[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 2 (Monday, January 14, 2002)]
[Pages 29-32]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire

January 8, 2002

    The President. Thank you very much for that warm welcome. Winter 
wouldn't just be right without a trip to New Hampshire. [Laughter] I've 
got some fond memories of your great State, candlepin bowling--
[laughter]--sledding down hills--[laughter]--and the people. What a 
great State you've got. Governor, thank you for coming. I'm honored 
you're here.
    Madam President, thank you for opening up the university. It's an 
honor to be on this campus. Sorry I don't have time to watch the hockey 
team play. [Laughter] They tell me they're pretty good. [Laughter] It's 
good to be with Bob Smith and John Sununu. Thank you both for being 
here, as well. I want to thank all the students who are here. My advice 
is, listen to your mother. [Laughter] I'm still listening to mine. 
[Laughter]
    I do want to--like Judd, I want to thank those of the National Guard 
who are here, those who serve in the guard and those families of 
guardspeople who have been called up to active duty. I want to tell you 
that your families are engaged in a noble and just cause. We will not 
let terrorists stand.

[[Page 30]]

    You know, the enemy made a big mistake. They didn't understand 
America. They thought, because of our richness, that we were soft, that 
we didn't believe in anything, that we weren't willing to stand up for 
what we think is right. And they're paying a dear price for messing with 
America.
    I want the youngsters here to understand that this war is really 
about your future, that we fight not to seek revenge, but we fight to 
protect America and freedom, a system that is so fair, so optimistic, 
and so just, that this Nation is making sacrifices so that your children 
and your grandchildren can grow up in peace. I long for peace. But so 
long as there is terror and evil that want to do harm to the American 
people, I will not relent, and I will not tire until we bring them to 
justice.
    We have an important mission overseas, and we've got an important 
mission at home. And we must never lose sight of this mission, and 
that's to make sure every single child--every child--receives a first-
class education. The hope of the future for this country is not only to 
make sure that we're secure and we're safe, but the true hope for the 
country is to make sure everybody gets a good education.
    This morning I signed a significant piece of legislation, a major 
piece of reform, and I did so in John Boehner's district in Ohio. Most 
of the time, you sign a piece of legislation at the White House. I chose 
to sign it at one of our most precious assets that we have in America, 
and that was in a public school. I did so because I want the country to 
remember that we've got to battle illiteracy and hopelessness through 
quality education.
    This was a significant work done by the Congress. My friend Judd 
Gregg had a lot to do with it, and that's why we've come to New 
Hampshire, to not only praise the legislation, but to praise his work. 
He's not a real chatty kind of guy. [Laughter] But when he talks, people 
actually pay attention. He did really good work, as did the other three 
leaders on this stage. I emphasize the word ``leaders'' because it would 
have been easy to quit on the process. It would have been easy to allow 
the process to dissipate into the same old, tired politics that 
dominates--sometimes dominate Washington. That's that attitude that 
said, ``I can't work with anybody of a different political party.'' 
Folks, this bill I signed today shows what can happen when good people 
get together. It is more important to focus on our children than 
political parties in the country.
    Big George Miller out of California came to the----
    Audience member. What about the dead Afghani children, Mr. Bush? 
What about the dead Afghani children?
    Audience member. We love you, President Bush!
    The President. Big George is out of California. He came to the 
Governor's Mansion to talk about public education when I was still the 
Governor--heading to Washington. You know, he's from the different side 
of the political aisle and, frankly, the ideological spectrum than I am. 
And yet, he shares the same passion I have, and that is that we can't 
allow any systems and schools to exist that simply shuffle children 
through--that every person matters. We decided right then and there, 
we're going to put aside our differences and see if we couldn't work 
together, and we did. John Boehner from Ohio, he and George used to 
battle occasionally because they let their party labels get in the way. 
But they did magnificent work on the floor of the House of 
Representatives.
    And then, of course, some of the folks in Crawford coffee shop will 
be amazed to hear me say that I like Ted Kennedy. I will tell you this: 
If you have a legislative battle, you want him on your side; you don't 
want him against you. [Laughter] He made an enormous difference, as did 
Judd, in passing a piece of legislation that sets high standards and 
high expectations, one that provides greater resources, one that 
understands the role of parents in public education. This a good piece 
of legislation for which America should be proud.
    I want to thank my friend Rod Paige for being here, as well. Rod is 
the Secretary of Education. He was the superintendent at the Houston 
Independent School District. I figured that anybody that could survive 
being superintendent of the Houston Independent School District can 
survive Washington. [Laughter] His job will be to make sure that the 
piece of legislation that I signed this

[[Page 31]]

