ORLANDO, Fla. -- U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today enlisted the support of the 8,500 members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority to join his partnership to leave no child behind. Paige asked for the sorority's support during a plenary session at its biennial conference here.

"We need more doers like each of you -- taking the initiative and making a difference in the lives of others," Paige said. "And I'm proud and honored that one of the ways you've chosen to make a difference is by partnering with the Department of Education to help meet the president's goal for every child to be educated, with no child left behind. We have a lot of work to do."

Paige noted that, since 1965, Americans have spent trillions of state, federal and local tax dollars and still two out of three fourth-graders can't read proficiently; seven out of 10 inner-city and rural fourth-graders can't read at the most basic level; nearly a third of college freshmen need remedial classes before they can handle entry level courses; and, America's 12th-graders rank among the lowest in math and science achievement among their counterparts in other industrialized nations.

"Our new Partnership for Academic Achievement calls on each of you to help reverse these troubling statistics and reach out to children most in danger of being left behind. And the place to start is reading," Paige said.

The president committed nearly $1 billion this year for Reading First to help children learn to read at or above grade level by third grade.

As part of the partnership, Paige announced that he will host a Secretary's Reading Leadership Academy for the members of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), to help them understand the best way to help children learn to read -- and what the research shows about how children learn to read -- so the members of the council can tutor children in this critical skill.

"Our reading experts will provide training and materials developed just for the NCNW and its affiliates. And they are going to do such a good job that you will be able to go back and train others so that we have more volunteer reading tutors in communities from coast to coast," Paige said.

Last March, Paige joined Dorothy Height, the chair and president emerita of the NCNW, to announce the new Partnership for Academic Achievement to close the achievement gap between African-American youngsters and their peers.

Over the next three years, the partnership will expand the reach and impact of the best practices of high-performing, high-poverty schools. Some of the practices include aligning curriculum to clear, appropriate performance standards; offering frequent feedback on children's learning; providing incentives for teachers to be on-board with the other elements of reform; and collaborating with families and other segments of the community to hold children to high achievement standards.

In addition to the reading academy, the partnership also will seek to close the achievement gap through these and other activities:

• NCNW and the Department of Education will partner with other African-American community-based organizations to create persuasive messaging for both television and print media.

• NCNW will convene, for the first time in history, an African-American Women's Roundtable on "Closing the Achievement Gap." This roundtable will consist of African-American women of influence from the business, civic, entertainment and government sectors.

• The partnership will demonstrate "what works" in the following 10 cities: Washington, D.C., Oakland, Chicago, Boston, Miami, New York, Cleveland, Raleigh/Durham, Dallas and Memphis. NCNW national affiliates and local sections will work other faith-based and community organizations, churches, schools, child-care centers and families to raise awareness about academic achievement and to connect children to the appropriate services.

• The partnership will use NCNW's unique ability to reach families through its network and nationally heralded activities such as the Black Family Reunion Celebrations.

Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which President Bush signed in January, states and school districts will develop strong systems of accountability based upon student performance. The new law also gives states and school districts increased local control and flexibility, removing federal red tape and bureaucracy and putting decision making in the hands of those at the local and state levels. Parents of children from disadvantaged backgrounds will have options under the new law to participate in public school choice programs or obtain supplemental services such as tutoring. In addition, teachers around the country will be encouraged to use teaching methods based upon scientific research that show they have been proven to work.

Paige kicked off his tour in Albuquerque, N.M., in April 2002 to educate parents, educators, community and business leaders and other stakeholders about the most sweeping change in education policy in three decades -- and to ask for their help in strengthening our schools and leaving no child behind. On Monday, Paige visited Louisville, Ky., as part of his tour. He will be in Colorado later this week.

For more information about the new law, please visit www.nochildleftbehind.gov.

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