A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Community Update

No. 28, September U.S. Department of Education

September Town Meeting To Show Community-Wide Effort for Educational Technology

Featuring the city of Seattle, Washington, the September Satellite Town Meeting will provide insights on how one community is using educational technology to its full potential. The program will look at how thoughtful planning for technology can help a community realize its vision for school reform. Entitled "Educational Technology: Linking Schools to the Future," the broadcast will coincide with the release of the Education Department's National Technology Plan, which sets out a course of action for the Department and other federal agencies to help states and communities use technology effectively to meet their education and lifelong learning goals.

The hour-long Town Meeting will air live from PBS member station KCTS in Seattle on Tuesday, September 19, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time. The program is closed-captioned and is simulcast in Spanish.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Madeleine Kunin will host a conversation with a panel of guests who have led efforts to implement technology plans in their schools and the broader community. Topics of discussion will include how effective use of technology in the classroom captures children's attention and allows them to learn at their own pace; how businesses can participate in school-wide technology initiatives, including assisting school systems with access to quality software; and how an ongoing strategy of professional development helps ensure that educators understand how to use technology to make the greatest impact on student learning.

The Department of Education produces the Satellite Town Meeting series in partnership with the National Alliance of Business and the Center for Workforce Preparation with support from Bayer, Inc.

Satellite coordinates are as follows ....

To participate in the Satellite Town Meeting, contact your local Public Broadcasting System (PBS) member station, Chamber of Commerce, or Johnson Controls branch office and ask if your group can use the facility as a downlink site. Other possible sites are local schools, public libraries, community colleges, cable television stations, universities and technical schools, government offices, hospitals, businesses, hotels, or even private residences with satellite dishes. Call 1-800-USA-LEARN for further information or to register your participation.

Goals 2000 Videos Available
The U.S. Department of Education offers a series of short videos showing how the concepts of Goals 2000 can improve education. Tapes include:

Goals 2000: A New Standard of Learning --
showcases how a state, a school district and an individual school are using Goals 2000 strategies to improve education and raise standards of learning. Also available in Spanish. (Approx. 17 min.)

Strong Families, Strong Schools --
encourages parental involvement in schools to help raise academic standards and create safe learning environments for America's children. (Approx. 9 min.)

Every Teacher, Every Child --
offers straight talk from teachers about how Goals 2000 differs from prior reform efforts by supporting higher standards for students and professional development for teachers. (Approx. 8 min.)

Taking Action for America's Children --
features state and national policymakers and educators explaining how this federal/local partnership supports grassroots school improvement efforts. (Approx. 8 min.)

Education Is Everybody's Business --
showcases one community's highly successful efforts to improve education and lets viewers hear why business leaders applaud Goals 2000.
For free VHS copies of these tapes, contact the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 401-1576.

U.S. Department of Education
Satellite Town Meeting
1995-96 Series Schedule

Tuesday, August 29, 1995 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern

Back-to-School: New Partnerships with Parents, Communities and Schools

Tuesday, September 19, 1995 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern

Educational Technology: Linking Schools to the Future

Tuesday, October 17, 1995 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern

Creative Business-Education Partnerships: How Business Can Support High Standards and World-Class Schools

Tuesday, November 21, 1995 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern

New Ideas for Professional Development: Giving Teachers the Skills and Knowledge Necessary for Today's Schools

Tuesday, December 19, 1995 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern

Proven Strategies for Helping Disadvantaged Students: High Standards and High Expectations

Tuesday, January 16, 1996 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern

Civic Education, Character Education, and Service Learning: Creative Ideas for Encouraging Better Students and Better Citizens

Tuesday, February 20, 1996 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern

Community Colleges, Businesses, and Local Chambers: Key Partners in Career Preparation

Tuesday, March 19, 1996 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern

Charter Schools and Other New Ideas for Better Schools

Tuesday, April 21, 1996 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern

Improving Access to Higher Education: Preparing for College, Academically and Financially"

Tuesday, May 21, 1996 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern

Ideas for Improving Reading and Writing: The Cornerstone of Learning

Tuesday, June 18, 1996 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern

School Discipline Strategies: Learning in an Orderly Environment

Tuesday, July 16, 1996 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern

Innovations in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education

FAMILY INVOLVEMENT PARTNERSHIP FOR LEARNING

Local Partnerships in Wisconsin Promote READWRITENOW!

