Remarks at Highland Park Elementary School in Landover, Maryland: week ending Friday, July 11, 2003

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, July 14, 2003

Governors ought to have that flexibility to--hope that Congress will provide that flexibility so that when the accountability systems kick in, fully kick in, that a Governor can truthfully say, "Well, I've had the tools necessary to make sure the Head Start program fits into an overall comprehensive plan for literacy and math for every child in the State of Maryland," in Governor Ehrlich's case.

This is a very important initiative I'm talking about. It is--it seems like to me a fantastic opportunity for the country to make sure that the desires of this country are met, and that is every child become a good reader. If reading is the new civil right and human dignity and freedom is what this country is all about, let's make sure every child learns to read.

So I want to thank you for giving me a chance to come today. We know what works. We've got the pros and the experts that have laid out a curriculum that will help us achieve a goal. We've got a million kids anxious to learn, showing up on a daily basis at Head Start programs all across the country. We've got teachers who want to teach. We're writing the checks for the local governments and the local Head Start programs. Let's combine it all into a comprehensive strategy that will allow us all to say, "We have done our duty for future generations of children by laying the most important foundation of all, and that is the ability for each child to learn to read." I know it can happen. There's no doubt in my mind.

I want to thank those of you who are working on the frontlines of education. I appreciate your willingness to accept a new mission to be incorporated with the old mission. And I appreciate your willingness to work hard, to see to it that not one single child in America is left behind.

May God bless your work. And may God continue to bless America. Thank you.

NOTE: The President spoke at 11 a.m. at the Head Start Center. In his remarks, he referred to Windy M. Hill, associate commissioner, Head Start Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services; Andre J. Hornsby, chief executive officer, Prince George's County Public Schools; Guylaine Richard, program supervisor, and Tonya Riggins, acting assistant program supervisor, Head Start, Prince George's County Public Schools; and G. Reid Lyon, branch chief, Child Development and Behavior, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.