morning is implemented in the spirit of the legislation, the principles 
involved remain intact.
    And I want to share those principles with you. I wish the bill were 
here. It's about this tall. [Laughter] I haven't read it all yet. 
[Laughter] In my line of work, they give you an executive briefing. 
[Laughter] But I know the principles involved in the bill, and I want to 
share some of those with you.
    One of the key principles in this bill is that we must hold schools 
accountable for results. And so therefore, if you receive Federal money, 
in return for Federal money, the States--not the Federal Government--the 
States must develop a test for third-through-eighth graders on reading 
and math. For the first time at the Federal level, we've asked a simple 
question: Is our money being spent wisely? Are people learning?
    I want to quote to you what a young girl said from New York City. 
She said, ``I don't even remember taking exams. They just kept passing 
me along. I ended up dropping out in the seventh grade. I basically felt 
that nobody cared.'' You see, in some schools, it is so much easier to 
take a look at the classroom and say, ``Let's just move them through.'' 
In some school districts in some parts of our country, it is so much 
easier to walk into a classroom full of kids who may not supposed to be 
able to learn, and say, ``We're just going to move you along. We don't 
really care what you know.'' That day is going to end in America. Every 
child matters.
    I'm sure there's somebody out there saying, ``I don't like to take 
tests.'' Tough. [Laughter] We want to know; we need to know. We need to 
know whether a curriculum is working. We need to know whether the 
teachers, the methodology that teachers use is working. We need to know 
whether or not people are learning. And if they are, there will be 
hallelujahs all over the place. But if not, we intend to do something 
about it.
    Now, we're going to say to failed schools, you've got some time to 
correct yourselves. You've got some time to take remedial action. Not 
only will you have time, but there will be incentives and additional 
resources for you to improve. In other words, when we find failure, 
we're going to do something about it. We're going to take corrective 
action in society.
    But if a school can't change, if a school can't show the parents and 
community leaders that they can teach the basics, something else has to 
take place. In order for there to be accountability, there has to be 
consequences. And the consequence in this bill is that after a period of 
time, if a parent is tired of their child being trapped into a failed 
school, that parent will have different options, public school choice, 
charter, and private tutoring.
    One of Judd Gregg's contributions to this bill was, he advocated 
supplemental services and the resources to back them up. He basically 
said that parents whose children go to failed schools must be given 
different alternatives. These children must be given an opportunity to 
receive additional education if the status quo is unacceptable. And so, 
when we say no child is left behind, the cornerstone of that is 
accountability, coupled with consequences in the accountability system.
    The third principle involved in this bill is, you've got to trust 
the local people to make the decisions for the schools. The people of 
New Hampshire understand how to run their school system. This bill 
passes power out of Washington and provides flexibility for the 
Governors who, in turn, I hope, provide flexibilities for the local 
districts.
    Listen, we have the Teacher of the Year here, and I want to thank 
her, and I want to thank all the teachers who are in this auditorium. 
There is nothing more that expresses our confidence, that says more 
about our confidence in you, than saying, ``We're going to give you all 
the power you need to make the right decisions for the classrooms in 
which you teach.''
    Local control, flexibility, less strings from Washington really 
means that parents and teachers and community activists must not be 
bystanders when it comes to making sure every child learns. It's really 
important.
    A lot of people after 9/11 said, ``What can I do to help in America? 
What can I do to make America a better place?'' You can support your 
public schools. You can mentor a child. You can teach a child to read. 
You can make sure your child turns off their TV at night, so they can 
learn to read better. You

[[Page 32]]

can make education the number one priority in your neighborhood.
    And while we're waging war overseas, we're after illiteracy here at 
home. One of the most appalling statistics of our great land is the 
illiteracy rate amongst poor children. It's really high at the fourth 
grade level, and that's unacceptable. I think Chairman Boehner said 
about 70 percent of the fourth grade impoverished children can't read. 
If you can't read in the fourth grade, you're likely not to be able to 
read in the eighth grade. And if you can't read in the eighth, you're 
likely not be able to read in high school. And if you can't read in high 
school, you're likely to fall into a life that--a life of despair and 
hopelessness. And that's not right in America.
    And so therefore, this bill pays attention to reading. It's got a 
lot of money in it to develop programs that work. I'm tired, and I know 
these congressional leaders are tired of putting money into programs 
that don't work. Well, in reading, we know what works. It's time to fund 
curriculum and teacher training programs and reading programs not based 
upon what sounds good or some theory but based upon what works, so that 
children can learn to read in America.
    We are focusing on early reading initiatives, so that the country 
can achieve this goal: Every child be reading at grade level by the 
third grade. That's an achievable goal. It's one that's going to insist 
upon making sure we've got accountability standards, flexibility, 
resource--focusing our resources, and using the things that work, proven 
curriculum. But we can do that in America. We can achieve this 
objective. We can meet this goal. And when we do, America will be a much 
better place.
    You know, after 9/11, a lot of us have taken a hard look at how we 
live our lives, you know, the meaning of life. And that's good for our 
country. It's been an incredibly positive experience for Americans to 
sit around their dinner table and moms and dads to take a look at their 
kids and say, ``You know something, being a mom or dad is the most 
important job I'll ever have.'' It's been good for our country to--for 
people to go to their houses of worship and pray for guidance. It's been 
good for our country for people to say, ``Gosh, I want to fight terror 
by being kind to somebody else.'' And it's going to be good for our 
country, good for our country, when we as a nation focus on education 
again, focus on making sure our public education is the best school 
system in the entire world. That's what America is about.
    It has been an honor for me to travel and to work with the four men 
on the stage who've made this bill possible. They have shown the country 
what can happen when good, honorable people set their minds on getting 
something done. They have shown that when you work with an 
administration, that when you set clear goals and you set aside all the 
bickering and you push aside all those on the fringes trying to tear 
down the process, that good people from both parties can achieve 
something strong for America. And that's exactly what we've done.
    Thank you all for coming, and God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 3:20 p.m. in the Lundholm Gymnasium. In his 
remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire; Joan R. 
Leitzel, president, University of New Hampshire; and Nancy B. McIver, 
2002 State Teacher of the Year for New Hampshire.