Antonio Martin: My name is Antonio Martin,
and I'm an 8th grader at Kenmore Middle School.
Four years ago, President Obama came to Kenmore to
talk about how important education is,
and why we need to make our education better
for all students.
I care about education because it opens up a world
of possibilities for students, including me.
I want to be an engineer, and I work really heard
in school.
I love science and math, and all of my teachers have
helped me enrich my love of learning.
For me, Kenmore has opened new possibilities,
because it is an arts-focused school.
I have the option to be in drama and orchestra.
My drama teacher is amazing, and she really wants the
cast to do well.
In Kenmore, art is integrated into all subjects.
In my world geography class, we use color to help
emphasize important ideas.
I think that education is important because it helps
give people a chance to improve their lives.
It helps people become who they know they can become.
The minds of the future are at school with me,
and the future will blossom from our minds.
The more we learn, the more the world prospers.
Education is a very important resource that this
act will strengthen.
And now, it is my honor to introduce the President
of the United States, Barack Obama.
(applause)
The President: Welcome t the White House.
First of all, I want to thank Antonio for being such
an outstanding role model.
Back in 2011 -- when he was much shorter --
(laughter)
-- I visited Kenmore Middle School and saw firsthand
their great work helping students like Antonio
achieve their potential.
And that's why we're here today.
This is an early Christmas present.
After more than 10 years, members of Congress from
both parties have come together to revise our
national education law.
A Christmas miracle: A bipartisan bill signing
right here.
(laughter and applause)
So I was telling Lamar we should do this more often.
(laughter)
I love it when we're signing bipartisan bills.
Today, I'm proud to sign a law that's going to make
sure that every student is prepared to succeed
in the 21st century.
The goals of No Child Left Behind,
the predecessor of this law, were the right ones:
High standards.
Accountability.
Closing the achievement gap.
Making sure that every child was learning, not just some.
But in practice, it often fell short.
It didn't always consider the specific needs
of each community.
It led to too much testing during classroom time.
It often forced schools and school districts into
cookie-cutter reforms that didn't always produce the
kinds of results that we wanted to see.
And that's okay -- sometimes reform efforts require you
try something, it doesn't work,
you learn some lessons, and you make modifications.
So my administration, when we came into office,
tried some different things.
We tried to lead a Race to the Top.
That's why we acted to give states that were willing to
embrace reforms -- that they helped to formulate -- more
flexibility in how to improve student achievement.
They were receiving waivers from some of the
requirements of No Child Left Behind.
But the truth is that could only do so much.
And that's why, for years, I have called on Congress to
come together and get a bipartisan effort to fix
No Child Left Behind.
It took a lot of time; it required a lot of work.
But thanks to the tireless efforts of many of the
people on this stage and some people who are in
attendance here today, we finally reached that deal.
There are some people that I especially want to thank.
First of all, Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray
on the Senate side, and Representatives John Kline
and Bobby Scott on the House side,
as well as their dedicated staffs.
This would not have happened without them.
(applause)
And I just want to point out that it's not as if there
weren't some significant ideological differences
on some of these issues.
(laughter)
No, there were, but I think this is really a good
example of how bipartisanship can work.
People did not agree on everything at the outset,
but they were willing to listen to each other in a
civil, constructive way, and to work through these
issues, compromise where necessary,
while still keeping their eye on the ball.
And I think it's really a testament of the four
leaders of the respective committees that they set
that kind of tone.
And that's something that we don't always see
here in Washington.
There wasn't a lot of grandstanding,
not a lot of posturing -- just a lot of really good,
hard work.
So I just want to, again, thank them for the
outstanding work that they did.
(applause)
I also want to thank my outgoing Secretary of
Education Arne Duncan.
Arne has dedicated his life to the cause of education --
and sometimes in the nicest possible way,
he has gotten on people's nerves because he has pushed
them and prodded them and tried to make sure that we
set high expectations and that we are holding
ourselves accountable for children's performance -- or
the school's performance and how they were delivering
for our kids.
And had he not been, I believe,
as tenacious as he was, I think that we would not have
as good of a product as we do here today.
And so I could not be prouder of Arne Duncan.
And I want acknowledge him.
(applause)
We are going to miss Arne Duncan a lot.
Fortunately, in addition to some great staff that he
assembled that is going to be staying on,
we also have a great replacement for Arne in
Dr. John King, who is going to be doing outstanding work
helping to implement this.
(applause)
In addition, obviously we've had
some outstanding advocates.
We've got our teachers unions,
we've got our civil rights organizations,
we've got philanthropies -- all of who -- community
groups -- who have been active and involved,
and the governors organizations and school
districts have also been involved,
the superintendants.
So we want to thank all them for their contributions.
All the stakeholders have really buckled down to make
this day possible.
And the law comes at an important moment.
Over the past seven years, the good news is that our
students have made real strides.
