The Essential Work of Democracy

Abstract

NOTHING IS more important to America's future than teaching our children the skills they need to be successful. Every child must receive a quality education if America is to be a prosperous and hopeful country. Our rapidly changing global economy is creating new industries that compete for highly skilled workers from around the world, and young people in America must be able to compete for every job in the new economy. The success of every industry depends on the availability of an educated work force. Our national security is increasingly dependent upon attracting more students into technology and engineering careers. Improving our quality of life through medical breakthroughs and alternative fuel technologies requires cultivating the next generation of innovators and scientists. And our schools face the challenge of preparing the next generation of American citizens to govern in the 21st century. The challenge to educate future Americans can be called the essential work of democracy. Making America safer, stronger, and better demands a world-class education system. Education has been, and continues to be, a top domestic priority of mine and of my Administration. On my second day in office, I sent to Congress the boldest plan in a generation to improve our public schools -- a plan to raise educational standards for every child and to require accountability from every school. These reforms were entitled No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to reflect my belief that every child can learn. When expectations are high, America's children will rise to meet them. I signed NCLB into law less than one year later, thanks to unprecedented bipartisan support from members of Congress. This year, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision, which declared the doctrine of separate but unconstitutional. Brown gave children equal access to school buildings, but many students today still suffer inequality in the education they receive. Some students are taught well, while the rest -- mostly African American, Hispanic, special-needs, limited-English- proficient, and low-income students -- fall behind or drop out. By the time they reach 12th grade, only one in six African Americans and one in five Hispanics can read at grade level. Only 3% of African Americans and 4% of Hispanics are testing at the proficient level in mathematics. The achievement gap between African American students and white students in the fourth grade who are reading at or above the proficient level is 28 percentage points. This educational divide is caused by the soft bigotry of low expectations. Many excuses have been offered, but the result is still the same. Students are more likely to stop believing in themselves if they think adults have stopped believing in them. This is unacceptable. Our government must speak for disadvantaged children who have been unheard and overlooked. They are the children who were hidden behind the averages and shuffled from class to class, grade to grade, without receiving the attention they needed and deserved. We need No Child Left Behind. We are meeting the challenge and fulfilling my promise to improve education with the resources necessary to improve the achievement of all our children. I have provided the largest increase in federal education funding in our nation's history and the highest percentage gain since President Johnson left office. Since I took office: * Elementary and secondary education funding has increased $12.1 billion (49%), from $24.8 billion in 2001 to a proposed $36.9 billion in 2005. * Title I funding for low-income schools has increased $4.6 billion (52%), from $8.8 billion in 2001 to a proposed $13.3 billion in 2005. * Special education funding has increased $4.7 billion (75%), from $6.3 billion in 2001 to a proposed $11 billion in 2005. * Funding for reading programs has quadrupled. …