Bush Singles Out City for Praise on Education Gains

President Bush met with Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein in New York this morning to congratulate them on progress in the city's schools.

It was the second time in six months that Mr. Bush, who is in town to address the U.N. General Assembly, called on Messrs. Bloomberg and Klein to praise them for their efforts to reorganize the city's education system.

He praised Mr. Bloomberg for "moving aside bureaucracy."

"The city tackled the challenges of underperforming schools in such a way that it's become a model for urban schools. This achievement is a hopeful sign for other school districts across America," Mr. Bush said during a news conference at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. "New York City can do it, you can do it," he said.

Earlier, the president met with the principal and a group of fourth and fifth graders from P.S. 76 in the Bronx.

The president's visit comes a week after the city's school district won a prestigious national education award, the Broad Prize, and a day after state scores on national reading and English tests were released. New York State showed some declines and some improvements, including a narrowing of the gap in performance between minority and white students.

The city's recent progress in closing that gap was part of the reason it was awarded the Broad Prize. Mr. Bush suggested that other school districts "e-mail" the New York City Department of Education to find out how it was done.

The last time Mr. Bush met with the mayor and the chancellor, in April, he spoke at a charter school in Harlem.

The president today reiterated his call for the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act as Congress considers reauthorizing the law this year. He voiced support for several major changes to the law, including more flexibility for school districts and incentive payments for teachers who raise achievement in low-performing schools.