Editor's note: U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley delivered his third annual State of American Education Address on February 28 at Maplewood-Richmond Heights high school in Maplewood, Missouri. The following are excerpts from his remarks:American education must reach for a new level of excellence, for the most basic of reasons: our very prosperity as a nation -- and the economic security of each and every American family -- depends on it.
Today, in many ways, we face the same challenges that confronted the pioneers who left Saint Louis and headed West across the frontier. For we are crossing our own frontier defined by new knowledge, a new economic landscape, new ways of communicating. We need to remember that the pioneers who crossed the Mississippi set out as a community, bound together with a common goal. They came together for the common good. And that is a lesson we must heed as well in 1996.
For there is a growing debate in America about how we educate our children. On one side are those who believe we can prepare for the future by cutting education today, who see little value in public education. On the other side of this debate are those who are willing to roll up their sleeves and invest in our children, who see the rebuilding and the expansion of public education as the very cornerstone of our nation's economic and democratic future..
President Clinton challenged us in his recent State of the Union address to move America forward. One of the centerpieces of his challenge was improving and investing in education. And our challenges are many.
Our very first challenge is to get America reading again. Our national math and science scores are up because we have invested more than ten years of hard work in that effort. This is a great success story for American education, and it tells me that we know how to get results.
In our new complex economic environment, 89 percent of the jobs that are now being created require much higher levels of literacy and math. To my way of thinking, improving America's literacy rate is just as important to this nation's future economic growth as balancing the budget.
I urge every family to follow the first rule of education and read to their children. If all parents in America made it their patriotic duty to find an extra thirty minutes every day to help their children learn more, it would revolutionize American education.
Our second challenge is to give parents the power to help their children learn. Strong families make strong schools. When parents get involved in their children's education, good things start to happen.
I urge parents to have a fierce commitment to the education of their children. Volunteer in school and stay connected to your children. Slow down your lives. Talk to your children. Teach them the difference between right and wrong.
Our third great challenge is to keep our schools safe, orderly and disciplined. That is a basic rule. No teacher should ever fear to walk into a classroom. And no child should ever stay home from school because he or she is afraid.
For four years in a row, drug use has gone up among 8th graders. This is a nationwide trend. Parents need to help their children develop some stronger inner fiber to make important decisions about their own personal lives.
Our fourth challenge is to recognize that we will never help our young people -- especially those living in poverty -- to measure up if we lower their expectations, water down their curriculum, and write them off by categorizing and stigmatizing them.
President Clinton and I urge every community and state, each in its own way, to reach for new levels of excellence. We will continue to support the good work now being done in so many local communities through the Goals 2000 initiative. Goals 2000 gives schools the extra money they never get to improve themselves.
We need to press on in our effort to open up public education to new ways of doing business. Technology is very much at the heart of our national effort to bring America's schools up to date.
We need to "fast forward' our efforts. This is our national mission. If we persevere we will achieve President Clinton's goal of making sure that every library, school and classroom in this nation is wired and on-line by the year 2000.
Getting computers into America's classrooms has to be seen as just one step in our growing effort to move American education into the future. Public school choice, schools-within-schools, and the expansion of the charter school movement are three other winning examples of American creativity.
Our sixth great challenge is helping our young people to make something of themselves in these new economic times. Today, too many of our young people see no connection between what they learn in school and the skills they need to function in real life. And too many business leaders rightly complain that high school graduates come to them without the skills for today's jobs.
We know, for example, that by the year 2000 -- just four years from now -- 60 percent of all new jobs will require advanced skills. Yet, today, only 20 percent of our workforce possesses the skills needed to move ahead. Good paying jobs require more of an education.
Keeping the doors to college wide open is our seventh great challenge. For more than fifty years, we have made access to higher education part of the American Dream. Yet today, the burden of paying for college is being placed more and more on students and their families.
In the last twenty years, forty million Americans have used a federal student loan to pay for their college education. Today, two-thirds of all student financial aid dollars in this country come from my department. I am pleased to tell you that we have cut the student loan default rate in half, and we are collecting on many more defaulted loans, saving taxpayers millions of dollars.
Yet despite this good progress, we face difficulties reaffirming this national commitment to opening the doors to higher education even wider. I urge the Congress to preserve and expand our "direct lending program," which has the support of America's higher education community.
We are at the gateway of a new time. This is absolutely the wrong time to cut our investment in education at all levels - - and the wrong time for Congress to be so out of touch with the American people.
The story of America in this century is the story of giving each new generation of Americans the opportunity to advance themselves through education. We did not become the world's greatest superpower, the most productive nation in the world, on a foundation of ignorance.
