Praise from the president

Jet, Jan 26, 2004

PRAISE FROM THE PRESIDENT: President Bush and Yolanda Moss, principal of Pierre Laclede Elementary School in St. Louis, celebrate the two-year anniversary of the "No Child Left Behind Act" and the grade school's high performance, which earned Laclede the title of Blue Ribbon School. "I'm here to congratulate this school and hold you up for the nation to see what is possible when you raise the bar, when you're not afraid to hold people to account, when you empower your teachers and your principals to achieve the objective we all want," Bush said during the town-hall style appearance with teachers and parents at Laclede.

The education bill Bush signed in 2002 required new reading and math tests, sought to close the gap between rich and poor students and raised teacher standards.