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

Community Update

No. 39, September 1996 U.S. Department of Education

"Baby Boom Echo" Heightens Need for Education Action

The nation's public and private elementary and secondary schools will enroll more students this fall than ever, and student enrollments will continue to rise annually for the next decade, according to a special back-to-school report released by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley.

Emphasizing that this pool of students represents America's future leaders and the workforce who will support the retirees of the baby boom generation, Secretary Riley heightened the call for investment in education and active participation in local schools.

"If we rise to the occasion, by providing all students with the skills and knowledge demanded by the jobs of the next century, we can expect rising incomes and solid economic growth," Secretary Riley said. "Now is the time to invest in America's future. We need a record-breaking number of parents and other caring adults to invest the time, energy, and resources it will take to raise our children right."

The report, entitled The Baby Boom Echo, notes that the current trend of enrollment increases is a long, slow, rising wave, which differs from the trend of rising enrollments in the 1960's that dropped off more quickly.

As schools open this fall, a record 51.7 million students will enter the nation's public and private elementary and secondary schools. By the year 2006, enrollment will grow to 54.6 million students.

While America's school-age population will continue to rise, the base of workers who are supporting the retirement-age population will be declining. In 1970 the ratio of workers to retirees was 5 to 1, but by the year 2030, the ratio will have dropped to about 2.6 to 1.

Many states and communities will experience acute pressures to hire new teachers and build new schools. The Baby Boom Echo report estimates that approximately 190,000 additional teachers and 6,000 more schools will be needed nationwide over the next 10 years. Record expansions in K-12 education will also lead to record-setting enrollment in our nation's colleges.

Secretary Riley urged Americans to regard the challenge of rising enrollments as an opportunity to secure our nation's future by taking active roles in educating young people. The Secretary's America Goes Back to School: Get Involved! program suggests a variety of ways that parents and all caring adults can participate in local schools, including tutoring children in reading, providing work-study experiences, serving as mentors, sponsoring after-school activities, and patrolling school grounds. (For more information about the program and a free Partners' Activity Guide, call 1-800-USA-LEARN.)

During the week of September 9-13, Secretary Riley will officially launch the second annual America Goes Back to School program with a number of special events highlighting the importance of parents, grandparents, employers and employees, and community and religious leaders becoming actively involved with local schools.

"Back-to-School" Town Meeting Will Look At Involving the Community

The September Satellite Town Meeting will kick off the 1996-97 series with a special "Back to School" program.

Entitled "Back to School: Getting Your Community Involved," the hour-long Town Meeting will air on Tuesday, September 17 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The program will be closed-captioned and will be simulcast in Spanish.

U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley will welcome educators and local leaders from around the country who are working in successful partnerships to achieve comprehensive school improvement. The program will explore how parents, educators, business people, and religious and community leaders can be actively involved in improving local schools, which is the theme of the second annual America Goes Back to School national campaign. Discussion topics will include making schools safe, disciplined, and drug-free; encouraging parental and family involvement; achieving high standards and real accountability; bringing computers into the classroom; and preparing young people for careers.

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 Procter and Gamble Fund.

Satellite coordinates are as follows ....
C-Band: Galaxy 9, Orbital Location 123 degrees West; Transponder 1; Vertical Polarity; Channel 1; Downlink Frequency 3720 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 MHz; Audio Subcarriers 6.2 MHz (Spanish) and 6.8 MHz (English).

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.

U.S. Department of Education Satellite Town Meeting 1996-97 Series Schedule

Tuesday, September 17, 1996
at 8:00 p.m. E.T.
"Back to School: Getting Your Community Involved"

Tuesday, October 15, 1996
at 8:00 p.m. E.T.
"Technology and Teacher Leadership: 21st Century Teachers"

Tuesday, November 19, 1996
at 8:00 p.m. E.T.
"Schools as Safe Havens: Discipline, Safety, and Truancy Prevention"

NOTE: The Town Meeting will not be broadcast in December.

Tuesday, January 21, 1997
at 8:00 p.m. E.T.
"The New American High School: Preparing Youth for College and Careers"

Tuesday, February 18, 1997
at 8:00 p.m. E.T.
"Making College More Accessible"

Tuesday, March 18, 1997
at 8:00 p.m. E.T.
"School-to-Work Opportunities: Workplaces as Learning Environments"

Tuesday, April 15, 1997
at 8:00 p.m. E.T.
"Charter Schools, Magnet Schools, and Other Choices in Public Education"

Tuesday, May 20, 1997
at 8:00 p.m. E.T.
"Becoming a Reading, Literate Society"

Tuesday, June 17, 1997
at 8:00 p.m. E.T.
"Ready to Learn: Preparing Young Children for School Success"

