Text 4397, 173 rader
Skriven 2007-04-19 23:31:04 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0704198) for Thu, 2007 Apr 19
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Mrs. Bush's Remarks After a Visit to New Orleans Charter Science and
Mathematics High School
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For Immediate Release Office of the First Lady April 19, 2007

Mrs. Bush's Remarks After a Visit to New Orleans Charter Science and
Mathematics High School New Orleans Charter Science and Mathematics High
School New Orleans, Louisiana



1:51 P.M. CDT

MRS. BUSH: Thank you, Ashley. Ashley, you were terrific. Thank you very,
very much for the very lovely introduction, but I don't know about
revealing the year I was born. (Laughter.) But thanks a lot for a wonderful
introduction.

I want to also thank Barbara MacPhee. Thank you very much for letting us be
here in your school today, and for your great work at keeping your school
together through the hurricane and opening back up so students can come
back to school and come home and have a school to go to.

I also want to recognize Mary Garton, who is the executive director of
Teach for America in the greater New Orleans area. Where is Mary? There's
Mary, right there. Thank you, Mary, for your great work. (Applause.)

And, of course, the new Louisiana state superintendent of education, Paul
Pastorek, thank you very much. Thank you for taking on this very important
job. (Applause.)

Teri Mojgani is the librarian of the New Orleans Charter for Science and
Mathematics High School. Teri is right here. Her library, this library,
received a grant from the Laura Bush Foundation, and Teri is very carefully
picking out the books that will most support the curriculum here, that's
taught at this school, as well as every one of the students. So thank you,
Teri, for your hard work. (Applause.)

Teachers, parents, community leaders, and students, thank you very much for
your warm welcome to New Orleans. Each time I visit, I'm more encouraged to
see progress -- the clearing of debris, the new construction, and
especially the new schools.

Schools are essential to the recovery that's under way. And we know that
young people who have suffered trauma heal best when they can resume a
normal routine at their own school. After Katrina, children getting back to
school required an unprecedented effort. Never before in the history of our
country had school superintendents and state officials faced the challenge
of building whole school districts as fast as they could.

According to the United States Department of Education, more than 1,000
private and public schools in the Gulf Coast region were damaged or
destroyed. Today, 94 percent of the schools in Louisiana have reopened. In
New Orleans, 58 public schools are now up and running. Many are now run as
charter schools, like New Orleans Science and Mathematics High School.
These newly rebuilt schools need good new libraries.

In September 2005, the Laura Bush Foundation for America's libraries
established a special fund to help schools rebuild their book and materials
collection. So far, the foundation's School Library Recovery Initiative has
awarded approximately $2.5 million to 54 schools on the Gulf Coast,
including this one.

These grants will help librarians build brand new collections, specially
chosen to support their school's curriculum. And they'll help young people
who use these libraries find comfort and information in their favorite
books.

Students also need qualified, effective teachers. Currently, New Orleans
has a shortage of about 100 city teachers. As more students return home
this summer, that shortage is expected to grow to 650.

One organization that's helping address this shortage is Teach for America.
Across the United States, Teach for America places talented college
graduates in some of our country's underserved classrooms. Here in New
Orleans, 57 Teach for America corps members reach about 5,000 students. One
hundred fifty Teach for America alumni are improving education in the
Crescent City, as public school teachers and principals.

Teach for America alumni also serve as officers in programs like New
Schools for New Orleans, Communities in Schools, KIPP, and Big Brothers and
Big Sisters. One alumnus, Ramsey Green, now serves as the education policy
director for the Louisiana Recovery Authority. Is Ramsey here? There you
are. Stand up, Ramsey, so everybody can see you. Thanks a lot. (Applause.)

Today is the actual day that Teach for America acceptance letters will go
out to the 2007 corps members. Thousands of soon-to-be graduates hope their
packages that come in the mail will be fat ones. Many hope they'll contain
the Mardi Gras beads that signify an assignment in New Orleans. Today I'm
delighted to announce that Teach for America will fulfill their hopes --
and the hopes of a recovering city -- by bringing 100 new teachers to New
Orleans in the coming school year. (Applause.)

As many as 75 of these teachers will serve in Recovery School District
classrooms. Teach for America has also pledged to bring another 100 new
corps members in 2008. And by 2010 -- which will be the 20th anniversary of
Teach for America's service to the Crescent City -- TFA plans to reach
nearly 13,000 students in the New Orleans area.

With help from Teach for America, more young people in New Orleans can be
educated by effective and dedicated teachers -- teachers like the teacher
whose classroom I just visited, Margo London.

Margo is a native of Norman, Oklahoma, but since 2001, she's called New
Orleans home. Margo enrolled at Tulane, attracted by this city's strength
in the arts. Yet while Margo loved her time in college, she realized
something was missing. "I'd used New Orleans for all the great things it's
known for -- its food, arts and entertainment," she says, "but I hadn't
really given back." Margo applied for Teach for America, and in August
2005, joined Walter L. Cohen High School.

Margo's first days teaching math at Walter Cohen were challenging. She
didn't expect to be tutoring her students in basic skills, like how to
study or take notes. She also wasn't prepared for how much she would enjoy
the challenge, and enjoy making a difference in her students' lives.

One Saturday, three weeks into her new job, Hurricane Katrina forced her to
evacuate. Margo didn't bother packing any clothes or personal items. She
did bring her laptop, her pins and her stack of quizzes that had to be
graded by Monday. Those quizzes were never returned. Katrina closed Walter
L. Cohen High School.

Margo lost her job, but she never lost her commitment to New Orleans. She
joined FEMA's recovery center downtown. There, she and her colleagues spent
months working nearly 90 hours a week, but Margo never gave up her goal to
get back into a New Orleans classroom, and her goal was to be here at New
Orleans Science and Math. She was impressed by your outstanding director,
Barbara MacPhee. She admired the school's diversity and open admissions.
Margo knew she'd be made welcome by the superb faculty: 11 of your 22
teachers are Teach for America corps members or alumni.

Most of all, Margo was impressed by the students' commitment to academics.
And I saw their commitment just this morning in one of Margo's classes.
Here at New Orleans Math and Science, the renewed motivation has paid off.
At the beginning of the year, only 14 percent of entering freshmen were
reading at grade level. But after a rigorous new reading program, your
December tests showed a different result. After just one semester, that
number soared to 43 percent. Congratulations to all of you. (Applause.)

To Margo, your schools's success highlights why people should come to New
Orleans to teach. "My experience here has come full circle," Margo
explains. "When I first arrived at Tulane, I thought this city would
provide lots of opportunities for the arts. Now it's a place for tons of
opportunities for everything. Where else can a 23-year-old with only one
year of teaching experience have this kind of impact?" I'd like to ask
Margo to stand up. (Applause.)

Margo is just one of many committed teachers making a positive impact here
on the Gulf Coast. She's joined by dedicated teachers like Nicole Gilliams,
Meacco Verdun, and Chris Stowe-Surge, who are also with us this afternoon.
In fact, now I'd like to ask for all the Teach for America teachers and
alum to stand up. (Applause.)

Today I want to urge teachers from across our country to consider building
your careers here. As these educators can tell you, it's a decision you
won't regret. Your work will help families come home to a newly renewed
Gulf Coast, one that promises better schools and more opportunities for
children.

Thanks very much to Teach for America, and to all of you for your
dedication to rebuilding the Gulf Coast, one classroom at a time.

May God bless you all. (Applause.)

END 2:02 P.M. CDT
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