Guest Column
Education Secretary Spellings will Work with Catholic Leaders
From Spellings Press Secretary
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today praised the
contribution Catholic schools have made to educating students across this
country and encouraged Catholic leaders to become after-school tutoring
providers (supplemental educational service providers) under the No Child
Left Behind Act. Spellings, who gave her remarks at the Congressional
Advocacy Days conference of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is the
first U.S. secretary of education to have a child currently attending a
Catholic school. She also discussed the importance of giving parents
educational options.
"The president and I hope you will consider becoming providers of
supplemental educational services," said Spellings to attendees of the
conference. "Thousands of students in your communities could benefit from
the knowledge and skills of your teachers. And you can do it in a program
that protects your religious freedom because the Department has issued a
faith-based regulation with strong language to protect religious
organizations providing supplemental services."
Under No Child Left Behind, when schools fall short perennially of their
responsibilities, students and parents in those schools are given options.
The law's Supplemental Educational Services (SES) provision gives parents of
eligible low-income children the opportunity and federal funding to choose a
private tutor or other academic support to help their child succeed in
school. Services must be provided outside of the regular school day and may
include academic assistance such as tutoring, remediation and other
educational interventions.
Providers of supplemental educational services include non-profit
entities, for-profit entities, local education agencies, public schools,
public charter schools, private schools, public or private institutions of
higher education, and faith-based organizations. In the program's first
year alone, more than 100,000 low-income students across the country
benefited from these tutoring services.
Secretary Spellings also noted the president's desire to provide choice
to more Americans, especially when public schools "fall short of their
responsibilities."
"That's why the president's new budget includes $50 million for a new
Choice Incentive Fund, which would help states and districts develop school
choice programs -- similar to the one we have already set up in Washington,
D.C. We want parents across the
country to have a choice in their child's education," said Spellings.
The Washington, D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, now in its first
year, has made school choice a reality for more than 1,000 D.C. students.
About 600 of those students chose to enroll in Catholic schools, and more
than half of the 53 private schools participating this year are Catholic.
The Department will continue working with Catholic school leaders, as
the secretary announced her intention to host a larger meeting with national
private school leaders from across the country.
In closing, the secretary expressed gratitude to the bishops, saying
"Both as the secretary of education and as a parent, I know what an
important role Catholic schools play in the landscape of American education.
I want to thank all of you for your hard work on behalf of my daughter and
the 2.4 million other children in Catholic schools."
The complete text of the secretary's remarks is posted at:
http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2005/02/02282005a.html