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Skriven 2007-04-24 23:30:56 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0704247) for Tue, 2007 Apr 24
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Fact Sheet: No Child Left Behind: Keeping America Competitive in the 21st
Century
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary April 24, 2007

Fact Sheet: No Child Left Behind: Keeping America Competitive in the 21st
Century President Bush Visits Harlem Village Academy Charter School And
Calls On Congress To Reauthorize NCLB This Year

ÿÿWhite House News

ÿÿÿÿÿ President Bush Encourages the Reauthorization of No Child Left Behind
ÿÿÿÿÿ In Focus: Education

Today, President Bush Toured The Harlem Village Academy Charter School And
Discussed The Importance Of Reauthorizing The No Child Left Behind
Act.ÿReauthorizing No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is one of the President's
top priorities for this year.ÿ We must raise the bar and strengthen this
law to ensure our children have the skills to compete and succeed in the
global economy.ÿ There can be no compromise on NCLB's core principles,
including:
      þ By 2014, every child learning to read and do math at or above grade
        level.
      þ Annual assessments and disaggregated data so parents and educators
        know how all students are doing.
      þ Meaningful information and options for parents, including charter
        schools.
  þ Harlem Village Academy Is A Beacon Of Hope For Families In Its
    Community.ÿHarlem Village Academy is a public charter school featuring
    rigorous coursework grounded in high expectations for all students.ÿ
    Key elements of its success include:
      þ A longer school day  many students go to school from 7:30 a.m. to
        5:45 p.m.
      þ Frequent assessment of student progress to drive improved
        instruction.
      þ A culture of accountability for academic achievement.ÿ
  þ Harlem Village Academy Is Showing We Can Reach NCLB's Goal Of Helping
    Every Student Reach Grade Level Or Above.ÿ Harlem Village Academy
    opened in the fall of 2003.ÿ During that first year, fewer than 20
    percent of its fifth graders were meeting State standards in math.ÿ
    Last year, 96 percent of the students from that same class were meeting
    State standards in math for the seventh grade.ÿ
  þ President Bush Will Continue To Support Efforts To Give Parents Real
    Options And Expand The Number Of Charter Schools.ÿ The long waiting
    list to get into many charter schools shows that demand for choice is
    outstripping supply in many communities.ÿ Since the President took
    office, the Administration has provided more than $1.5 billion to help
    support charter schools, and the number of charter schools nationwide
    has increased from about 2,000 schools to about 4,000 schools.ÿ The
    President will continue supporting charter schools as an important
    option for parents.

No Child Left Behind Is Working In New York City And Across The Nation

We See The Good Results Of No Child Left Behind In New York City.ÿIn the
five years since No Child Left Behind was passed:
  þ The percentage of New York City fourth graders meeting State reading
    standards has increased by more than 12 points.
  þ The percentage of the city's fourth graders doing math at grade level
    has increased by almost 19 points.ÿÿÿ

We See The Good Results Of No Child Left Behind Across The Nation.
  þ In math, nine-year-olds and 13-year-olds earned the highest scores in
    the history of the test.
  þ In both reading and math, African-American and Hispanic students are
    scoring higher  and beginning to close the achievement gap.

We Must Build On No Child Left Behind's Success

Ensuring Students Graduate Prepared For The Challenges Of The 21st
Century.ÿÿWe will improve our high schools by increasing accountability for
results and ensuring students graduate ready for college and the global
economy.ÿ We will also expand access to Advanced Placement courses and
encourage all students to complete a rigorous course of study.
  þ Strengthening Math And Science Instruction Will Be An Important Part Of
    This Effort.ÿThe President has proposed a new Adjunct Teacher Corps to
    encourage 30,000 math and science professionals to bring valuable
    real-life experience to the classroom as part-time teachers, and he
    calls on Congress to fund this important program.

Improving Struggling Schools.ÿThe President's FY 2008 Budget will increase
Federal support for underperforming schools by more than $400 million  to
a total of more than $1 billion next year.ÿ
  þ The President Has Proposed New Tools To Help Turn Around Schools That
    Consistently Fall Short Of Standards.ÿWe will give principals in these
    schools additional staffing freedom, we will empower mayors and other
    elected officials to take a more active hand in improving these
    schools, and we will make it easier for officials to reorganize these
    schools into charter schools.ÿÿ
  þ The President Has Proposed Increasing Our Investment In The Teacher
    Incentive Fund To Nearly $200 Million Next Year.ÿ This is up from $99
    million in 2006, the first year it was funded.ÿ The Teacher Incentive
    Fund rewards teachers and school administrators who help students
    achieve great results in low-income schools.

Giving Parents Of Students In Underperforming Schools More Choices.ÿWhen
schools underperform for several years, NCLB gives parents real options:
They can enroll their children in free tutoring  or transfer them to a
better-performing traditional public or charter school. ÿThe Department of
Education will work with States and districts to help more students take
advantage of free tutoring and to help expand school choice.ÿ
  þ President Bush Has Proposed Two New Programs To Further Expand School
    Choice.
     1. Promise Scholarships: This program would require school districts
        to offer eligible students in persistently low-performing schools
        "Promise Scholarships" to receive intensive tutoring or to attend
        another public, private, or religious school of their choice.ÿ
        Federal funds would follow the students to their new schools.
     2. Opportunity Scholarships: This program would assist communities
        that want to provide additional scholarships for low-income
        students to attend private or religious schools.ÿ Since 2004, the
        Federal government has funded a similar program in Washington, DC,
        and the President believes students outside our Nation's capital
        should have the same opportunities.

The President Has Also Proposed Adding New Flexibility To NCLB, Including
Additional Ways Of Measuring Student Progress.ÿThis includes allowing
high-quality growth models to give schools credit for improvement from
year-to-year and provide another way to show whether achievement gaps are
closing.ÿStates with well-established assessments and robust data systems
may use growth models in their overall accountability system.ÿ Growth
models allow States to measure individual students' progress over time.

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