Bush gets mixed reactions

The No Child Left Behind Act is a success, President Bush said during his visit to Silver Street Elementary School in New Albany, Ind., Friday. \nThe president visited the school because of its improvements during the last five years of No Child Left Behind. He was on his way to a fundraising dinner in Louisville, Ky., for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. \n“I’m glad he (Bush) was here,” said Tony Duffy, Silver Street principal. “It was the chance of a lifetime for our kids.” \nSilver Street has met No Child Left Behind standards every year since 2002, Duffy said. The school has a high poverty rate, with 65 percent of its 264 pupils on the free lunch plan, according to the Indiana Department of Education. \nThe president said it is important that this legislation be reauthorized by Congress. He called its high standards challenging to the bigotry of low expectations. \n“Sometimes if you don’t measure, you can find all kinds of excuses,” the president said. “This is a no excuses school. That means high standards.” \nGov. Mitch Daniels said the success of Silver Street reinforces the importance of No Child Left Behind’s high standards. \n“It’s not perfect,” Daniels said. “Without question it was important to end the alibis, end the ignorance of which students which schools were succeeding and which weren’t. This school is improving.” \nDaniels said the law focused on subgroups that were previously left invisible including minority, special needs and English-as-second-language students. \nDiana Higdon, a special education teacher at Silver Street, appreciated the president’s visit but said No Child Left Behind sets unattainable standards for her students. \n“It’s just so unfair to force those kids to take those tests,” Higdon said.\nDaniels disagreed and said that the visit reinforced the importance of this legislation. \n“It’s not a new insight but it was a reminder that (Bush) cares just passionately about education,” Daniels said. “There’s no reason why a school that serves special-needs kids can’t achieve high gains and high marks.”