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Richard W. Riley
U.S. Secretary of Education
Better education is everybody's business. That is why we invite you to get involved and join the second annual national back-to-school campaign to help students in your community learn. The U.S. Secretary of Education, with the sponsorship of the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, will launch America Goes Back to School: Get Involved! in August. The goal is to let the students of America know that their entire community cares about their education and wants to make it better.
It is well known that when families, educators, and communities work together, schools get better and students get the high quality education they need to lead productive lives. Over 700 family, school, community, religious, and business organizations have come together, through the Partnership's leadership, to improve schools and colleges and support family involvement in learning.
Education is about discovering the special skills and talents of students and guiding their learning according to high standards. Education is also about teaching our children and young people basic American values and uncorking that world-renowned American ingenuity that has characterized our country. For America to move forward and continue as a world leader, and for all of our communities to become prosperous and strong, more individuals need to become involved in improving our schools and colleges.
America Goes Back to School encourages everyone--families, schools, colleges, community and religious groups,concerned adults, and employers--to make a commitment to make education better in their community.
This publication provides information about how everyone can get involved in vitally important areas of education and let their community know how to get involved too. There are plenty of activities in which you can participate to make a difference in students' learning. Everyone has a role, and a stake, in improving education. When families, communities and schools work together--for students kindergarten through college--schools work better and students learn more. Involvement is simple--volunteer to do what you know.
Come on, AMERICA . . . let's go BACK TO SCHOOL!
Richard W. Riley
U.S. Secretary of Education
 Tipper Gore Family/Child Advocate
|  Bo Jackson Actor/Businessman 1985 Heisman Trophy Winner
|  Ted Sanders President Southern Illinois University
|  Joan Dykstra President National PTA
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"If we are going to seize the promise of our times and educate our children so they can keep their dreams alive, we must all work together. Not government alone, not individuals alone, but as parents and children, as employers and employees, teachers and students, community leaders and community members, as government and citizens. We must renew our schools so every American child has the opportunity to get the best possible education for the twenty-first century."
President Bill Clinton
This kit is designed to help you raise public awareness about what students in your school and community need to help them reach their maximum potential. The American public has identified seven important actions to improve education. These are:
What follows are ideas for getting involved in each of these seven action areas for parents, schools, community members, and employers. Included with the activities are real-life examples of how each of these groups work to improve learning. The guide is divided into sections depicted by the hands and colors on the right. You can flip to the section that most represents you by following the color chart.
In the pocket of this kit are an America Goes Back to School poster listing the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education members as of May 23, 1996, a bookmark, and other materials for your local use.
For more information about the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, or to obtain print and video materials on family and community involvement, call 1-800-USA-LEARN, your one-stop shop at the U.S. Department of Education.
In order for students to learn well at school, they must be disciplined and safe. While most schools are already safe and drug-free, a growing number of schools in all types of communities--urban, suburban, and rural--are experiencing problems with violence and with alcohol and drug use. With creative solutions, from school uniforms to strict discipline codes, from training teachers to deal with violence to after-school programs that keep kids productive and safe, schools, parents, and communities are providing children the safe, disciplined and drug-free conditions they need and should expect to find in school.
Any effort to improve education should focus especially on increased family involvement; 30 years of research clearly shows that family involvement is critical for children's success in school and in the rest of their life. However, families in which both parents work and those which are headed by single parents often face a time crunch that can affect their ability to develop strong relationships with their children's teachers. Help will need to come from everyone within local communities, schools, employers, community organizations and religious groups to ensure that our society is family friendly for children's learning.
Reading is the key that unlocks learning in all subjects. While schools must take the lead in making literacy and the basics a top priority, reading reinforcement must be provided outside of school as well. If students do not read over the summer, for example, they can lose three to four months of the reading gains they made the previous school year. If families, schools, community groups, employers and religious groups make improving the reading skills of children and adults a top priority, then America can attain the goal of being a reading, literate society.
High expectations and high standards bring out the best in students and schools. Although progress is being made, academic standards are often too low and many students still suffer from the tyranny of low expectations. The 1996 National Education Summit of business leaders, governors, and President Clinton reinforced the need for high standards and better accountability. "We are compelled," they said, "by the urgent need for schools to improve and for student academic performance to rise." The commitment of these leaders to educational excellence is very important, but a first step; turning the promise of higher standards into better teaching and learning will take our sustained efforts, school by school and community by community, with parent, educator, business and college involvement.
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