.

Computers provide schools with new tools for tracking student achievement and making sure no child falls behind. In the years before No Child Left Behind, the test scores of underachieving students would get lost in misleading averages. These students would then slip through the cracks and fall behind. We want teachers to have the technology to access real-time data so they can see where students need extra help before it is too late.

Online assessments and integrated data systems allow teachers to access this information with just the click of a mouse. Teachers can then tailor their lesson plans to students' special needs. The result is higher achievement and fewer children falling behind.

I think of the story of Peabody Elementary School in St. Louis where Myrtle Reed used to serve as principal. Most of the students at Peabody come from low-income families. And in 2001, only 7 percent of the school's third-graders could read on grade level. It is a school that could have succumbed to the soft bigotry of low expectations.

But instead of making excuses, Myrtle and her teaching staff made changes. They introduced a system of online assessments and began to track student progress on a daily basis. Teachers began to tailor lesson plans to the strengths and weaknesses of their students. And by 2003, 80 percent of Peabody's third-graders could read on grade level. That's real progress. We need to learn from Myrtle's example, and I want to thank her again for coming today to share her story.

Technology is changing how students learn. We can engage students in new ways and transcend the walls of the traditional classroom. Using the Internet, students can study primary sources from ages long past and visit art galleries across the ocean without ever leaving their desks. Every day can be a field trip. The possibilities are endless.

We still have much work to do. Too many schools still see computers as just fancy typewriters. The report I am submitting to Congress today profiles both the progress we have made and the steps we can take to move forward.

Change has to start with leaders at the state, local, and school levels. We must encourage them to continue to embrace new technology like broadband Internet access, integrated student data systems, and online instruction. Most importantly, we need to help prepare our teachers for the classrooms of the 21st century. Computers will not help our students unless teachers have the training to use them.

We have reached a turning point in the history of American education. We stand at the brink of a new golden age in our schools. When we passed No Child Left Behind three years ago, we made a great promise to our children. Technology can help us keep that promise. And together, we can move toward a future where all children receive the quality education they deserve.

Thank you.

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