Secretary Spellings Meets with Education Leaders, Parents, and Federal Officials in Los Angeles to Highlight the President’s Education Priorities

Los Angeles — U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today traveled to Los Angeles for a series of events where she discussed the importance of reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act this year. Secretary Spellings began the day visiting a local charter high school, and then participated in a roundtable discussion on campus and school safety with federal officials, local law enforcement, and university administrators and students. Tonight, Secretary Spellings will address the 60th Annual Education Writers Association (EWA) Meeting.

Following on the President’s proclamation of National Charter Schools Week, Secretary Spellings continued this weeklong celebration with a visit to Animo Inglewood Public Charter High School with Steve Barr, Chairman and CEO of Green Dot Public Schools. Animo Inglewood exemplifies the work charters are doing throughout California and the country using innovative, effective tools to achieve results. Since 2003, the percentage of students proficient in reading has gone up almost 18 points, and the percentage of students proficient in math has gone up 40 points. 79% of students from the class of 2006 went on to a four-year university.

“Since the first charter opened fifteen years ago in St. Paul, Minnesota these schools have revolutionized education in America,” said Secretary Spellings. “Charter schools like Animo Inglewood High School are helping students learn through innovative, effective tools, and proving that breaking tradition and taking risks can yield tremendous results for students.”

Secretary Spellings later joined officials from the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where she continued the national dialogue on campus and school safety at California State University, Northridge. In light of the recent tragic events at Virginia Tech, President Bush asked the Departments of Education, Justice, and Health and Human Services to review the broader questions raised by the tragedy and find ways the federal government can help colleges and state and local officials confront these issues.

The discussion today focused on prevention and treatment, information sharing, and crisis response and recovery.

“As a mother of a college sophomore and a high school freshman, I know that there is nothing more important than keeping our children safe,” Spellings said. “I’m here to listen and learn how we can better leverage our federal resources to help protect our students.”

Last week, Secretary Spellings announced that she was seeking public comment online in an effort to expand this important discussion on campus and school safety and gather thoughts and suggestions from across the country. Using this input, the Secretary hopes to identify practices that have worked, obstacles that exist, and possible solutions to report back to the President.

Also while in Los Angeles, Secretary Spellings will deliver opening remarks to the National Education Writers Association Annual Meeting. Secretary Spellings is expected to discuss the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, and take questions from meeting attendees.

To offer input or recommendations on campus crime and school safety, please visit: http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/dialogue.html

For more information on charter schools and school choice, please visit: http://www.ed.gov/nclb/choice/charter/nclb-charter.html

To see all of the President’s proposals for the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, please visit: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/nclb/buildingonresults.html