After many years of college teaching, I feel at home in an educational setting. In fact, my own home was an extension of the classroom. I am the son of two teachers. Yes, we often talked about my grades. You can imagine what that's like! But our table conversation was also about the magic of teaching, the way that education transforms a life and opens up new horizons. My parents made certain I knew that teaching is a calling, a mission. It transmits a collective legacy of ideas, passed from generation to generation. This legacy of wisdom is the essence of civilization, something nobler, higher, and richer.

Oh, I remember those conversations. They were formative. Education is personal for me, as well as professional. I also know I'm not alone. I see that spirit of commitment and service here today. The education faculty members deserve much credit for their vision, courage, and dedication. This is an impressive department. Your outreach initiatives are particularly noteworthy, a cutting-edge approach to education that provides leadership for local schools in New Hampshire and Vermont. The Summer Enrichment Program is also a proactive effort to reach disadvantaged students throughout the Northeast, providing the foundation for further education at Dartmouth and other institutions.

These programs operate out of the new Raven House, a fine building. It is an inspiration, a citadel of learning. Often buildings define a campus. The board of trustees have made a sound, lasting investment, a testament to their understanding that education programs must be an inherent part of Dartmouth's many contributions to our nation.

Dartmouth can help lead the revolution in education initiated by the No Child Left Behind Act. We confront a two-tiered school system in America. Students who are African American, Hispanic, special needs, or from low-income families are often left behind. Thanks to the president and the bipartisan Congress, we have the opportunity to make American education inclusive, fair, and just for all children, not just the privileged or the lucky—all children.

The president said that, if elected, he would institute change, and he did. Within four days of assuming office, he initiated a blueprint that became The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This was an act that was passed with wide bipartisan support. The president immediately signed it and it became the law of the land. It turned two years old last week.

For the first time in the history of our nation, every state in our nation has an accountability plan that holds all schools and all students in their state to the same high standards.

For the first time, parents and teachers are able to work together to make sure no child is left behind. Every child counts.

No Child Left Behind focuses attention on the children who most need our help, but it benefits all children. Thanks to No Child Left Behind, I'm proud to report that all across the country, communities are empowered with the information they need to take action.

This law is already making a positive difference. For example, Earl Hansen Elementary School in Rock Island, Ill., shows what can be done. More than 70 percent of the students come from low-income families. In fact, the number of students from low-income families rose from 58 percent in 2001 to 71 percent in 2003. Students from low-income families face significant barriers to achievement. But during the same time, test scores rose. The school was chosen as a Spotlight School in Illinois, which reflects the fact that test scores were high and that the provisions of No Child Left Behind were met. One commentator has said that the success of this school is because "they expect every child to excel and they find ways to make that happen." This is No Child Left Behind in action. And this example is being duplicated around the country.

Thankfully, many school districts and principals have been willing partners. I am grateful for their patience and their persistence as we fully implement the law. There are going to be some snags, but they understand the process and the need for reform. For those school districts, we are in pretty good shape.

But there are some who think that African-American children can't learn as well as white children, or that Hispanic-American children are slow learners, or that special needs children should be held back, or that children from other countries can't adapt quickly, or that poor children are poor students. Such attitudes become self-fulfilling. All children can learn if we give them the opportunity, the attention, the time, and the resources to learn. That's what this is all about: helping all children to learn. That is something that teachers, parents, clergy, education advocates, civil rights leaders, government officials, business people, and everyone should want and should demand.

There are some who resist. You probably know, much of the resistance has been wrapped in language about funding. But No Child Left Behind is funded at a level to get the job done. In the United States, we spend more per student than any other country in the world. Just to give you some perspective, in 2003, as a nation we spent $488 billion on elementary and secondary education. That is more than the budget of the Defense Department. So, is it really too much to ask that all kids read and do math at grade level? I think not.

The administration's FY 2004 budget includes $390 million to help states develop and implement annual reading and mathematics assessments in Grades 3 through 8. In addition, the FY 2004 budget proposed $4.5 billion for teacher-related programs and benefits, including $2.85 billion in state formula grants for teacher quality. The budget also included over $800 million in set-asides for professional development in state grant programs, and an additional half billion dollars in loan forgiveness and tax benefits for teachers. There is nothing unfunded about that. And the law is not a mandate—districts can opt out, and a small number have done this. But the old days of just shoveling out money—hard-earned taxpayer dollars—without having to account for it are over.

Some districts should consider looking in the fiscal pipeline, where billions of appropriated dollars remain unspent. Last week my department announced that close to $6 billion in unspent money was still in the pipeline. If the money is central to helping implement change, then for many school districts it is a matter of drawing down unspent funds from the last fiscal year. Also, millions of unspent federal dollars from across the country were returned to the Treasury just last year.

