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Skriven 2006-04-27 00:07:48 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0604266) for Thu, 2006 Apr 27
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Fact Sheet: The National Teacher of the Year: A Commitment to Education
Excellence
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 26, 2006

Fact Sheet: The National Teacher of the Year: A Commitment to Education
Excellence


˙˙˙˙˙ President and Mrs. Bush Meet with the 2006 National and State
Teachers of the Year ˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: Education

Today, President Bush Recognized Kimberly Oliver As The 2006 National
Teacher Of The Year. Strengthening America's education system is one of the
President's top priorities. While improving the quality of education
requires good laws and policies, success ultimately depends on good
teachers. Kim Oliver's dedication and commitment to excellence helped turn
around Broad Acres Elementary School in Montgomery County, Maryland. Within
three years of her arrival, the school went from possible forced
restructuring as a result of poor academic performance to meeting or
exceeding all No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements - with dramatic
increases in reading and math scores for the school's second graders.

No Child Left Behind - The President's Commitment To Strengthening
Education

With NCLB, The Nation Made A New Commitment To Reforming Education. NCLB
benefits and empowers children, parents, teachers, and schools. America is
challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations; ending the shuffling of
children through the system; and building an education system that prepares
children for the demands of the global economy. The Administration is
raising expectations and increasing accountability; giving local
authorities more flexibility with Federal funds; requiring curricula based
on proven methods of successful teaching; and giving parents options when
schools fail.
  ū The President Has Made Education Funding A Priority. Since 2001, the
    Administration has increased spending on elementary and secondary
    education by 41 percent. Title I funding for disadvantaged students is
    up 45 percent, and funding for the Reading First program has
    quadrupled.

NCLB Is Raising Standards And Ensuring That The Educational Progress Of
More Children Than Ever Before Is Measured. The role of the Federal
government is to insist on standards, provide resources, hold people
accountable, and help school districts meet those standards. Under NCLB,
schools that take Federal education money must show whether children are
learning and whether expectations are being met. Because states are testing
students and measuring performance, we can see that NCLB is producing
results as test scores go up and the achievement gap narrows.
  ū States Have Adopted Accountability Plans. Under NCLB, states are
    required to design accountability plans and test students every year,
    from third to eighth grade. All 50 states, the District of Columbia,
    and Puerto Rico have designed and adopted accountability plans to test
    students and measure progress.

  ū Standards And Accountability Are Working. According to the National
    Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation's
    Report Card, the achievement of young students has risen since 2002. In
    2005, America's fourth graders posted the best reading and math scores
    in the test's history. For fourth graders in reading, there has been
    more progress in the last five years than in the previous 28 combined.
    Eighth graders earned the highest math scores ever recorded for that
    grade by the NAEP.

  ū The Achievement Gap Is Closing. Minority students are also making
    progress at a faster rate, narrowing the achievement gap. According to
    the NAEP, African-American and Hispanic fourth graders set records in
    both reading and math scores. Eighth-grade Hispanic and
    African-American students achieved their highest math scores ever.

The Administration Is Working To Build On The Success Of NCLB By Bringing
Accountability And High Standards To Our Nation's Public High Schools. NCLB
is working, but we must continue holding schools accountable. The Nation
needs to improve its high schools and test students in the ninth, tenth,
and eleventh grades. The President has proposed initiatives to improve
education by, for example, having more math and science professionals serve
as adjunct high school teachers and training more teachers for Advanced
Placement courses. With these reforms, the quality of secondary education
will improve, and we can ensure that every student leaving high school in
America has the skills they need to succeed in college and the 21st century
economy.

The American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) - Strengthening Math And
Science Education

The ACI Will Help American Students Obtain The Knowledge They Need To
Succeed In The 21st Century. The President has launched the ACI to help our
students do better in math and science. We will train 70,000 high school
teachers to lead Advanced Placement courses in math and science, bring
30,000 math and science professionals to teach in classrooms, and give
early help to students who struggle with math. If we ensure America's
children have the skills they need to succeed in life, they will ensure
America succeeds in the world.

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