Remarks at Hyde Park Elementary in Jacksonville

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Sept 15, 2003

September 9, 2003

Thanks for coming. Please be seated--unless you don't have a chair. [Laughter] Thanks for coming, and thanks for letting me come. We're thrilled to be at Hyde Park Elementary School. I'm here to talk about some recent reforms we've had in education, the Federal role in education. I want to describe to you the No Child Left Behind Act and the principles behind the No Child Left Behind Act, and why I believe the No Child Left Behind Act, in combination with the efforts of Governors like Jeb Bush and fantastic teachers who are in this room, are going to help America realize its full promise.

Before I begin--you may recall, I was a Governor as well, and I spent a lot of time on making sure the Texas schools were as good as they could possibly be. I learned some pretty interesting lessons as the Governor. And one lesson is that in order for schools to succeed, you'd better have you a good principal. Dr. Nancy Miller is a really good principal. She believes in the worth of each individual. She believes in high standards. She believes in empowering her teachers to do the right thing. She's constantly willing to challenge the status quo if the status quo is not good enough.

We're at Hyde Park Elementary School because it is one of the many successful schools in Jacksonville and across the State of Florida. And I want to thank Dr. Miller, and I want to thank the teachers of Hyde Park for not only listening to your hearts but using logic and sound thought to challenge mediocrity wherever you might find it. You know, one of the inherent principles in the No Child Left Behind Act is that we believe every child can learn, and we want to continue to raise the bar, continue to raise expectations so that every child does learn.

I appreciate so much Secretary Rod Paige for joining us. I like to remind people that he actually knows what he's talking about when it comes to public schools because he was the superintendent of public schools in Houston, Texas. It's a pretty, tough assignment, I want you to know. It's not an easy school district to govern. But he did a beck of a good job. He too believes every child can learn. He believes in setting high standards. He believes in asking the question, "Are we meeting the standards?" And I'm honored that Rod has served our country, so well. And I'm proud to have him on the stage with me today. Thank you, Rod.

And then there's Brother. [Laughter] We were educated by the same person--[laughter]--Mother. [Laughter] We both have a passion for making sure every child learns. That's how we were raised, to do the best we could do in the schoolrooms. The truth of the matter is, when you really think about it, education--true education begins at home. Every mom and dad is a teacher. We had a pretty darn good teacher, I want you to know.

I'm proud of my brother. He's willing to take risks on behalf of the children of the State of Florida. He's willing to stand up to the critics. He's willing to stand strong when it comes to insisting upon certain principles.

We love him, and I'm proud that he has joined us here today as well.

I want to thank Jim Horne, the Florida commissioner of education. These commissioners of these States have got big jobs, already, and then we've compounded their job. We've got a new Federal law that needs to be implemented, and we expect these commissioners to implement the law, and Jim is doing just that.

I'm honored that the mayor is here, Mayor Peyton. He's a--I know, I saw him sitting over there. [Laughter] He drove from the airport to the football stadium with us. And I told him, I said he's doing a pretty good job of handling the traffic. We didn't see a lot. [Laughter]

I know we've got State legislators here. My only admonition to the State legislators is to make sure that public education is the number one priority of the State of Florida, to do the best you can do about setting priorities.

I want to thank General John Fryer, the superintendent of schools here. I thought it was pretty interesting, when I was reading the background of the schools here, I see that you got you a general--[laughter]--running the school system. That's good. [Laughter] It's also good that somebody who served this country in one capacity is willing to serve again.

And one of the things that Laura and I are trying to do is encourage people to serve the public school system, particularly Laura. She's spending a lot of time heralding Troops to Teachers programs to encourage people who have served in one capacity to go ahead and get back in the classroom or to serve your community by teaching in the school system. We need more of our fellow Americans who are looking for something to do to get involved in public education. Teaching is a noble profession. Teaching is a chance to leave behind a really important legacy, and that is a saved life.

I want to thank Kim Barnes, who is the chairman--chairwoman of the Duval/County School Board. That's probably the hardest job in America, is to be on the school board. Laughter] It's difficult because a lot of pressures and a lot of people who have got opinions. And so I want to thank the school board members who are here with us today for serving this important community, for lending your time and talents to always, hopefully, raising the bar and always insisting on the best.