We need to recognize that the success and freedom of being an American is the freedom of excellence.[Entire Speech]
Entitled "Charter Schools," the program will explore these innovative public schools under contract, or charter, with a public agency to groups of parents, teachers, or others who want to create more alternatives and choices within the public school system. The hour-long Town Meeting will air on Tuesday, March 19 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The program is closed-captioned and is simulcast in Spanish.
U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley and Deputy Secretary Madeleine Kunin will host a conversation with a panel of community leaders and educators from around the nation who have helped develop new schools with creative approaches to teaching, learning, and decision making. Discussion topics will include how charter schools are created, how charter schools are held accountable for reaching their goals, and how states and communities are adopting new laws to promote charter schools.
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 the Bayer Foundation, The Procter and Gamble Fund, Microsoft, Inc., and SC Johnson Wax.
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.C-Band: Telstar 402, Orbital Location 89 degrees West; Transponder 13; Vertical Polarity; Channel 13; Downlink Frequency 3960 MHz; Audio Subcarriers 6.2 MHz (Spanish) and 6.8 MHz (English).
Ku-Band: SBS-6, Orbital Location 74 degrees West; Transponder 17; Horizontal Polarity; Channel 17; Downlink Frequency 12120.0 MHz; Audio Subcarriers 6.2 MHz (Spanish) and 6.8 MHz (English).
Editor's note: The following publications and services can help you create an effective service-learning program that reinforces student leadership, decision making, and responsibility.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Madeleine Kunin and Arthur Levine, President of Teachers College, will participate in the conference along with teachers, parents, researchers, students, employers, early childhood specialists, and community and religious leaders. Discussions will focus on sharing best practices for promoting family involvement, and 15 schools, community organizations, and parent groups will receive awards for their innovative partnerships that support parent involvement in children's learning.
To request a registration form, contact the Office of Continuing Professional Education, Teachers College, Columbia University. The phone number is (212) 678-3987, and the fax is (212) 678-4048.
Each center serves the entire state in which it is located or a region of that state, and includes both urban and rural areas. While information and assistance may be provided to any parent, the centers are required to target areas with high concentrations of low-income, minority, and limited-English- proficient parents.
A list of the centers is provided below with a contact name to find out the specific services offered, including parent-to- parent training activities, hotlines, mobile training teams, resource and lending libraries, support groups, and referral networks:
Ernie Salgado Donna Garnett
Native American Parental Colorado Parent Information
Asistance Program and Resource Center
P.O. Box 366 1445 Market Street, Suite 220
San Jacinto, Calif. 92383 Denver, Colo. 80202
Phone: 909-654-2781 Phone: 303-820-5631
Audrey Epperson Mary Lindsey
Greater Washington Urban League Florida Center for Parental
3501 14th Street, NW Involvement
Washington, D.C. 20010 7406 Dixon Avenue
Phone: 202-265-8200 Tampa, Fla. 33604
Phone: 813-229-3179
Jo Granberry Helenann Lauber
Parental Training Resource Parents and Children Together
Assistance Center 1475 Linapuni Street, Room 117-A
P.O. Box 1726 Honolulu, Hawaii 96819
Albany, Ga. 31702- 1726 Phone: 808-841-6177
Phone: 912-888-0999
Ronn Mirr Judy L. Planck
Iowa Parent Resource Center Parental Assistance Program
1025 Penkridge Drive Parental Assistance Program
Iowa City, Iowa 52246 Flemingsburg, Ky. 41041
Phone: 319-354-5606 Phone: 606-845-0081
Christine Snook Deanna DePree
Family Resource Project Families United for Success
P.O. Box 2067 272 East 8th Street, Suite B
Augusta, Maine 04338-2067 Holland, Mich. 49423
Phone: 207-582-2504 Phone: 616-396-7566
Carol Walsh Palmer Swanson
Parenting Resource and Massachusetts Parent Training and
Support Partnership Empowerment Project
332 W. Edmonston Drive MIT Building 20, Room 129
Rockville, Md. 20852 Cambridge, Mass. 02139
Phone: 301-294-4959 Phone: 617-253-7093
Sharmin Davis Jamison Diana S. Schmidt
Families and Schools Together Missouri Partnership for
(FAST) Forward Parenting Assistance
4826 Chicago Avenue, South 300 South Broadway
Minneapolis, Minn. 55417-1098 St. Louis, Mo. 63102
Phone: 612-827-2966 Phone: 314-421-1970
Leisa Whittum Deborah Bennis
Center for Healthy Families Building Family Strengths
3196 S. Maryland Parkway #307 P.O. Box 1422
Las Vegas, Nev. 89109 Concord, N.H. 03302-1422
Phone: 702-731-8373 Phone: 603-224-7005
Joanne Oppelt Patricia Edwards
Prevent Child Abuse - New Jersey CONNECTIONS
35 Halsey Street, Suite 300 P.O. Box 545
Newark, N.J. 07102-3031 Geneseo, N.Y. 14454
Phone: 201-643-3710 Phone: 716-245-5681
Claudia Ollivierre Elizabeth Yaryan
