Margaret Spellings Quotations

There are things in the Department of Education's budget and the federal government's general (budget) that the president has called for either trimming or eliminating, (and) those things I'm sure will be on the table as we negotiate with

She doesn't want to be in the paper, ... She's all about the president. Will people think she is important and in the know for her next gig? I can tell you she is and she is.

She never seeks the limelight, ... She's just extremely devoted to the president.

One of the things we know is that, frequently, it's a reading deficiency that is keeping kids from being able to do more rigorous coursework.

m working with the White House Task Force on Hurricane Katrina Response in order to find ways that we can help these children in any way we can. We will stick with these communities for as long as it takes to get them back on their feet.

For too long, actually, we have either said you're this or that.

We're open to new ideas, but we're not taking our eye off the ball,

We're on the way to keeping that promise.

We make small fixes with programs to emphasize key areas, but we don't think strategically about the bigger picture, ... We can't afford to leave the future of our nation's higher education community to chance.

I see lots of support for it in the states. I think smart governors know, all governors know, that if you don't have an educated work force you're not going to have a strong and thriving state economy.

Our hearts and thoughts go out to the students and educators at these schools, ... We're committed to doing everything we can to help these communities rebuild and to help these students get back to school as quickly as possible.

My top priority is raising student achievement, and I'm going to be as flexible as I possibly can to help all students, ... This is about children's futures and ensuring that New York City's parents have as many options as possible for their children. In exchange for more flexibility, New York City has committed to being accountable for making high-quality academic help available to more students, which will lead to increased achievement.

It does show us that we're going to need to accelerate our progress at all grade levels and with all kids if we're to meet our goal

Well, as I've said, there's nobody who cares more about the credibility of this department and the credibility of No Child Left Behind than me.

The absence of good, sound data makes it difficult to set policy at the federal, state and institutional levels, ... It's time to examine how we can maximize our investment in higher education.

The achievement gap is closing and that is great news for every student, ... These Blue Ribbon Schools are an example of what teachers and students can achieve.

We have some pioneers, some leaders around the country, in Massachusetts and Kansas to name a couple, that are doing some of the best work.

We must not penalize any school of any kind for its commitment to these students,

Well, one of them is annual assessment in grades 3-8. It's integral to the implementation of everything.

Under Secretary Spellings' leadership, stringent processes have been instituted to ensure these types of missteps don't happen again.

The president has said and decided that those who have opened their hearts and their communities and their schools to these kids these 372,000 displaced kids across the country will not be penalized for doing so, ... What we know is that we owe each of these precious children particularly after all they've been through a high-quality education and that is what we are committed to do.

We recognize that it's a little bit more complicated when there are different kinds of course offerings and class structures by state and by district.

We know that if we're going to remain economically competitive in the world, and viable as a civic democracy, that we're going to have to get more people educated to higher levels.

We don't want to write off this school year academically for these kids, and shouldn't, at least not yet.

And what we do today will probably be not what we're going to do in three years from now.

There's lots of institutions and lots of different cultures, and so that's the kind of thing that parents need to be able to evaluate, and students themselves, when they make a selection.

I shouldn't be talking about the details that I'm in negotiations with the White House and the Hill on, ... As soon as I can talk about it, I want to talk about it.

These Blue Ribbon Schools are an example of what teachers and students can achieve, ... For the first time, we are insisting on results and accountability in return for our federal investment in education.

The thing about Harriet is, it wasn't about Harriet, ... To her, it was a matter of moving the grist through the mill. . . . She was a manager of the process.

Again, the truth of the matter is we haven't paid that much attention to high school accountability.

Advanced Placement has proven to be a very effective model to get teachers the full capability to teach rigorous course work.

As children across America get ready to start classes, our thoughts and prayers are with the children who are living along the Gulf Coast and who may not be able to return to their schools for weeks or months. I'm working with the White House Task Force on Hurricane Katrina Response in order to find ways that we can help these children in any way we can. We will stick with these communities for as long as it takes to get them back on their feet.

a victory for children and parents all across the country.

That's why the Department has pledged $14 million to gather the best practices among the states and to better assess and better measure these kids.

This is a temporary situation (and) it's going to be narrowly focused, ... This is not the time to promote a giant national voucher program.

This an unprecedented situation, and we have large numbers of kids who are displaced, public school students and private school students,

This is a national commitment to you all here in the Gulf Coast, ... We owe each of these precious children, particularly after all they have been through, a high quality education.

Also, make sure your children are challenged make sure they are bringing more and more rigorous work home.

This is a victory for children and parents all across the country. Chief Judge Friedman's decision validates our partnership with states to close the achievement gap, hold schools accountable and to ensure all students are reading and doing math at grade-level by 2014.

The result does show us we need to accelerate progress at all grade levels, with all kids, if we are to meet those goals,

At all grade levels, all subjects and all kids, we know where we need to work,

As we say in Texas, if all you ever do is all you've ever done, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got. And all we ever got is really not good enough.

It's significant while we're making progress, it's with students who require extra intervention and attention,

Everybody, I think, has that attitude to do everything they can to welcome these kids and get them back to kind of a normal life as soon as possible,

Take a look at your kids' after-school schedule this week ? the swimming, soccer and football, ... The numbers on your child's report card should be as important as the numbers on the scoreboard.

It's time to get down to business and get some school happening,

The federal government is doing something it has never done before, ... Our 9 percent investment is going to 90 percent. That's my big news.

I'm encouraged... we're on the right track, especially with younger students,

implement this law in a sensible and workable way.

I'm working so much that I don't have time to go anywhere personally.

A growth model is not a way around accountability standards,

And I think that's righteous, I think that's what parents want to know. They want to know what's going right in the school, and what needs improvement, and that's what this law does.

Don't let anyone else take the measure of your worth and capabilities. Always stand proud in who you are!

I think all kinds of parents are different in what they're seeking.

And I think that we in America need to understand that many schools need improvement, and particularly with respect to how they're serving minority children.

What we know is the workplace is more demanding than ever before.

But the other notion is, we also believe that those folks closest on the ground that we're holding accountable for the results can decide, and ought to evaluate which programs get results.

It's a hard process to navigate... to figure out where your kid ought to go to college.

We at the Department of Education are going to provide technical assistance; I've committed $14 million to show states how they might meet this more sophisticated approach.

My understanding is that Kansas, Massachusetts, they've been more pioneers on the special education side.

Higher education is confronting challenges, like the economy is, about the need for a higher number of more adequately trained, more highly educated citizenry.

We want to obviously foster a relationship that we're a partner with states; that we all share the same goals of closing the achievement gap, just as the Congress does; and that we're practical and sophisticated enough to understand what they're talking about.

And I believe that public broadcasting has an important trust with the American people, it's an intimate medium of television, and that we can do reading and language development for young children without getting into human sexuality.

In Connecticut, my understanding, although I haven't seen the actual litigation, is that they want to measure every other year and not provide annual assessment as is required in the statute.

I do think we know that a teacher who knows what he or she is doing, knows their subject matter, and knows how to impart knowledge to kids is a critical piece of closing the achievement gap.

I mean, one thing I know about change is we are not going to close the achievement gap without educators.

I think it'd be useful for parents to know kind of what is the culture of an institution.

If all you ever do is all you've ever done, then all you'll ever get is all you've ever got.

The long and short of it is, we need more rigor in all kinds of programs.