Thank you, Richard. I appreciate the invitation to be here today.

This time last year I stood before you in Phoenix--as the new Education Secretary--and I outlined President Bush's hopes for the future of education in America.

He was not happy with the status quo. Despite nearly $200 billion in federal spending since 1965, we had little to show for it.

The President and I believe that the most sacred duty of government is to educate its children. They are our future. Yet national report cards in recent years have shown we are destroying that future--one child at a time.

Here's just a snapshot:

• 2 out of 3 fourth graders who can't read at grade level
• 7 out of 10 inner-city and rural fourth graders who can't read at all
• 2 out of 3 low-income 8th graders who can't multiply or divide 2-digit numbers
• Nearly a third of college freshmen need remedial classes before they can handle entry level courses
• And America's 12th graders rank near the bottom in math and science achievement among their counterparts in other industrialized nations

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

President Bush vowed to close that achievement gap between rich and poor students. And he promised to do it by changing the way America educates our children.

The President called on Congress to pass the No Child Left Behind Act--his plan that fundamentally changes the structure of our education system so every child learns and no child is left behind. Congress responded with overwhelming support in both houses. And on January 8, the President signed this landmark legislation into law, ushering in a new day in education.

These new reforms are historic--not just because they represent the most sweeping change in education in 35 years.

They are historic because never before has this bold commitment been made--that every child in our public schools will learn. Every single child. Regardless of family income, ethnicity or zip code.

The No Child Left Behind law is also historic for another reason: It recognizes that just throwing money at a problem won't make it go away. To solve the problem, you must first create a framework for change. And our new education reforms provide that framework by:

ONE--Insisting accountability and measuring for results--because you cannot solve a problem until you identify it.

TWO--The new reforms provide local control and flexibility--because local people know best what works for their schools and their children.

THREE --The new reforms empower parents, because it allows them to take a lead in their children's education with information and options; and

FINALLY--The new reforms insist on research-based teaching methods--because science tells us what works when it comes to helping children learn. The basics work. Reading programs that include phonics and phonemic awareness work. Regular testing works. Some methods are tried and true, and we must use them.

Now the challenge is for local districts to implement these reforms--and create a rich learning environment where young minds can flourish. The bipartisan consensus behind the No Child Left Behind law makes implementing this law all the easier. Because it says loud and clear that no matter where you fall on the political spectrum, there is broad agreement that reforms plus resources are the necessary ingredients for improving America's schools.

And we are providing significant resources, including:

• Increases in ESEA funding to more than $22.1 billion for America's elementary and secondary schools. That's a 27 percent increase over last year, and a 49 percent increase over 2000 levels
• Increases in Title I funding to an estimated $10.4 billion to help disadvantaged students succeed. That's an 18 percent increase over last year, and a 30 percent increase over 2000 levels.
• Nearly $3 billion to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers and principals
• Increases in funding for the President's Reading First! And Early Reading First! programs to nearly $1 billion
• And an estimated $200 million for charter schools to expand parental choice and free children trapped in persistently failing schools

As a former superintendent, I have seen both the promise and peril of improving schools. I have seen how bureaucracy, regulation, and special interests can cripple sincere efforts to improve a school district.

I have also seen in my hometown of Houston how local parents and school boards and community leaders will embrace change if it means better schools for their children.

In fact, a poll out just this week from Public Education Network and Education Week magazine shows Americans are more concerned about education than the war against terrorism. Those surveyed showed strong opposition to cuts in education funding even if it means painful cutbacks in other areas. The numbers also show Americans standing shoulder to shoulder with the President on his key education priorities--including 73 percent who support annual testing.

Moms and dads all over America want the best for their children. This poll makes clear that they understand that the only way to know if teachers are teaching and their children are learning is to measure for results.

I understand the Governor of Vermont wants to turn down $25 million in federal funding for his state because he would rather not test.

I grew up in Mississippi with two parents who were teachers. And they taught me that money doesn't grow on trees. Maybe they've got some special fertilizer in their forests up there in Vermont. But it seems to me that's a lot of money--and a lot of children's dreams--to throw away because you don't want to make your public schools accountable to the public.

Those of you with children--what's the first question you asked when you were buying your house? I bet it was: What are the schools like?

By insisting that our schools change for the better, we're not asking the impossible. All over America, schools are already rising to the challenge.

A good example is Waitz Elementary in Mission, Texas. Most of the students come from migrant-worker families with limited income, limited English and limited time to spare for studies.

Yet these children are passing state reading tests in record numbers. Why? Because the teachers and principal at Waitz believe--as the President and I do--that every child can learn.

The same philosophy is getting great results for other high-need schools like Bennett-Kew Elementary School in Inglewood, California, Franklin Elementary in Salt Lake City, George Washington Elementary in Chicago, City Springs Elementary in Baltimore, and Rozelle Elementary in Memphis.

These schools and many more like them are proving that, even under difficult circumstances, it's not expecting too much to expect all children to achieve high goals. And even the hardest-to-educate children can learn if you do it right.

Our new education reforms show them how to do it right. Now they have the funding to do it right.

Last year, President Bush's budget provided the Department of Education with the highest percentage budget increase of any other domestic agency. His proposed budget this year calls for even higher levels of funding for education. If Congress approves his budget, funding for Education will have double the budget it had in 1994.

The big difference is that now the taxpayers will know what they're getting for their money.

Now they will know if their children are learning or if schools are failing their mission.

One of the strongest indicators of how well a child will learn is how well the teacher knows the subject. The President understands this--remember, he's married to a teacher!

And the President's proposed budget (FY 2003) provides $4 billion dollars overall for teacher recruitment, training, and staff development. The President's budget also proposes expanding funding for programs that recruit new science, math, and special education teachers by forgiving part of their college loans--in exchange for a commitment to teach in high need schools for at least five years.

Our brand new education reforms ask a lot of America's teachers--and we owe them something in return. We owe them our respect for the professionals they are. We owe them our support. And we owe them the training and tools to succeed.

And they can succeed. I think about Superintendent David Gordon of the Elk Grove Unified School district in California. He got tired of sending under-prepared teachers into classrooms of under-achieving students. So he came up with his own solution--and you know what?

Even though he raised the bar for achievement for both students and teachers--and even though a teacher shortage loomed--Elk Grove schools began filling its classrooms with top-quality and well-trained people who were up to the challenge of the rigorous curriculum. And student achievement soared--especially in the highest-need schools.

Superintendent Gordon worked with a university that was willing to "think outside the box." And together they created a fast-track teacher credential program called the Teacher Education Institute, or TEI.

TEI sets high standards for prospective teachers and then trains them to meet those high standards. Teacher candidates are taught by some of the most capable veteran teachers. And they get intensive hands-on classroom experience.

Before, the Elk Grove Unified School District lagged behind the state average in the number of high school graduates who go to college. Now, the number of college-bound students has more than doubled--from 14.8 percent to 27 percent.

I can tell you from my own experience with this President, that his passion for education is real.

His concern for the children of this country is real.

And he and I know that history will judge us by how we met the challenge of providing for them.

We can never get back the years that were wasted on an education system that has failed so many boys and girls. But we can re-direct the future of that system-- and thanks to the No Child Left Behind reforms, we are on our way to creating great schools worthy of a great nation.

Thank you for having me. God bless you all.

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