[Lott] An Equal Education

Sept. 9, 2004

Recently I was pleased to welcome Monticello native and U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige back home to Mississippi. He spoke to 6th and 8th graders in Pascagoula, observing them and taking some thoughtful questions from the students. It was a real honor for me to have the U.S. Secretary of Education visit the school I had attended and which now bears my name, but, more importantly, it was thrilling to have this particular education secretary here.

A former football coach at both Jackson State University and Texas Southern University, and the former superintendent of the Houston, Texas, public school system, Secretary Paige was a nationally-acclaimed educator long before being selected by President Bush as the nation’s top teacher, responsible for implementing the historic “No Child Left Behind” education program. This plan is demanding new levels of accountability for both students and faculty, putting America’s education system back on the right track. The fact that it’s being led by a man raised in Monticello, Mississippi, shows that America truly is a land of opportunity, but we’ve still got work to do to ensure all children have equal educational opportunities and are not left behind.

My mother taught in public schools. I am a product of public schools. I sent my children to public schools. Back in the 1980s, I even went against the conventional wisdom of my constituents and voted for establishing a federal Department of Education. I did so because, as a public official who helps promote Mississippi to business and industry, I’ve learned how important education is to securing new jobs and new opportunities. Though education is primarily the function of state and local governments, its importance to America’s development demands federal responsibility.

Today that federal role is focused on more standards and accountability. People who really have the interests of our children at heart welcome new educational standards demanding accountability and more extensive testing which have been a major thrust of President Bush’s education plan. To ensure that the school on Maple Street is just as good as the one on Main Street, and that every student gets a quality education, we have to test more to better measure achievement. There’s simply no other way to ensure better educational opportunities for everyone.

We’ve got to eliminate the disparity among schools in America, especially for those schools in Mississippi. As a resident of Pascagoula, I’m proud to say that middle school students there have the highest algebra test scores anywhere in the state. But, as your Senator, I cannot be satisfied until every Mississippi child has access to a high quality school, and right now that’s not the case. As Secretary Paige pointed out, in today’s economy it’s not good enough to have some students in America getting a world-class education while others fall further behind.

Families make huge decisions every day about their future, based just on schools. So do employers. We can look around and see this happening. Some communities are growing because their schools are good. Towns, cities and counties have lost population or gained it simply because of the reputation of their schools. We’re learning that big schools with big facilities aren’t always good schools and that there’s more to education than just throwing money at schools.

Secretary Paige left us with this point: He said America spent $500 billion on elementary, secondary and collegiate education last year, more than we spend even on national defense. With taxpayers spending that kind of money, it’s not too much for them to expect third graders to actually read at third grade level. It’s not too much to provide parents, students and faculty with measurements to show where there are strengths and weaknesses – snapshots of performance that help us envision improvements. To do less would be unfair to those who’ve paid that $500 billion and even more unfair to America’s children. Whether we have children in school or not, every American should be concerned about education and ask: Is the school down the street one of the good ones? If not, let’s look at the test results and see how we can make it better. (9/10/04)

Senator Lott welcomes any questions or comments about this column. Write to: U.S. Senator Trent Lott, 487 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510 (Attn: Press Office)