Teachers Urged to Support President

U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige on Saturday urged the nation’s largest teachers union to throw its support behind President Bush’s education reform bill, saying that teachers will ultimately determine whether the program succeeds.

Paige’s speech at a conference of the National Education Assn. steered clear of many controversial issues and served mainly as a goodwill gesture to a union often criticized by Republicans as being an impediment to reforms.

“Some people will be surprised that a Republican secretary of education should appear before the National Education Assn., a teachers union,” Paige said to members gathered at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

“Fear not,” he said, prompting laughter from educators. “I come to praise you, not to bury you.”

Paige’s appeal to union members comes as Congress prepares to negotiate the final version of the reform legislation. The bill calls for increasing school accountability through strict testing requirements and sanctions against schools that fail to make the grade. If passed, the legislation would mark the most significant change in the federal government’s role in education in a generation.

Though the union and the Bush administration remain far apart in many areas, including funding and testing issues, Paige focused on the shared goal of improving public education. He also praised teachers for their efforts and encouraged them to stay committed.

“You are the ones who affect eternity,” he said. “Washington can design policy about education, . . . but teachers, principals and all those who work in our schools, they are the ones who must actually get the job done.”

Reaction to Paige’s appearance seemed mostly favorable, with some educators viewing it as a sign of the administration’s willingness to seriously consider the union’s concerns.

“Clearly, there is some common ground,” said Mary Elizabeth Teasley, the union’s director of government relations.

But educators were quick to criticize some of Paige’s comments, in particular those on special education. Though Paige agreed with most educators that the program needs to be reformed, many teachers doubted that the administration’s proposed funding would be adequate to achieve the changes.

“If (programs) are not properly funded, we will often leave children behind,” said Charles Nelson, a special education teacher from Arkansas.