"Ready to Read, Ready to Learn"    

First Lady Laura Bush joined U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson to co-host this summer's White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development, "Ready to Read, Ready to Learn." The summit unveiled a new federal effort to develop and promote research-based cognitive development activities for preschool-age children.

The summit was created by Mrs. Bush to highlight the early learning activities that parents and educators can use to prepare young children for school. More than 400 government, education, community and philanthropic leaders from across the country attended the meeting at Georgetown University on July 26-27.

Secretary Paige called the summit the first step in a long-range and widespread effort to raise public awareness of the science of and need for early childhood cognitive development. He described the new task force of senior education and health and human services department officials announced at the meeting as a way to put the research and recommendations presented during the course of the summit to work in government programs for young children.

"Together, the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services will ensure that the Head Start and preschool programs we support are doing the right things and getting results," Paige said. "We will also work to make sure every adult who cares for a child understands the methods we have learned at this summit and will use them at home. In other words, we will get the government's house in order and spread the word to all the other houses, too."

The summit participants also heard from the newly appointed assistant secretary of education for elementary and secondary education, Susan Neuman, who told of the findings in her own research about the effect of children's surroundings on how and when they learn to read. "There is no way that we can be successful without parental involvement and parental choice," Neuman told the audience.

Closing the summit, Secretary Paige challenged the participants to spread the word about what adults can do to help children learn. "We will encourage adults to read with children and encourage teachers to stress cognitive development with their young charges," Paige said. "We need to build a bridge between powerful scientific research, homes and preschools, and make sure that adults know how vital it is that children have strong cognitive development, even before they enter school. I look forward to working with you and with teachers and parents around the country to ensure that no child is left behind."

More information on the White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development is available at www.ed.gov.

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Last updated—November 26, 2001 (eal)