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| Laura Welch Bush as an Education Advocate |
"Education is the most important long-term investment we can make in our future. Education reflects our love and our belief in freedom. It is freedom itself."Laura Bush is dedicated to advancing education in the United States and worldwide. She supports the President’s work to ensure that no child is left behind in school or in life. She has created a national initiative, Ready to Read, Ready to Learn, to inform parents and policy makers about early childhood education and the importance of reading aloud to and with children from their earliest days. She helped to develop a series of magazines called “Healthy Start, Grow Smart,” to provide parents with information about their infant’s cognitive development and health.
As one of her first priorities, Mrs. Bush convened the White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development. Prominent scholars and educators shared research on how infants learn and how parents and caregivers can prepare children for lifelong learning. To spread this information to a broader audience, Mrs. Bush hosts regional summits across the United States.
A vital part of early childhood education is teaching children to read and to love books. She joined with the Library of Congress to launch the first National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., in September 2001. The 2004 National Book Festival drew 85,000 book-lovers from across the nation. Mrs. Bush also hosts the series “White House Salute to America's Authors," to celebrate our country’s great literary works. Featured authors have included Mark Twain, Women Writers of the West, authors of the Harlem Renaissance, and three classic American storytellers: Truman Capote, Flannery O’Connor and Eudora Welty.
To succeed in school, children also need excellent teachers. Mrs. Bush works with teacher recruitment programs like Teach For America, The New Teacher Project, and Troops to Teachers to encourage students, professionals, and retired members of the military to become teachers. Mrs. Bush also hosted a White House Conference on Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers.
As Honorary Ambassador for the Decade of Literacy of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Laura Bush leads America’s efforts to bring education to people worldwide, especially to women and girls. She is a strong advocate for equal rights for all women. Mrs. Bush is the only first lady in United States history to record a full presidential radio address, speaking out on the plight of women and children living under the Taliban. She is leading an effort to build a teacher-training institute for women in Afghanistan. In addition, Mrs. Bush is the Honorary Chair of the Roundtable for the National Children’s Hospital of Iraq. She also supports and encourages the public/private partnerships between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Project Hope and many other private health care organizations to equip and train pediatric health care professionals.
In honor of her mother, a breast cancer survivor, Mrs. Bush supports education campaigns for breast cancer and heart disease. She is a partner with the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute in publicizing The Heart Truth, which is that heart disease is the leading cause of death among women in America. Mrs. Bush educates women about their risks and stresses the importance of healthy eating, exercise and preventive screenings.
Home Laura Welch Bush
Biography of Laura Welch Bush
Participation in UNESCO activities
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