I want to thank you all for showing me and my staff such hospitality. What a great state! Now I know why Lewis Grizzard titled his book If I Ever Get Back to Georgia, I'm Gonna Nail My Feet to the Ground.

I'm here to celebrate the passion you show for your schools and the children in them, every single day of the week.

You have not forgotten what makes a school truly excellent. It's not how many seats it fills or hours it stays open, but how well its children learn. Period. Policy-makers and educators must learn that lesson if we expect our students to learn theirs.

The people in this room tonight have shown us all what is possible when we see our children's potential—and push them to reach it. Tonight we are proud to honor you and your schools for their achievements. Some have overcome great challenges and made great strides forward. Others have achieved great academic heights. But all share one great philosophy: that student achievement comes first.

First I want to congratulate Georgia's 63 Title I Distinguished Schools for making such remarkable progress. Day in and day out, these schools carry out the president's mission to teach every child and leave no child behind.

One of those schools is Oconee County Primary. The school educates more than 500 students from pre-K to second grade. This is the sixth year in a row it has achieved this honor. Principal Pat Points credits it to an "absolutely extraordinary teaching and support staff," including a speech language pathologist, a Title I teacher and two early intervention specialists.

But Principal Points notes something else: the "extraordinary participation by parents and the community." How does Oconee achieve this? Through on-the-spot parent-teacher conferences, parent workshops, family breakfasts at the school and even "take-home baggies" filled with fun learning activities.

Principal Points, several members of her faculty and several students are here tonight. Wherever you are, please stand up—thank you, we are most grateful.

Another school that has earned this honor is Downtown Elementary Magnet Academy in Columbus. Principal Sheila Brock talks about the "paradigm shift" toward accountability that's occurred under the No Child Left Behind Act, which she calls "the single most unifying factor in [her] 26-plus years of education."

School report cards are now published in newspapers and on Web sites, so parents can check their school's progress campus-by-campus, district-by-district and state-by-state. These test results "are now used to draw a road map to future success," Brock says. And, she adds, "we're not going back to the days when they just stayed in drawers!" Principal Brock, wherever you are, thank you for your leadership.

Principal Brock is right: the No Child Left Behind Act has indeed changed the education landscape in this country. It has taught us all a new equation: high standards plus accountability plus resources equal results. Federal funding is up—about 54 percent for Georgia schools—since the president took office. And so are test scores.

While a few are trying to undermine the law in the courts and elsewhere, every one of you in this room has chosen to make it work. It can be done. It is being done. And you're showing us how, to the good of schoolchildren everywhere.

That brings me to Georgia's Schools of Excellence. Today they're called "Schools of Excellence in Student Achievement," to reflect the student-first philosophy of No Child Left Behind.

Out of more than 2,000 public and public charter schools, just 20 were chosen. Ten are in the top 10 percent in student achievement for reading/language arts and math. Ten others demonstrated the greatest gains in those subjects over the past three years. High schools selected also scored above the state mean in science and social studies. This is not an easy award to win! And each of you should be extremely proud.

The diversity of these schools is impressive. They're rural and urban, suburban and exurban. Ware Magnet in Manor is the only agriculture-based magnet school in the South. Starrs Mill was named one of the nation's top high schools by Newsweek magazine. Davidson Fine Arts High School won a Grammy Award for its music program. And Peachtree Charter Middle School's band has played at Carnegie Hall. In other words, a strong emphasis on reading and math does not mean other subjects are shortchanged.

Peachtree's Principal Steven Donahue cites the 8,000 hours parents have volunteered this year alone as one ingredient in the school's success. Meanwhile, parents at Morningside Elementary School help choose the school's teachers and have even chipped in to purchase a research-based reading program.

Finally, Riverside Elementary School has hired not one, but three reading specialists. And every student in grades one through five goes through math enrichment, led by a teacher the kids call "Dr. Think"— a.k.a., Dr. Joyce Nelson. Principal Craig Barlow's philosophy is to "pre-teach" these students before math class so they do not have to be remediated afterward.

This award recognizes more than schools. It recognizes the importance of annual assessment, rigorous coursework and highly qualified teachers. Schools honored must test their students annually. High schools must offer at least two Advanced Placement courses. And all teachers must be on track to "highly qualified" status by the end of the next school year.

This is important. Change is made possible only through dedicated teachers—teachers who instill a love of learning and who turn "faculty" into "family." Last week I was privileged to help honor the National Teacher of the Year, Jason Kamras, of Washington, D.C. I want to take this time to recognize Georgia's 2005 Teacher of the Year, Chase Puckett, of Screven Middle School. Chase is here tonight. Let's all give him a round of applause.

We must put a highly qualified teacher like Chase in every classroom in America. Studies show that teachers in high-poverty schools are far less likely to be certified in the subjects they teach. Schools that could benefit the most from good teachers often have the most difficult time attracting them.

We are working to change that. President Bush has proposed the Teacher Incentive Fund to attract the best educators to serve in challenging schools and to reward those who improve student achievement. And we've more than tripled loan forgiveness for special education, math and science teachers who choose to work at high-need schools. It is imperative that we encourage students to master the critical fields of math and science. At the dawn of the 21st century, they've never been more important.

The president has also proposed new funding to encourage rigorous, college-level coursework and dual enrollment in high schools. I think you'd agree that recognition is nice, but support is nicer!

Finally, I want to thank all of you here in Georgia for setting such a positive tone. Last year, the president recognized your state for its great progress in raising student achievement and narrowing the achievement gap.

You've increased the number of schools making adequate yearly progress by more than 10 percent in one year. More than 94 percent of your teachers are highly qualified. And the number of Georgia students taking AP classes has risen sharply.

You've given us reason not just to be proud, but also optimistic about the future of education in America. The media loves to focus on the outliers who complain that it can't be done while ignoring the doers like Georgia who are getting it done by following the "bright line" goals of No Child Left Behind.

We want to replicate these success stories across the country. And we will. I'm an education consumer myself, with two daughters in school. And I want the schools in my hometown and every hometown to learn from the best.

Our children's potential is not limited by their race, ethnicity, zip code or economic background. Your schools believe in that. You know that the end of an education is the beginning of a life—one that can be rich and rewarding for those who are well prepared. So, tonight, I thank all of you for giving your students an excellent shot at a wonderful life.

Thank you.

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