U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and Governor Schwarzenegger Highlight No Child Left Behind in San Diego

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today visited Otay Elementary School in San Diego where they toured classrooms and hosted a roundtable with educators to discuss how No Child Left Behind holds schools accountable and helps raise student achievement. Secretary Spellings congratulated Otay Elementary School for their progress under the landmark education law and encouraged California to continue to press for improvement in student achievement to prepare students for success in today’s global knowledge economy.

“Schools like Otay Elementary are helping to cultivate a culture of success and innovation that proves the goals of No Child Left Behind are within reach. Now is the time to build on the momentum,” said Secretary Spellings. “Six years after No Child Left Behind changed the education game in this nation, we can be proud of where it has brought us. The law’s core principles now guide our conversation on education. Now all 50 states and the District of Columbia have assessment systems, report disaggregated data and target federal resources to serve their neediest students.”

“Otay Elementary is a perfect example of how No Child Left Behind can work and serve as a great tool to track student performance and increase accountability,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “There is no magic bullet for Otay’s success. It’s about hard work, dedication and changing the way money is spent, which means restructuring and changing priorities.”

During the discussion, Secretary Spellings introduced a new tool recently released by the U.S. Department of Education, Mapping California’s Educational Progress 2008, which provides a comparative look at the State’s key No Child Left Behind indicators. California’s collaboration between K-12 education, higher education and the business community translates into good alignment between graduation requirements and college admission requirements and puts students on a path to success. Secretary Spellings commended Governor Schwarzenegger for adhering to the core principles of No Child Left Behind and targeting resources on the most-troubled districts to turn around low-performing schools.

Secretary Spellings also emphasized the need to equip every child with a high quality education to prepare them for the demands of college and the workforce. In partnership with States, it is time to take more aggressive steps to address and improve high school graduation rates; ensure that more eligible students are taking advantage of free tutoring; create a more nuanced accountability system to better distinguish schools making progress toward performance goals; and do a better job of recruiting and preparing good teachers and getting them in to schools where they are needed most.

Last week, Secretary Spellings marked the sixth anniversary of No Child Left Behind with President Bush in Chicago, where he charged her with traveling the country to discuss how the Federal government can work together with States to help them move forward under No Child Left Behind. This week, Secretary Spellings continued the dialogue on No Child Left Behind and priorities for 2008 with visits to Olympia, Wash., Salem and Portland, Ore., and San Diego, Calif.

To view Mapping California’s Educational Progress 2008, please visit http://www.ed.gov/nclb/accountability/results/progress/california.pdf.

For Mapping America’s Educational Progress 2008, visit http://www.ed.gov/nclb/accountability/results/progress/nation.html.