I recognize that education is really the purview of the states and localities, which is why we have been working very closely with states and local school districts to allow for necessary and unprecedented flexibility in funding requirements and allocations. The federal government is here to supplement, not supplant, the local role in education.

One of the most important provisions of the law is its bold call for every classroom in America to have a "highly qualified teacher" by 2006. The administration is working hard to help states and school districts meet this worthy challenge.

Like all great challenges, it won't be easy. It's going to take all of us doing things differently—including schools of education. For example, we need an even greater focus on subject matter mastery than we've had in the past. Knowing your subject matter is a necessary prerequisite to helping students master content to meet state standards and prepare for their future.

And you know, we should pay teachers more—especially teachers willing to take on harder assignments in tougher schools, teachers willing to mentor their colleagues, teachers demonstrating great success in the classroom. I'm a big fan of the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), which is working with schools in several states to offer higher salaries to teachers in return for greater responsibility and accountability. In one TAP district, the program is so successful that teachers in schools on the more affluent side of town are actually flocking to the schools on the poorer side of town.

The administration is working hard to improve teacher quality. A recent report found that there is a "teacher quality gap" where minority and special needs students are given a disproportionate share of new, unqualified, uncertified, or underqualified teachers. Another report found that low-income and minority children are nearly twice as likely to be taught by an uncertified teacher. These students are taught disproportionately by teachers who themselves scored poorly on college or licensure exams.

Many districts are understaffed and have high turnover rates. Smart, creative recruiting methods by urban school districts can help by attracting many highly qualified candidates. But there are data to indicate that as many as 60 percent of these candidates withdraw because of delayed hiring deadlines.

Clearly, school districts must hire earlier and institute other reforms to keep highly qualified teachers. I have urged school districts to revise teacher notification requirements, to reform collective bargaining transfer requirements, and to develop budgets earlier.

Under No Child Left Behind, we are also working to encourage use of the best information in the classroom. We need such research, and it would be a powerful addition to our knowledge. Such research could make our schools and teachers better. It would be a good investment by non-profit organizations, businesses, and philanthropists. I've heard some people argue that education and teaching are not something that can be quantified—that we really don't know how people learn. One of the most fascinating subjects of research is to learn how the brain acquires information. We are at a new frontier of education research, and the results could dramatically help improve the process of learning.

I know that the application of such research is a primary goal of the education department here at Dartmouth. That is good news, because many university education programs are stuck in a time warp. They teach the same "stuff" year in and year out. There is often more concern about philosophical consistency or political agendas than in discovering what works and what doesn't. I am hopeful that the No Child Left Behind effort produces a sea change in education training, where research takes center stage, helping future teachers learn how to reach their students and motivate them, not force-fit them into stereotypes, categories, and columns.

Ideally, research could become the driving force of change, with dynamic interactions between university students, teachers in the field, researchers, policy-makers, parents, school administrators, and students themselves. Education could become more exciting, relevant, and inspirational if we concentrate on learning more about our students. The commitment to research by your education department is precisely what our nation needs. Dartmouth can lead the way into the future, demonstrating that research can quickly improve both educational achievement and the bottom line for districts.

We know that research translates into success. One example of a successful effort is our Reading First Program. The program is designed to help teachers learn about scientifically proven, successful methods for reading instruction. States have already received almost $1.8 billion for this initiative, as well as almost $200 million for early childhood reading efforts. Last week, I announced that our Reading First Program has made some substantial progress. In just two years, more than 45,000 teachers across the country have been trained in proven methods of reading instruction. More students will become better readers because of this program.

In my interactions today with faculty and students, I have heard much about Dartmouth's commitment to the Hanover community and the multistate area. That commitment is most welcome. This is education at its finest. A missionary zeal, backed by formidable research, gives us the best in both science and service.

Here, at Dartmouth, and throughout the country, we must reaffirm our commitment to quality education—an education that is inclusive and respectful. We must demand that children are not left behind because of ethnicity, color, disability, background, income, or circumstance. We must demand that the system work to meet their needs, and not give priority to the needs of those who wish to preserve special interests or personal privileges. We must demand that our country live up to its ideals, its commitments, its promise, its dreams, and its purpose.

Each one of you can help remake our national education system, ending a tragic and shameful era of division, disdain, and darkness. I can see that you are poised to lead our nation into the future. I thank you for your hard work, your tireless search for quality, and your willingness to embrace a revolution in education.

Thank you.

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