It is a great pleasure to be with you here today. I am proud and excited to join you for the second in this series of Education Fairs to be held across the country.

Building a strong education system requires people joining together and lending their varied talents to the cause. This "Feria Educativa" brings together students, teachers, administrators, policymakers, state and local officials, and business, civic and community leaders. All of us have an important role to play in building schools worthy of this great nation. Each and every one of us has a stake in the outcome.

One of our goals is to help prepare more Hispanic boys and girls to enroll in college and continue their education. Today, I will talk about how we can make this possible. And I will ask for your continued commitment toward our national goal under the No Child Left Behind Act to improve education for all of our young learners. Strengthening primary and secondary education is the single greatest thing we can do to make the dream of college and a bright, hopeful future available to every single child.

The 2000 Census reminded us that the American fabric is composed of many ethnic threads. It also confirmed that Hispanics are now the largest minority segment of our population. But one doesn't need statistics to understand their profound impact on America.

All we need to do is look around us. So much of Hispanic culture has become American culture. In so many fields, and in countless ways, Hispanic Americans have added to the greatness of our nation. Our economy, arts, civic life and national character have all been elevated by their contributions.

As Americans, we see our past—and our future—in the stories of the Hispanic community. Generations of Hispanics have come to America seeking a better way of life for their families. They came, like countless other immigrants, because they believed in freedom. They came to pursue their dreams of a better life for their families. That pursuit was and is today fueled by their values: hard work and enterprise, faith and family.

We have an obligation—a duty—to honor those values by giving every child of Hispanic descent the opportunity to fulfill his or her ambitions. And there is no more certain path to realizing this goal than that of education.

But we know that path has not always been easy for Hispanic Americans. Today, many dreams are hampered by an achievement gap between minorities and non-minorities and children of poverty and children of privilege. And we know that too many Hispanic students are not completing their formal schooling and are denying themselves the opportunities it affords.

There are several reasons for these challenges. Many Hispanic students are learning English for the first time—more than four million children in our schools speak Spanish as a first language. Many are from immigrant and economically disadvantaged families—groups that historically have not been well served by our schools. And of course, there is the damaging effect of what President Bush derides as the "soft bigotry of low expectations"—the insidious view that some children have a lower potential to learn than others.

Whatever the cause, the bottom line is that while some Hispanics are thriving in America today, too many Hispanic children are being left behind, their needs ignored, their futures diminished. And when even one student doesn't receive our best efforts, we all suffer as a result.

When President Bush came into office, he recognized that American education was not serving all of our students. That's why he proposed, and bipartisan majorities in Congress passed, the No Child Left Behind Act.

The principal goal of the law—stated right on its cover—is to close the academic achievement gap. No Child Left Behind recognizes that every child can learn. It strikes a blow against the soft bigotry of low expectations. And it gives all of us a new set of tools to increase student performance and give every American the opportunity to achieve her or his dreams.

It will take all of us working together to accomplish that goal. Your efforts here this week will help get us there. No Child Left Behind shows us the way.

At this moment, we are nearly two years into the implementation of the law. And we are making significant progress. No Child Left Behind is working, and it is helping Hispanic children here in the Miami area and all over America.

We are already seeing the results:

Parents in economically disadvantaged school districts can get information about how well their school is performing and about their children's teachers' qualifications.

Schools and teachers have detailed information about their students' achievement, so that they can adapt their lessons and better serve ALL their students.

Parents of students attending high-need schools have options if their child's school hasn't made sufficient progress over the last couple years.

And this year more federal money than ever before is being spent to support these reforms and boost student achievement.

Furthermore, No Child Left Behind addresses a concern of particular importance to many Hispanic Americans: helping children become fluent in English. It gives states the freedom to choose the best method to teach children English, and it requires periodic testing so that we know how well they are learning.

These are all important components of reform. Together, they will strengthen our schools and improve academic performance.

Just last month we received our first glimpse at student performance in this new age of accountability. The results are encouraging. The National Assessment of Educational Progress—otherwise known as America's Report Card—showed that fourth- and eighth-grade math scores rose dramatically between 2000 and 2003. Hispanic and African American students registered some of the largest gains. This indicates that our reforms are on track. These gains prove that every child can learn. And while there is still much more work to be done, we are on course.

I mention this to show that No Child Left Behind is laying the foundation for more children of Hispanic background to attend college. This is a goal of this conference and a goal of President Bush's as well.

We must encourage more Hispanic Americans to pursue postsecondary education. Too few of our academically eligible Hispanic students are enrolling in college. And, of those who do, too many are leaving short of completing their degree. As a result, only 10 percent of Hispanic Americans graduate from four-year colleges and universities. It is crucial that we increase this percentage.

So our goal is raising academic achievement for all under No Child Left Behind to help every child become prepared to pursue and complete higher education. The road to college begins with a quality K-12 education. We must remain faithful to No Child Left Behind if we are to give every Hispanic youth—and indeed every youth—the same opportunity to pursue higher education.

At the same time, we also recognize that changing the education system takes time, but those approaching college age need help now. That's why we support programs like "Gear Up" and "TRIO" to help economically disadvantaged students prepare to enter and succeed in college. And that's why the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans is a proud participant in Partners in Hispanic Education. We must continue to bring together community, business, civic and education leaders to focus our resources on helping students succeed.

We also recognize that many qualified young men and women who want to go to college are deterred by the cost. For this reason, President Bush has made it a priority to help put the cost of higher education within reach. He has called for large increases in student aid, including the highest funding levels ever for Pell Grants. As a result, an additional one million students receive Pell Grants to support their pursuit of higher education.

Together, these efforts will help Hispanic students along the entire length of the road leading to a higher education, from those just entering our school system to those right now aspiring to go to college.

I mentioned earlier the important stake that all of us have in improving education for every American. The stakes are indeed high, both for our future as a nation and for all the individual lives that will benefit from our work.

Under President Bush, we are making huge strides toward building an education system worthy of this great nation. But meaningful change can't be driven from the top alone. That's why I am so encouraged to see so many of you here today. And its why I am so grateful that we have so many great partners working together to give the students here and all their peers the opportunity to live out their dreams.

So I ask you to continue to share this spirit of cooperation. The very fact that you are here today shows your strong commitment to education, especially within the Hispanic community here in Florida. Let's work together to give everyone the opportunity to go to college and stay in college. Let's focus our efforts along the entire road as it runs from early childhood learning right up until our young scholars step across the stage and proudly accept their diplomas. Working together, we can give everyone the opportunity to walk that road.

Thank you, and God bless you.

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