Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you to discuss the President's 2003 budget for programs administered by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education that focus on providing our Nation's young children with the foundation they will need to achieve academically. Of the Department's many elementary and secondary education programs, none are more critical than the programs that affect children's early learning.

Ensuring That All Children Learn to Read Well

Three days after taking office, President Bush announced "No Child Left Behind," his framework for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. One of President Bush's highest priorities is helping States and local communities use scientifically based reading research to help all children learn to read by the end of the third grade. Implementation of the new Reading First State Grants program in the reauthorized Act is a cornerstone of the framework.

Teaching young children to read is one of the most pressing educational priorities facing this country. Fortunately, this is an area where some of the best and most rigorous scientifically based research is available. The Reading First State Grants program will help States and school districts apply this research—and the proven instructional and assessment tools consistent with the research—to teach all children to read. By effectively teaching all children to read well by the end of third grade, we can ensure that all students advance to later grades well prepared to achieve their full academic potential.

Reading First will help States and school districts establish research-based reading programs for students in kindergarten through third grade. Reading First funds will also focus on providing significantly increased teacher professional development to ensure that all teachers, including special education teachers, have the skills they need to teach these programs effectively. In addition, the program will provide assistance to States and school districts in preparing classroom teachers effectively to screen, identify, and overcome reading barriers facing their students.

Quite simply, Reading First focuses on what works, and it will put, and support, proven methods of early reading instruction in classrooms. The program will provide assistance to States and school districts in selecting or developing effective instructional materials, programs, learning systems, and strategies to implement methods that have been proven to teach reading. Reading First will also provide assistance for the selection and administration of screening, diagnostic, and classroom-based instructional reading assessments with proven validity and reliability in order to measure where students are and monitor the progress that they make.

Reading First is the largest—and yet most focused—early reading initiative this country has ever undertaken. Reading First provides an opportunity for every State to implement reading programs that help all students achieve reading mastery. The program, by design, specifically supports States as they work with their school districts to implement the program.

In addition to the much larger scope and level of on-going support it will provide, this program focuses much more directly on classroom instruction than previous Federal reading efforts. Reading First acknowledges that the most important teaching venue for early readers is the early elementary classroom, and it is therefore in the classroom where the program will build and support the scientifically based reading foundation. Reading First seeks to embed the essential components of reading instruction into all elements of the primary, mainstream kindergarten-to-grade-3 teaching structures of each State.

The Administration is requesting $1 billion for Reading First in fiscal year 2003, $100 million above the 2002 appropriation.

Early Reading First

The Early Reading First program, for which the Administration is requesting $75 million in fiscal year 2003, complements Reading First. This program, initiated with fiscal year 2002 funds, will help children in preschool programs enter kindergarten with the early language and cognitive skills necessary for reading success, thereby preventing many later reading difficulties. Early Reading First aims to transform early learning programs supported by Title I, Head Start, and family literacy programs, such as Even Start, so that young children enter school ready to learn to read. Early Reading First will provide the opportunity for these early education programs to change the classroom environment, provide professional development for staff in scientific reading research-based instruction, support the language and cognitive development of children from birth into kindergarten, and use screening assessments and progress monitoring to identify and work with young children who may be at risk for reading failure.

We know that it is vital that early education programs attend to all the developmental domains of early childhood. The developmental domains (social, emotional, cognitive, linguistic, and physical) are closely related, and growth in language and cognition will optimally occur in the context of the other areas of development. Language development emerges from social interactions and rich experiences; good health and nutrition are foundational for all types of learning, and self-assurance in a group setting helps children profit from school experiences.

At the same time, new research points to the importance of the language and cognitive domains, which programs often have not strongly or systematically addressed. This research illustrates the intellectual competencies of young children and specific ways to support learning, such as through explicit and "scaffolded" instruction. Scaffolding refers to instruction in which adults build upon what children already know to help them accomplish a complex task by breaking it down into simpler components. An extensive body of evidence is also now available that points to the necessity of developing such early reading skills as phonological awareness and vocabulary. Early Reading First is designed to improve the language, cognitive, and early reading skills of young children in the context of the other developmental domains, all of which need strong and consistent attention.

Early Reading First requires early education programs to do what scientifically based research shows is the most effective way to provide instruction in pre-reading skills for young children. Learning environments will be rich in age-appropriate print, from sources such as books, labeling, and posting the alphabet, and children's work in pre-writing. Teachers will deliver intentional and explicit instruction and conduct progress monitoring to determine which skills children are learning. Programs will provide intensive and ongoing professional development that includes mentoring and coaching for staff working with young children.

Other Programs That Provide Foundations for Learning

Several other programs in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education provide young children with the foundations they need for learning so that they will be able to read well by the end of the third grade and be prepared for future academic success.

The Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies program provides critical resources for helping young children learn to read. About half of Title I participants are in grades Pre-K through grade 3, and reading is often the major focus of Title I-funded activities at this level. The Title I accountability system is based largely on reading and mathematics performance for students in grades 3 through 8, and the No Child Left Behind Act requires school districts and schools to use Title I funds for activities that scientifically based research suggests will be most effective in helping all students meet State standards for these subjects. The Department will be encouraging States and school districts to coordinate efforts under Reading First and Title I to ensure a comprehensive approach to early reading instruction. The President's budget includes $11.4 billion for Title I, an increase of $1 billion over the 2002 level.

The Even Start program, for which the Administration is requesting $200 million, supports projects that provide educational services to low-income families, including parents eligible for adult education services and their children from birth through age 7. The program integrates early childhood education, adult education, and parenting education into family literacy programs.

The Early Childhood Educator Professional Development program provides professional development opportunities to improve the knowledge and skills of early childhood educators and caregivers who work in communities with high concentrations of young children living in poverty. These competitive grants promote school readiness, including reading readiness, and better opportunities for young children by focusing on professional development to further children's skills and to help prevent them from encountering difficulties once they enter school. The Administration is requesting $15 million for this program.

Conclusion

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared remarks. My colleagues and I would be happy to respond to any questions that you may have.

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