Working for Women Worldwide - Embassy of the United States

Education
Americans recognize that education and training
are the keys to a brighter future for any society, and the
Bush administration has made quality education one
of its highest domestic priorities. First Lady Laura
Bush, a former public school teacher and librarian, is
among those who believe education is “our most urgent
priority and should have the first and highest call on
our time and resources.”
The centerpiece of President Bush’s education
initiatives is a landmark reform known as the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Simply put, the No
Child Left Behind initiative expects every child to succeed
in learning, and it expects every school to provide
the means for that success.
Former Secretary of Education Rod Paige put it
this way: “The No Child Left Behind Act is a more ...
responsible approach to education. Like a successful
business, the No Child Left Behind Act introduces
measurement of progress, makes the system transparent
and accountable, and introduces consumer choice.
These ingredients ultimately make the system better
and provide a better product.” Moreover, he noted,
there is already “considerable evidence that the law is
working. While fourth-grade reading scores between
1992 and 2000 remained stagnant, there has been a
five-point increase in the last three years nationally. ...
The percentage of African-American and Hispanic
fourth-graders who know their reading and math
basics increased substantially more between 2000 and
2003 than in the previous eight years combined. As a
result, the achievement gap is closing.”
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, the formula
for success is based on four key principles:
demand accountability for results; emphasize what
works, based on scientific research; expand parental
options; and expand local control and flexibility.
Such focus can only help improve the gains girls
and women in the United States are already making.
In many subject areas, girls have been closing the
achievement gap with their male counterparts or
exceeding them. Since 1982, for example, women have
earned more than half of all bachelor degrees. They are
enrolling more often in nontraditional fields such as
architecture, engineering, and the sciences.
Nevertheless, the Bush administration continues
to undertake a number of education initiatives to provide
greater opportunities for girls and women in the
United States. For example, an innovative program to
encourage women in technology—Girls’ E-Mentoring
in Science, Engineering, and Technology—provides
mentoring, group support, and tutoring for girls aged
13 to 18 by linking teenagers with professional women
in those technical professions.
The U.S. government also places an emphasis on
early childhood education to ensure children are ready
for school and ready to learn. “Head Start,” noted then
Secretary Paige, “is a critical component of our efforts
to ensure that all children, regardless of their family
background, enter school prepared to succeed.”
Including 2005 funding, the Bush administration has
requested $750 million in new funding for the Head
Start pre-kindergarten program.
The U.S. government understands that more can
be done.
Tommy Thompson, former secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),
which administers the Head Start programs,
explained it this way: “Data show that children served
by this program indeed become more school-ready
than they would otherwise be—but they still lag far
behind their more economically advantaged peers. We
can protect the Head Start program that has served us
well, and yet still aim higher, to serve Head Start children
even better.” The U.S. government has instituted
a National Reporting System to determine which
Head Start centers are achieving their goals, and it has
provided additional training for more than 50,000
Head Start teachers.
At the higher-education level, the United States
has expanded funding for Pell Grants by 47 percent, or
nearly $4 billion, to help students pay for college. As
funding rose, the number of Pell recipients has
increased by nearly one million. These increased funds
substantially help women, who constitute almost 64
percent of Pell Grant recipients, compared with more
than 56 percent of undergraduates overall in the
United States. Moreover, according to Secretary
Paige, “Pell Grants are the most effective of the student
aid programs in ensuring that low- and middleincome
students have access to a college education.”
Health
American women are living longer, healthier lives
than ever before; yet like women elsewhere in the
world, they face difficult health challenges.
Heart disease, for example, kills more women
than all forms of cancer combined. That’s why the
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