For Immediate Release
Office of Mrs. Bush
May 21, 2003
Remarks by Mrs. Bush at Colorado Early Childhood Cognitive Development Summit
Thank you, Governor Owens, for hosting this important summit and
for your leadership in enacting reform through Putting Children First.
Thank you all for the warm welcome and for your commitment to
Colorado's children and their education. You set an inspiring example
for educators across the country. I also try to set an example through
my work. And according to some kindergarten students, I do some pretty
extraordinary things. They wrote to tell me what they think I do in the
White House.
Shelbey says that I "help the President with all of his paper work
and then help him clean up his office." And that I "take care of him
when he is sick and puts cold cloths on his head." Megan said I ".feed
the dogs and cook carrot soup for dinner." And I plant the daffodils
and do the President's speeches when he isn't feeling well. While Todd
said I ".go to a lot of meetings and I wear pretty suits." I also
"shovel the snow and feed the birds." Now you understand why I am so
excited to be here - I get to take a break from feeding the birds.
The fact is I get to come to summits like this and talk about an
issue of great concern to me and to all of us - the early childhood
education of America's children. President Bush and I want Colorado's
children and every child in America to learn - and this learning must
begin long before children enter their first classroom.
The first five years of life are critical for children to develop
the physical, emotional, and cognitive skills they will need for the
rest of their lives. Infants and toddlers need parents and caregivers
who foster their cognitive development, so that when they start school,
they are ready to learn to read. And once they reach the classroom,
children need teachers who are trained in research-based reading
instruction.
Before they start school, children receive care in a variety of
settings. Thirty-eight percent of children are cared for solely by
their parents, while 62 percent receive care from relatives,
non-relatives, or in care centers, including Head Start. Regardless of
who spends the most time with children during these vital formative
years, one thing is certain - a child's language skills and pre-reading
skills are critical to that child's later reading ability and academic
success.
Children do not automatically learn the skills they need to begin
reading - they need help and practice. From the crib to the classroom,
children need to spend time being read to by parents and other adults.
If we take time to talk to and listen to children - to read with them
and surround them with books - then we will help establish the skills,
knowledge, and confidence that they will need to read and succeed.
Years of research in early childhood cognitive development tell us
what we can do to ensure children start school prepared for reading and
learning. You have heard today from some of America's most respected
and innovative researchers in the field of cognitive development. In a
few minutes you will hear from Nell Carvel and Mike Rice who have put
that research to work with great results. Parents and caregivers need
to know specifically what they can do to enhance children's language
skills and prepare them for school.
I worked to develop a series of magazines for new parents designed
to do just that. Called Healthy Start, Grow Smart, this guide, written
in both English and Spanish, is available to parents with twelve
monthly issues for a baby's first year of life. These magazines provide
valuable and age- appropriate information about health, safety,
nutrition, and early cognitive development that has been proven to help
babies thrive.
Copies of the magazines are available for you today and you can
also find these guides on the White House website. Dr. Susan Landry and
Dr. Craig Ramey, two of the magazine's key editors, are here today.
Thank you both for your insightful research to help parents learn how
to help their children.
We must also close the gap between the best research and current
practices in our Head Start and other pre-school programs. Early
knowledge of vocabulary, letter recognition, and phonemic awareness has
a significant impact on a child's success in school. For example,
reading scores in the 10th grade can be predicted with surprising
accuracy based on a child's knowledge of the alphabet in kindergarten.
We know that quality, language-rich curriculum provides significant
gains for at-risk children. Nell and Mike will tell you about The Cone
Center, a Head Start program in Dallas, which incorporated a
language-rich curriculum in their pre-school program with outstanding
results.
President Bush and I want all children in early childhood programs,
including Head Start, to benefit from ground-breaking research on early
learning. By putting this research into practice in pre-school
programs, we can help assure that children develop strong skills in
early language, literacy and math.
In President Bush's 2004 budget recommendation, he proposed to give
states the opportunity to coordinate preschool programs, including the
federal Head Start program, to best meet the needs of preschool
children. With this flexibility states will be able to chart their own
course to serve children more effectively and ensure that they are
prepared to learn when they reach the classroom. President Bush and I
are committed to Head Start and its role in the education of our
nation's children. We support the health, nutritional, and other
valuable social services that Head Start provides. Incorporating
language-rich curriculum only strengthens existing Head Start
Programs.
Today you are hearing from some of our nation's leading researchers
on how young children learn. But the best scientific knowledge is only
effective if it's shared with those who care for children and put into
practice across all program lines. Each of you has an important role in
ensuring that Colorado's children benefit from the information shared
today. We can look beyond our own programs - whether it's Head Start,
parent education, or child care, and work with other professionals in
the field to ensure that no child is left behind.
A friend who is a teacher says, "reading is the new civil right". A
child who can read is a child who can dream about the future - and make
that dream come true. While we face a challenge of making sure children
are ready to learn to read when they start school, this challenge is
not insurmountable. By working together, we can make sure that our
children receive a quality education. Thank you, Governor Owens, for
your hard work on behalf of Colorado's children. Many thanks to our
hosts and sponsors, and to our distinguished presenters for being here.
Thank you.
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