Parents in Partnership Project Ohio Parent Information Center
P.O. Box 16 4837 Ward Street
Davidson, N.C. 28036 Cincinnati, Ohio 45227
Phone: 704-892-1321 Phone: 513-272-0273
Pat Lowther Mary Baumeister
Parents As Partners in Education Black Hills Parent Resource Network
4801 N. Classen, Suite 200 P.O. Box 218
Oklahoma City, Okla. 73118 Sturgis, S.D. 57785
Phone: 405-840-1359 Phone: 605-347-4467
Barbara Mooney Marilyn Tucker
Southwestern Pennsylvania Parental Parents First
Assistance Center Project 421 Great Circle Road, Suite 104
22 West High Street Nashville, Tenn. 37228
Waynesburg, Pa. 15370 Phone: 615-255-4982
Phone: 412-852-2893
Mary Ellen Nudd Sue Harding
Family Focus Project Vermont Family Resource Project
8401 Shoal Creek Boulevard P.O. Box 646
Austin, Texas 78757 Middlebury, Vt. 05753
Phone: 512-454-3706 Phone: 802-388-3171
Marilyn Littlejohn Susan R. Werley
Children's Home Society of Parents Plus
Washington P.O. Box 452
201 South 34th Street Menasha, Wis. 54952-0452
Seattle, Wash. 98408 Phone: 414-729-1787
Phone: 206-472-3355
The important role that community colleges play in helping citizens of all ages reach their learning goals was emphasized. Gene McDonald, a trustee of Westmoreland County Community College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, shared how students at his college can begin with the building block of a GED if they have missed a basic high school education. "Accessibility is the key to community colleges. If we fail to admit one person who wants to come, we have failed our mission."
Panelists agreed that community colleges respond to the specific needs of the areas they serve, in general education and business training. "Almost anything the community wants, it can find at the community college," said Vernon Crawley, President of Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, Illinois.
Education Secretary Richard Riley noted that community colleges help Americans realize their dreams for their children's education, citing a poll that over 98 percent of Americans hope their children will go on to college. Cha Guzman, Vice President of the Cypress Creek campus of Austin Community College in Texas, gave an example of how community colleges can help high school students make the transition into higher education. Local high school students in her district can be co-enrolled in her community college to take classes of interest.
The special relationship between the education and business sectors of the community to prepare students for careers and train the future workforce was another theme of the program. Yvonne Katz, superintendent of the Beaverton school district in Oregon, described her community's broad collaboration to prepare students for careers. "In Portland we partnered with our local businesses, our major corporations, with our Beaverton area Chamber of Commerce, and with all the school districts of Washington County. We came together to discuss, What are those needs of the next century and how do we co-plan?"
Richard White, Executive Vice President of Bayer Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, discussed how business can be helpful in communicating to schools the specific skills that employees will need on the job. "We work very closely with the local education people in most of the cities where we have facilities," he said. "We say, Here are the needs we have today for entry-level, and here are the needs for more proficient people. We work together on a program and contribute either funds or the time of our employees."
Kay Davis, Executive Director of the Business Roundtable for Education of the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce, emphasized how working with businesses can help teachers bring the real world into the classroom and make education more meaningful for students. "The teachers see for themselves how you can close the relevancy gap, answering the question, Why am I making you do this day after day to this level of perfection?"
At the Town Meeting's close, Deputy Secretary Kunin summed up the key to successful community partnerships in education: challenge students to high academic standards, define the skills students will need in the workplace, integrate classroom and on- the-job learning, involve business and community partners in planning curriculum, and promote lifelong learning.
In accordance with sound planning and state law, local school districts are drafting their budgets for the 1996-97 school year. However, the absence of a full-year appropriation of education funding from Congress is keeping districts in a state of uncertainty. The current short-term continuing resolution, which expires March 15, cuts about $3 billion from education and potentially eliminates 50,000 teaching jobs. To accommodate the growth in student enrollment next fall, districts would need to hire approximately 50,000 new teachers -- a 100,000 teacher gap between cuts in funding for teachers and the need for new teachers to cover student enrollment increases. Continued growth in student enrollment is expected over the next decade, which will magnify the impact of cuts in federal education funding.
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