FOR RELEASE:
June 20, 2002

Contact: Dan Langan or David Thomas
(202) 401-1576

U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today delivered the keynote address at the U.S. Department of Education's fourth annual Charter Schools Conference in Milwaukee, Wis. More than 3,000 charter school operators, teachers, parents and other charter supporters are attending the department's largest–ever conference, which continues to Saturday. Secretary Paige's prepared remarks follow:

Thank you, Governor McCallum—and thanks for what you are doing for the children of Wisconsin. You are a great friend to education and to our president. And we are grateful for your leadership.

Good to see Howard Fuller—another great friend to education—is here.

I want to thank all of you for coming and for being a part of this conference. Milwaukee is a beautiful city and I know you join me in thanking our hosts for their hospitality.

As I travel our country I see many inspiring examples of schools and teachers and students rising to the challenge of ensuring that no child is left behind. I see moms and dads getting involved in their children's schools.

Every day I'm reminded what an honor it is to serve as secretary of education. One of the things I learned after I took the job is that children write and ask for favors. So far, three of the most popular requests are for shorter school days, less homework and better cafeteria food.

Some write to ask me to come visit their schools and to please bring the president with me!

But most of their letters include well–thought out questions—like the one from a New Jersey eighth–grader named Brianna who wrote to ask:

"What do you believe are the most important issues facing elementary or high school education in the United States today?"

That's a great question—in fact, it goes to the very heart of our new education reforms signed into law by President Bush on January 8, 2002.

I believe the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 will go down in history as the key piece of public policy that finally slammed closed the achievement gap between those who have and those who don't—between those who are hopeful and those who are hopeless.

Our nation has been called to commit itself to a bold goal—the goal of creating an education system that insists on accountability, results, teacher quality and reading programs that work, so that all children in our public schools get the excellent education for which their parents sent them there.

And it all started because we have a president who believes that the most sacred duty of government is to educate its children. They are our future. Yet national report cards in recent years show we are destroying that future—one child at a time. The report cards tell us that:

• 2 out of 3 fourth–graders can't read proficiently;
• 7 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 at the lowest levels in math and science achievement compared to their counterparts in other industrialized nations.

These are more than just statistics. They are a grim picture of the human toll of an education system that is failing too many African American, Hispanic, and low–income children in our nation's classrooms.

Soon after President Bush took office, he called on Congress to fundamentally change the structure of education—and enact the most sweeping change in education in 35 years.

Never before have we as a nation made the commitment to all children in our public schools that every one of them can and will learn—every single child, regardless of race, income or zip code.

The No Child Left Behind law also recognizes that just throwing money at a problem won't make it go away. Over the last half–century, local, state and federal taxpayers have spent trillions on education.

And what have we got to show for it?

Every year we did the same thing: spent more money. And every year we got the same result: mediocre student performance—or worse.

It was Albert Einstein who said that insanity is "the belief that one can get different results by doing the same thing."

It doesn't take an Einstein to see the truth is that all the money in the world won't fix our schools if your only plan is to throw more money at the problem.

To solve the problem, you must first create a framework for change.

And our new education reforms provide that framework—by insisting on accountability and results; by providing local control and flexibility; by empowering parents to take a lead in their children's education; and by insisting on teaching methods that work.

The basics work. Research–based reading programs work. Testing works.

No Child Left Behind provided the framework for change. And it provided historic levels of funding to get the job done—including the largest education budget for disadvantaged children in U.S. history.

The big difference now is that taxpayers know what they're getting for their money. And parents know if their children are learning.

And if their children are not learning—if a school is failing its mission—then parents can choose one–on–one tutoring, after–school help, a higher–performing public school or a charter school.

Wisconsin understands the power of unleashing parental choice. This state has led the way in giving parents options. Now, thanks to No Child Left Behind, parents all across America are empowered to choose.

We are serious about implementing these new reforms. This is an education revolution—not an education re–tread.

The focus now is on the child—what the child needs and how well the child learns. And if that child is not learning, then we are going to give that child help before it's too late.

That same spirit launched a nationwide charter school movement a decade ago to create innovative centers of learning where even the most difficult–to–teach children can excel.

Defenders of the status quo said charters wouldn't work. They said it was too radical, that parents wouldn't go for it, that children wouldn't learn.

But 10 years later:

• More than half a million children attend charter schools;
• More than 2,400 charter schools are operating nationwide; and
• Nearly two–thirds of those charter schools have waiting lists.

Those waiting lists are proof that parents know what they want for their children and they are willing to wait if it means a better education for their children. According to a 1999 study by the Department of Education, charter schools not only improve the prospects for their own students; the competition charters provide has caused local school districts to improve their own services.

President Bush was a strong and early supporter of charter schools as governor of Texas. And he has continued that support with $200 million in funding for charters under the No Child Left Behind law.

Recently, the Department of Education awarded nearly $25 million in grants to help charters nationwide buy, build or renovate buildings.

I believe Congress should fund the president's most recent budget request of $300 million for charter schools—including $100 million for the charter schools credit enhancement program.

Some people are surprised to learn that a former public school superintendent supports charter schools. Not only do I support them—I chartered them in Houston.

I believe—as our president does—that if you give people the freedom and flexibility to succeed, and hold them accountable for results, they will rise to the challenge.

That is not to say we believe every charter school will succeed. That's why we made the expectations very clear: To stay open, a school must demonstrate that student achievement is rising.

No improvement, no charter. No excuses.

We will applaud success. But we will also insist on results.

And we don't want to hear, "Our kids are poor. Our kids are different."

Every one of our children deserves to get the good education for which their parents sent them to school.

And if you're at bat to provide that education, then you better deliver.

A lot of good has come out of school choice. A lot of children that other schools gave up on, now have a brighter future ahead of them.

And I hope that lawmakers in Wisconsin and elsewhere will continue to support these successful and innovative programs.

In the 19 years since A Nation at Risk set off a wave of well–intentioned school reform efforts, we still have too many children—mostly urban and mostly African American—falling through the cracks.

The reforms of No Child Left Behind, when implemented, will provide a safety net to catch these children and get them back on track academically.

This is a moment of profound change.

And I truly believe that years from now, people are going to look back at the work we're doing as a tipping point in education and say:

That's when they raised the bar and student achievement began to soar.

That's when leadership triumphed over politics and no child was left behind.

That's when the American people realized they really could create great schools worthy of a great nation.

God bless you all. And God bless America.