We've seen states raise academic expectations for
all students.
That means that we're in a better position to out-teach
and out-compete other nations at a time when
knowledge is really the single-biggest determinant
of economic performance.
High school graduation rates have reached an all-time
high; dropout rates have hit historic lows.
The number of high schools so bad they're called
"dropout factories" has been cut almost in half.
We're training tens of thousands of outstanding
math and science teachers.
More students are graduating from college than ever
before, and more than a million additional black and
Hispanic students are now going to college.
So there is some real good work that's been done,
a foundation to build from.
But we're here because we all know that there's a lot
more work to be done.
As wonderful as Antonio's school is,
as wonderful as a learning experience is as a lot of
our young people are receiving,
we know that there are other schools that just aren't
hitting the mark yet.
And in today's economy, a high-quality education is a
prerequisite for success.
We're going to have to have our young people master not
just the basics but also become critical thinkers and
creative problem solvers.
And our competitive advantage depends on whether
our kids are prepared to seize the opportunities
for tomorrow.
So we need to build on the momentum that has already
been established.
We've got to learn what works and do more of that,
and we've got to get rid of the stuff that doesn't work.
And that's exactly what the Every Student Succeeds Act does.
First, this law focuses on a national goal of ensuring
that all of our students graduate prepared for
college and future careers.
It builds on the reforms that have helped us make so
much progress already, holding everybody to high
standards for teaching and learning,
empowering states and school districts to develop their
own strategies for improvement,
dedicating resources to our most vulnerable children.
And this law requires states to invest in helping
students and schools improve,
and focusing on the lowest-performing schools
and closing those big achievement gaps.
Second, this bill makes long-overdue fixes to the
last education law, replacing the
one-size-fits-all approach to reform with a commitment
to provide every student with a well-rounded education.
It creates real partnerships between the states,
which will have new flexibility to tailor their
improvement plans, and the federal government,
which will have the oversight to make sure that
the plans are sound.
It helps states and districts reduce unnecessary
standardized tests -- something we talked about a
couple of months ago, because what we want to do
is to get rid of unnecessary standardized tests so that
more teachers can spend time engaging in student learning
while, at the same time, making sure that parents and
teachers have clear information on their
children's academic performance.
Number three, we know that the early years can make a
huge difference in a child's life,
so this law lays the foundation to expand access
to high-quality preschools, and it creates incentives
for innovative approaches to learning and for supporting
great teachers.
And finally, this bill upholds the core value that
animated the original Elementary and Secondary
Education Act signed by President Lyndon Johnson --
the value that says education,
the key to economic opportunity,
is a civil right.
With this bill, we reaffirm that fundamental American
ideal that every child, regardless of race, income,
background, the zip code where they live,
deserves the chance to make out of their lives
what they will.
So this is a big step in the right direction,
a true bipartisan effort, a reminder of what can be done
when people enter into these issues in a spirit of
listening and compromise.
But, of course, now the hard work begins.
Laws are only as good as the implementation.
And that means that we're going to have to be engaging
with the schools and communities all across the
country, educators, school leaders, families, students,
elected officials, community leaders,
philanthropies -- all to make the promise
of this law reality.
And, by the way, it's going to take students
like Antonio.
He's doing his part.
He's taking advanced classes to get a head start
on high school credits.
He plays the violin.
He plays sports.
He volunteers.
He owns one share of stock in Tesla.
(laughter)
So he's clearly going places.
I'd invest in him if I could.
But one of the reasons Antonio is thriving is he's
got great teachers and a great principal at Kenmore.
They saw that spark in him, and,
like all great educators, they're helping him to
harness his energy and his curiosity and his talents.
And that's what we want every single child
in America to have.
We just want to give them a chance.
And so many of them are full of that same talent and
drive, but we let them slip through the cracks,
or we're not creative enough in thinking about how they
can be engaged, or they just don't have the resources
that they need in the classroom,
or they fell behind early because they didn't get the
support that they needed given the tough
circumstances they were born into.
And we want to make sure that through this piece of
legislation, with our hard work, with our focus,
with our discipline, with our passion,
with our commitment, that every kid is given the same
opportunities that Antonio is getting.
I want this not just because it's good for the students
themselves, not just because it's good for the
communities involved, not only because it's good for
our economy, but because it really goes to the essence
of what we are about as Americans.
There was a time I think when upward mobility was
the hallmark of America.
We've slipped on that front compared to other countries.
And some of it is because where we used to be so far
ahead of other countries in investing in education for
every child, now on some indicators,
we've been lagging behind.
Hopefully, this is going to get us back out front.
There's nothing more essential to living up to
the ideals of this nation than making sure every child
is able to achieve their God-given potential.
And I could not be prouder of the people on this stage
and those of you in the audience who helped us take
just one step closer to that reality.
So with that, let me sign this bill.
(applause)