Thank you, Russ.

Russ Whitehurst has been a great asset to me and to everyone at the U.S. Department of Education. As head of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, he serves as the president's point person in making sure that our education research is improving the quality of instruction. He does this very well, which is no surprise given his distinguished background as a researcher. My own background, as you may know, is as Superintendent of the Houston Independent School District. Before that, I was a member of the school board. Those of you who are superintendents, board members, and principals know what these jobs are like. You are where the rubber hits the road. You have constant worries about an endless list of things:

Will we run out of substitute teachers? Are our teachers well qualified? Will every bus make its route every morning? Is every student learning? Have we created a safe environment for students and teachers?

When I came to Washington with President Bush this year, I didn't have to worry about bus routes any more. But this fall, of course, all of us have a much greater worry about safety. We are worried about terrorism; we are worried about anthrax; we are worried about a threat we can't predict.

We all know that students can't learn if they don't feel safe. So all of us, from the first year teacher to the secretary of education, must keep students' safety and feelings constantly in mind. As President Bush wages war against terror, we as educators must do our part to look after our students.

But these added concerns cannot prevent us from getting back to the business of teaching. Nor should they stop us from celebrating well—deserved honors. Nothing a terrorist can do should keep us from recognizing and celebrating our 2001 Blue Ribbon Schools.

On behalf of the Department of Education, I am delighted to congratulate the principals, teachers, parents, and all other representatives of the Blue Ribbon Schools who are here today, and I would like to ask them all to stand and be recognized.

Excellence is difficult to achieve and often it doesn't get the notice it deserves. That's why it is so important that we take the time to identify and appreciate how our schools are helping students.

That's also why the Blue Ribbon Schools program was started by Secretary Terrell Bell in 1982. Since that time, the history of the program has been dynamic and ever—changing.

The program first honored only secondary schools. Then it was expanded to include primary schools. Then it was changed again to honor secondary schools and primary schools in alternation. States, territories, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Department of Defense Education Activity Schools have joined the competition over the years. Special emphases have changed from year to year based on national priorities.

As our sense of what makes an excellent school develops, we develop the program to match it.

The bipartisan focus on education right now is on ensuring that no child in America is left behind by a failing school. Therefore, starting next year, the program will have a new name to match that focus. The No Child Left Behind Schools will continue the Blue Ribbon Schools tradition into the future.

The program will focus squarely on student performance. We will evaluate schools based on objective measurements. We will reward those schools that dramatically improve student performance and schools with students from disproportionately disadvantaged backgrounds that perform at the highest levels.

In a minute, I will discuss the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, but right now I want to mention one new provision. Each state will develop tests aligned with its standards for what students should know and be able to do. No Child Left Behind Schools will be evaluated according to scores on those exams and selected based on the same curriculum standards they will use for teaching and for tracking student progress.

The application and the application process will reflect the same priorities.

We will have more details on the program in the coming months. But I want you to know we will continue to reward demonstrated improvement. We will continue to hold up excellent schools as models, just as we are doing here today with our Blue Ribbon Schools. In education, as in life, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

The No Child Left Behind schools will be models of President Bush's No Child Left Behind plan, which he outlined in January. He built the plan on four pillars:

The first pillar is accountability for results, which means setting high standards in each state, measuring progress against those standards, and holding schools accountable for making sure every child meets those standards.

The second pillar is local control and flexibility, which means reducing federal red tape and allowing school districts to make decisions about their own schools.

The third pillar is to expand options for parents. There is no more powerful force for change in our schools than parents with information and options.

The fourth pillar is doing what works based on scientific research. You will hear about this tomorrow from Russ. It means doing credible research on how children learn, using that research to develop and test better teaching methods, and making sure schools are using those research—proven methods.

Under President Bush's leadership, both parties in Congress came together and approved bills that advance all four of these pillars. A conference committee is working to resolve the differences and produce a final bill for the president to sign. They expect to have a final bill soon.

The reason we are so passionate about these pillars is that we know they work—not just for some children but for all children. They work to close the achievement gap between black and Hispanic students and their classmates. President Bush made great progress in closing that gap when he was Governor of Texas, and during the campaign, he promised to close the achievement gap across America.

We can close the achievement gap. We can teach every child. As educators, we have a responsibility to ensure that all of the students in our care are held to high standards and given the help and encouragement they need. We can conquer what President Bush has called the soft bigotry of low expectations. The future of our children depends on you.

But your responsibility does not stop there. The future of our country depends on you as well. As we absorb the implications of the terrorist and bio—terrorist attacks, it is becoming clear that educating our children properly is critical to our future.

A vibrant democracy requires educated citizens. It is not enough for government officials to understand economics or history or foreign policy. America is governed by public debate. And good governance requires an educated public.

Recently, for obvious reasons, many people have wanted to know much more about the varieties of Islam, the geography of Afghanistan, and the diagnosis of anthrax. A good education in history and science makes it much easier to learn about these things. No one knows what topics will be most urgent five years from now, but we do know that a strong education is the best preparation.

Even more urgently, we need great schools for our national security. I encourage all of you to read the Roadmap for National Security that was released earlier this year by the U.S. Commission on National Security in the Twenty—First Century, chaired by former senators Warren Rudman and Gary Hart.

Recent events have reminded us how important our national security is, and how fragile it is if we neglect it.

The report says, "The U.S. need for the highest quality of human capital in science, mathematics, and engineering is not being met...[and one] reason for the growing deficit in high—quality human capital is that the American Kindergarten through 12 education system is not performing as well as it should."

America's education system is critical to our national security. If we seize the opportunities of No Child Left Behind, we can secure our liberty for future generations. I know that leaders of our conference committee share my commitment to seizing these opportunities. I know they will pass a final bill soon.

But teachers don't need to wait—even for the few days or weeks it will take. You can bring the principles of No Child Left Behind to your classrooms tomorrow. You can commit yourself to the belief that every child can learn. You can determine not to write off the students who seem hard to teach. You can make sure you teach every single child every day.

If the spirit in this room is any indication, our country is already well on its way to ensuring that no child is left behind. As America's Blue Ribbon Schools, you can help us to lead the way.

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