Remarks at the Department of Education

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Oct 9, 2006

October 5, 2006

I want to thank Secretary Spellings and her fine team for welcoming me here to the Department of Education. I have just reassured the Secretary and the folks who work here that the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act is a priority of this administration. And the reason I say it's a priority is because this act is working. We strongly believe in setting high standards for all students, and we strongly believe that in order to make sure those standards are met, we must measure to determine whether or not the schools are functioning the way we expect them to function and the way the parents expect them to function and the way the taxpayers expect them to function.

No Child Left Behind is working, and we've been strategizing here as to how to make sure we not only defend it during the reauthorization process but how we strengthen the law.

And so I want to thank you all for your work. I particularly want to thank the teachers and principals who have taken the No Child Left Behind Act and have implemented it and have seen the dramatic results that can be achieved by rigorous academics and strong curriculum and hard work in the classroom.

The most important function of Government at home is to make sure that a child receives an excellent education, and that's particularly important in a world that is becoming more globalized. I'm optimistic we can achieve our objectives. I know this law is working, and I look forward to working with Congress in the next legislative session to reauthorize and strengthen the No Child Left Behind Act.

Thank you.

NOTE: The President spoke at 10:03 a.m. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.