Statement for the Record of Michael B. Enzi, Ranking Member Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions “NCLB Reauthorization: Effective Strategies for Engaging Parents and Communities in Schools”

“NCLB Reauthorization: Effective Strategies for Engaging Parents and Communities in Schools”I would like to thank Chairman Kennedy for holding this important hearing. Parental and community involvement are critical pieces of No Child Left Behind. The education of a child is not the sole responsibility of a single parent, family member, teacher, principal, or community member. The education of a child is the responsibility of all – of parents, family members, teachers, principals, and community members. A parent is a child’s first teacher. Parents are the only constant in the continuum of our educational system. They are at the door when their child starts kindergarten and in the audience for their child’s high school graduation. But, parents can only do so much, and we know that too many parents have responsibilities that keep them away from many of their child’s experiences at school. I believe that we all want the same outcome - to make sure that every student is prepared to be successful in the global economy. To accomplish this we will need a bipartisan, bicameral approach to reauthorization. I look forward to reauthorizing NCLB in the same spirit of bipartisanship, cooperation and optimism that characterized its original passage. No Child Left Behind is working – we must continue the four key principles of the law and strengthen the law to support those key principles. One of those four principles is ensuring that parents have options and timely information. Parents and community members are vital members of this process. We must continue to find effective ways to work together to improve not only academic achievement levels, but also the atmosphere at our nation’s school. Successful schools are able to harness support from community members, organizations and businesses. This is true regardless of where a school is located. One of the things that I will focus on is the impact of NCLB on rural schools. We need to make sure that what we do does not have unintended negative consequences on schools where there may be only 10 students and one teacher. These schools should not be penalized, when they are working within the law to ensure that all students receive the education they need to be successful. No rural school or student should be left behind. The reauthorization must continue to support the involvement of parents, community members, and businesses. The federal government cannot provide everything a school needs to be successful, but we can work to ensure that partnerships are encouraged and assisted wherever possible. ####