Saying it will take a team effort to leave no child behind, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today was joined by Washington Redskins' All-Pro Darrell Green, Dorothy Height of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), parents, students, his leadership team, other U.S. Department of Education employees and others for a rally to celebrate the No Child Left Behind Act and unveil a creative new look at the department's headquarters in Washington.

"If we're going to create a school system that educates 100 percent of our children, it will take a team — parents, students, government and civic leaders, Department of Education employees and committed Americans like Darrell Green and Dorothy Height — working together to get it done," Secretary Paige said. "We must work as a team to meet the bold goals President Bush has set and to give our children the chance to achieve their dreams."

During the event on the department's plaza, the secretary unfurled new banners that will be draped along the Maryland Avenue side of the headquarters building to highlight the importance of the new law.

"This banner and the law it represents are a reminder of the unity, spirit and bipartisan commitment of No Child Left Behind," Secretary Paige said. "It will remind us of the bipartisan recognition that we will measure the success of our schools by one measure and one measure alone: whether our boys and girls are learning."

Paige also unveiled a new look at the Department of Education: red schoolhouses, originally built at each entrance of the department's headquarters because of upcoming renovations to the building's facade, that remind employees and passersby of the most significant education reforms ever and the important work the department carries out on behalf of America's children.

"These protective shelters have been painted as a reminder — a reminder that we do not serve a faceless bureaucracy or an unchangeable system. We serve an ideal. We serve the ideal of the little red schoolhouse," Secretary Paige said. "It is one of the greatest symbols of America — a symbol that every child must be taught and every child must learn, that every community was involved and every parent's input valued. Those little schoolhouses were built to serve a need: to equip children for the future as citizens and workers."

Paige also noted that parents and other visitors to the building will be able to pick up information and materials about the No Child Left Behind Act from the new schoolhouses.

Today's event was Paige's third stop on his No Child Left Behind Tour Across America.

On Monday, Paige joined nearly 2,000 students, parents and others in Albuquerque, N.M., to kick off the tour. Yesterday, Paige appeared before nearly 1,000 Georgians to enlist their support to strengthen our schools and leave no child behind.

Other stops will be announced at a later date.

Last month, Paige and Height unveiled a new partnership between the Department of Education and the NCNW to close the achievement gap between African American children and their peers.

Green created the Darrell Green Youth Life Foundation in 1988 to open doors of opportunity for boys and girls in Washington, whose family lives and circumstances are limiting their chances to lead educated, moral and well-adjusted lives. His Youth Life Learning Centers have established a record of academic excellence and positive behavioral changes among its students. In addition to Washington, the program has expanded to Nashville, Tenn.; Berryville, Va.; Greenville, S.C.; and Durham, N.C.

Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which President Bush signed in January, states and school districts will develop strong systems of accountability based upon student performance. The new law also gives states and school districts increased local control and flexibility, removing federal red tape and bureaucracy and putting decision making in the hands of those at the local and state levels. Parents of children from disadvantaged backgrounds will have options under the new law to participate in public school choice programs or obtain supplemental services such as tutoring. Also, teachers around the country will be encouraged to use teaching methods based upon scientific research that show they have been proven to work.

For more information about the No Child Left Behind Act, visit www.nochildleftbehind.gov – – a one-stop shop for parents and families, teachers and principals, local and state officials and members of the business and civic communities.

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