Fox Cities Alliance for Education is an initiative of the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce and Industry located in Appleton, Wisconsin. (The Fox Cities, home to 187,000 residents, include communities from Kaukauna in the north to Oshkosh in the south.) Under the leadership of Karen Helgerson, the Chamber's Task Force Chair for Family Involvement in Children's Learning, local employers associated with the Alliance have rallied around local schools to promote the READWRITENOW! program of the national Family Involvement Partnership for Learning. The READWRITENOW! program enhances children's basic skills as well as their enjoyment of reading, encouraging children to read daily and providing activities that can be completed with an adult partner.

READWRITENOW! was embraced by local businesses in the Fox Cities region. Employers and their workers developed a plan to serve as reading partners to students during the summer and to extend this program throughout the school year. Employers also donated paper and supplies and reproduced the printed materials for the program at no cost. More than 1500 reading kits were distributed to students in the Fox Cities area over the summer.

The efforts of Ameriprint Graphics exemplify what can be accomplished with family involvement in education. This family- owned business reproduced the READWRITENOW! kits. Three generations of family members are involved in the program. The grandparents printed the materials, the parents serve as adult reading tutors, and the grandchildren are student participants.

In many ways, the commitment in the Fox Cities to the nationwide reading initiative affirms the key to success with family involvement activities: When local networks of parents, schools, and employers work together, the goals of strengthening family involvement in children's learning can become a reality.

Welcome New Partners!

The Family Involvement Partnership for Learning continues to grow. We are delighted to welcome the newest members and acknowledge their efforts in support of family involvement in children's learning.

Fathers Encouraged to Get Involved in Children's Learning

President Clinton has requested all departments and agencies to examine their programs and policies as they pertain to fathers. According to the president, the involvement of fathers must be taken as a national concern: "I am also aware," the president wrote, "that strengthening fathers' involvement with their children cannot be accomplished by the federal government alone; the solutions lie in the hearts and consciences of individual fathers and the support of the families and communities in which they live."

The Family Involvement Partnership for Learning encourages fathers to be active participants in their children's education. Does your organization sponsor a family involvement program that is intended to strengthen the role of fathers in children's learning? We would like to hear from you about your efforts and include descriptions of your programs in future issues of Community Update. Write to the Family Involvement Partnership, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202-8173.

Resource Offers Practical Tips for Getting Involved at School

Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from the Partners' Activity Guide, the publication that supports Education Secretary Richard Riley's back to school initiative, entitled "America Goes Back To School: A Place for Families and the Community." This guide suggests ways you can become meaningfully involved in local schools and resources to assist you in your efforts. For a copy of the complete publication, write the GOALS 2000 Information Resource Center, U.S. Department of Education, Room 2421. 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C., 20202.
America Goes Back to School encourages everyone to make a commitment to children's learning. Getting involved can be simple and fun -- with enormous rewards for students and for you.

When you get involved in America Goes Back to School, you can work on one or more issues that Americans say they want their public schools to address. These issues include:

The key to a successful back-to-school effort is planning the year- long activities. Here are some suggested steps:

  1. Call your school and schedule a start-up meeting with your school principal and other interested volunteers.
  2. Appoint a school-volunteer coordinator at your first meeting or ask your school's principal and teachers if you can work through the local school volunteer coordinator. Take an inventory of what activities are already under way that address the six issues above.
  3. Determine which of the six issues will be useful to work on for the school year. You may pick one or more. In fact, you may want to choose none of the six issues found in this book but may decide to pick another critical issue that concerns your schools, parents, and community.
  4. Develop a planning calendar showing who will be participating in what activity and when. The school-volunteer coordinator will be responsible for keeping the calendar and sending out reminders to participating volunteers.
  5. Ask the school principal if you can use your school's regular "back-to-school" activities to let parents and the community know about your efforts. Use these events to enlist additional volunteers.
  6. Develop and implement your plan.
  7. Meet regularly with the principal, teachers, and other volunteers to review your progress.
  8. Evaluate your results. Then write to the Family Involvement Partnership for Learning in May 1996 to tell us what you've accomplished and what you've learned. This will help us all do better next year.

Recent Publications Help Promote Family Involvement
The following useful resources are available through members of the national Family Involvement Partnership for Learning.

