In a 1790 letter, George Washington wrote, "I can truly say I had rather be at Mount Vernon with a friend or two about me, than to be attended at the seat of the government by the officers of State and the representatives of every power in Europe."

I would like to echo his sentiments. If I could be anywhere tonight, I would choose to be at Mount Vernon with you. As we relax here with the doors shut tight against the winter winds from the Potomac, it is easy to imagine the music of Nellie's harpsichord echoing through the house, mixing with the laughter of George and Martha entertaining friends after dinner.

I regret that I cannot stay to have dinner with you tonight, but I am delighted to join you in celebrating the life and leadership of George Washington. Thomas Jefferson said Washington "was indeed, in every sense of the words, a wise, good and a great man…On the whole, his character was, in its mass, perfect…it may truly be said, that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a man great...."

On the strength of his leadership and character, George Washington transformed a nation. Americans exchanged a Parliament across the ocean for government in their own states, and in a new city that would bear Washington's name.

General Washington rallied and led a nation in the fight for independence from a foreign empire. President Washington led the fledgling nation with fortitude, wisdom and character. His example is firm and inspiring.

President Bush is leading the country through similarly challenging times, as we fight the war on terror and seek to secure our liberty. Under his leadership, our nation emerged from the ashes of September 11 with great hope and a determined and renewed character. Like George Washington, President Bush faces a great challenge with courage and resolve.

But I don't want to discuss Washington's courage tonight. I want to talk about his democratic vision for education.

Washington himself was educated mostly at home and never went to college. He and Martha home-schooled their children here at Mt. Vernon, and we know from his letters that he took this task very seriously, even when he was away. His letters to his stepchildren are filled with specific questions about all of their studies.

Beyond his family, Washington believed that everyone deserved an education, and that an educated population was essential to a good democracy.

We know that Washington believed that all of us had a responsibility to help with the education of those most in need. We know that he gave money every year to a school for orphans, and wrote that he took great pleasure in supporting it. As President, he said, "Knowledge is, in every country, the surest basis of public happiness."

I think all of us in this room share Washington's vision for democratic education. But we all know that if we look at student performance over the last few decades, our nation has fallen far short of that vision.

To take only two examples, the National Assessment of Educational Progress shows that less than a third of our fourth graders can read proficiently at grade level. The same test also shows a persistent achievement gap between ethnic groups. This gap is not shrinking, and the results in subjects other than reading are also disappointing.

Our schools are not living up to our American ideals. Washington and his friends are not around; and thanks to them we don't have a foreign king or parliament to blame things on: every underperforming school is our responsibility.

In fact, every underperforming child is our responsibility. It doesn't matter whether we are parents or not, or teachers or not. Democracy makes all of us responsible, and responsible for results. George Washington didn't support a school for orphans because he believed in keeping them indoors behind desks for seven hours a day. He supported the school because he believed all children deserve to learn. History will judge us by the way we teach our children. We must view the education of all of our children as a sacred trust.

The good news is that here on the 270th birthday of George Washington, we are close to achieving his vision. We have tried all the wrong roads, and have finally resolved to travel the right one. We have discovered that education is like other industries: neglecting standards doesn't work; failing to measure results doesn't work; monopolies don't work; and not knowing or caring which methods work doesn't work.

Instead, giving more resources and better training to teachers works because they can actually produce results. Giving more choices to parents and communities works, because no one cares more about results. Giving objective data to principals and superintendents works because they can make informed decisions. Giving more flexibility to states and districts works because they know their schools better than anyone in Washington does.

I know these forces work because I saw them work and made them work when I was superintendent in Houston. Houston families frequently moved across town and discovered that teachers in the same grade often taught different things on different days, confusing their students.

We standardized the curriculum and improved things. Principals wondered which students—and which teachers—needed extra help. The state created standardized tests that gave us detailed information on every child, every teacher and every school so we could give all of them individual attention.

These are just a few examples. President Bush supported these reforms as governor of Texas, and as you all know, he built his No Child Left Behind plan on those same commonsense principles of accountability for results, local control and flexibility, expanded parental choice and doing what works.

Congress passed the bill last year with huge bipartisan majorities, and the President signed it on January 8.

The day after the President signed the bill, I gathered the education chiefs of the states right here at Mt. Vernon. I assured them I would hold fast to the deadlines in the bill, favoring the students over the system, and offered my hand in partnership to help them implement the bill and begin a bold new era in American education.

I know you are not professional educators, but I want to invite you into partnership as well. Every one of you can find ways to help, whether or not you have school-aged children. Visit a local elementary school and see if it has a good reading program. Get involved in the development of your State's curriculum and standards. Start a charter school. Give to a scholarship program for disadvantaged children. Look around you and ask yourself what George Washington would do.

In his seventh annual address as President, Washington said, "Placed in a situation in every way so auspicious, motives of commanding force impel us, with sincere acknowledgement to heaven, and pure love to our country, to unite our efforts to preserve, prolong, and improve, our immense advantages."

Last fall's attacks on America reminded all of us how precious our liberty is and how vigilant our citizens must always be to guard it. Joining forces to create schools worthy of the next generation of Americans is our duty and there is no better way for us to express our pure love to our country. If we succeed, George Washington will be proud of us. Let us all raise our glasses and drink to our country's health, our children's future, and our host's 270th birthday.

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