Successful Schools Involve Parents, the Community, Town Meeting Learns

In a special program to kick off the new school year, the August Satellite Town Meeting focused on how all Americans can make a year-long commitment to become meaningfully involved in their local schools and help prepare children to meet the challenges of the 21st century. U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley announced his new back to school initiative, entitled "America Goes Back to School: A Place for Families and the Community," which encourages adults everywhere to participate in improving their local schools and making them safe places of learning. Secretary Riley will officially launch this initiative on September 11.

As part of the broadcast, a brief taped documentary examined the question, "How good is American education?" John Anderson of the New American Schools Development Corporation, Stephen Trachtenberg, President of George Washington University, and David Grissmer, a researcher from the RAND Corporation, offered their insights. While they observed that much work lies ahead in school reform, they noted positive trends in American education, such as the increasing proportion of high school students enrolled in core academic courses and the higher proportion of students graduating high school.

Guest panelists emphasized how parental support and community involvement strengthen their successful school improvement efforts. Shelia Dent, president of the Oakcrest Elementary PTA in Landover, Maryland, offered practical advice to busy parents who want to be involved in their children's learning. "Parents don't have to come into the school to be involved. They can spend 10 minutes at home reading with their child or listening to their child read. Something as simple as putting away the groceries that gives some math concept training can be a good activity for children."

Panelist David Belton, Vice President of Education at the Charlotte, North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, noted why many businesses are playing an active role in education reform. "The business community has realized that helping education is a good business investment. Unless we do that, we will not have good employees later on."

At the Town Meeting's close, Deputy Secretary Kunin reviewed ways that families, schools, businesses, and community and religious groups can work in partnership to improve education. Practical tips were suggested for each group, including: for families, read and write together, use TV wisely, and keep in contact with teachers; for schools, rigorously teach the basics and involve families in learning; for businesses, provide apprenticeships and training opportunities for students and teachers; and for community and religious groups, offer mentoring programs and homework centers.

A resource guide offering a variety of ways you can become involved in improving your local schools is available from the GOALS 2000 Information Resource Center, U.S. Department of Education, Room 2421, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C., 20202.

Technology Partnership Supports Spread of Good Ideas

In eight states in the Great Lakes region, a successful public/private partnership rewards innovation in educational technology and encourages the spread of good ideas from classroom to classroom. The "Pioneering Partners for Educational Technology" program was created by the governors of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. GTE Telephone Operations has funded "Pioneering Partners" since its origin in 1991.

Under the program, three teams of educators from each state are recognized annually for their innovative classroom projects utilizing technology. Comprising two to three members, the teams join the talents of teachers, principals, librarians, business partners, and technology resource specialists. The winning teams each receive a base grant of $3,000 and matching funds of up to $2,000 if they are able to raise additional money. They are also linked to a special electronic network called GreatLinks Net as well as to the Internet, where they can communicate with current and past award winners and collaborate on lesson ideas.

A special feature of "Pioneering Partners" is that winning educators are charged with the responsibility for sharing their model projects with other teachers. Soon after receiving their grants, winning teams attend a week-long training summit, paid for by a scholarship, where they learn how to effectively communicate their ideas to other teachers. At the summit, teams create a dissemination plan and choose a target audience, which can be other teachers in their own school, in the school district, or across the Great Lakes region.

Projects winning awards this year included one in Minnesota that connected students with the Will Steger Arctic expedition. Students at Heart of the Lakes Elementary and Perham High School in Perham tested snow samples and communicated the results of their research over the Internet with other students in the U.S., Denmark, Russia, and Japan. The project generated enthusiasm school-wide at Perham High School where students in the home ec department designed a flag that accompanied the Arctic expedition.

In another winning project, students at Douglas MacArthur Elementary in Indianapolis followed the journey of a fictitious frog from the city's Buck Creek to the Gulf of Mexico. The project utilized IBM's Linkway software, which is readily available and easy to use.

The governors involved in the "Pioneering Partners" program place a high priority on education as part of their long-term strategy for the region's economic growth. They believe the emphasis on developing a workforce to be skilled in managing technology contributes to the region's attractiveness for new businesses. "Students are sharpening skills they'll need in high performance workplaces of the future," said Michigan Governor John Engler.

Governor Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, the lead governor on the project, summarizes why "Pioneering Partners" is an effective program. "It goes beyond just rewarding innovative ideas. The program actively markets these innovations to other teachers and students."

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