Special Insert on Family Involvement

PARTNERSHIP for
FAMILY INVOLVEMENT
in EDUCATION

Back To School Events Planned Nationwide

Even before the bell rings for the 1996-97 school year, many Hardee's restaurants in the Southeast are getting involved with their local schools to improve learning for all students. As a new partner in the America Goes Back to School: Get Involved! initiative, Hardee's franchise restaurants, owned and operated by Flagstar Companies, Inc., will host Benefit Nights throughout the school year to support local schools in achieving new levels of excellence and in acquiring new technology for their students. Flagstar Hardee's are concentrated primarily in Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
The Educational Publishing Group, a Partnership for Family Involvement in Education member, is launching the Family Education Network on September 12th as an America Goes Back to School event. (Note this change from the date reported last month.) The network gives parents the tools needed to become more active in the education of their children. The address is http://www.familyeducation.com/home/.
Committed to encouraging Family/School involvement in the America Goes Back to School: Get Involved! initiative, the National PTA is launching a nationwide campaign. The National PTA will be sending the Family/School Partnership Promise to its 27,000 local units, encouraging its members to have their schools sign on to the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education. In addition, information on America Goes Back to School: Get Involved! has been sent to all members. The National PTA will also feature the Family-School Partnership Promise and America Goes Back to School information on its World Wide Web site.
The 2400 Boys and Girls Clubs across the country will receive America Goes Back to School: Get Involved! kits from their national organization. The kit contains the Partners' Activity Guide with tips for planning back-to-school events and involving community partners, a bookmark, and a colorful poster.

Link Up with America Goes Back to School Online

All the information you need to launch an America Goes Back to School: Get Involved! partnership is available through the U.S. Department of Education's home page. The full text of the Partners' Activity Guide, with useful tips on how to involve community partners in your efforts, can be accessed via the World Wide Web at http://www.ed.gov/Family/agbts/.

If you already have a back-to-school event planned, contact us online so we can tell others about your activities. You can access a sign-up sheet from the World Wide Web address above, add your information, and e-mail it back to agbts@ed.gov.

America Goes Back to School is a year-round commitment to improve learning, so it's not too late to get involved. For more information, call 1-800-USA-LEARN.

Birmingham Students Succeeded with READWRITENOW!

This summer 1700 children participated in a special reading and writing program coordinated by the Birmingham, Ala. public schools. Students enrolled in "Camp Birmingham" used materials from the Education Department's READ*WRITE*NOW national reading and writing program for one hour a day, five days per week, over the course of the summer. Participants read over 20,000 books. A special awards ceremony was held to recognize students' accomplishments in achieving reading goals and strengthening reading and writing skills.

Save the Date!
A national conference on partnerships between businesses and schools with the theme "Better Education is Everybody's Business" will be held May 15-16, 1997 in Boston, Mass.

Summit Highlights Religious Groups' Support of Education

Education Secretary Richard Riley traveled to Wilmington, Del. on July 29 to participate in a Religion and Education Summit that drew religious, community, and school leaders from across Delaware, Philadelphia, and southern New Jersey. The purpose of the summit was to highlight the important role that religious organizations play in encouraging and enabling families to be more involved in their children's education.

Individuals and groups were challenged to work with their local neighborhood school to help young people in four specific areas: reading, technology, providing safe after-school activities, and preparing young people for college through extra tutoring. Participants also agreed on the importance of encouraging parents to find an extra 30 minutes a day to read with their children and check their homework.

Reverend Christopher Bullock of the Eighth Street Baptist Church in Wilmington called upon the religious leaders in attendance to join him in signing on to the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education by supporting a pledge developed by a widely representative group of religious leaders. The pledge, entitled the Statement of Common Purpose, acknowledges the unique role of religious communities in strengthening family life.

Reverend Vin Harwell, Pastor of First and Central Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, shared the successes of his parish in involving the employees of local businesses in parent education classes conducted during the lunch hour. Building on this relationship, Reverend Harwell is now working with the employers in his area who are encouraging their employees to volunteer to tutor young people after school.

In southern, N.J., inner-city youngsters were tutored over the summer by student volunteers from St. Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia. Mr. Shay Auerbach, who coordinates the program, reported that students benefited on both sides of the equation. Students being tutored strengthened their basic skills, and tutors gained leadership and community service experience.

Participants left the summit pledging to work together and echoing the sentiments of Secretary Riley to help parents slow down their lives and give families, guardians, and grandparents the extra support they need to keep children away from drugs, smoking, and television violence.

Community Volunteers Staff Model Tutoring Program

In Jackson, Tenn., members of local churches have developed a successful tutoring program that is making a difference in the lives of children and families. The program is staffed completely by volunteers, receiving no outside funds and requiring a minimal time commitment. Organizers are confident this program could be replicated in many communities across the country.

Members of 10 churches in Jackson are tutoring children in grades kindergarten through high school. The program will expand to 11 more churches in the fall. Each church designs its own tutoring system that fits the talents of its membership and the availability of its facilities. Continuity is provided by assigning children regular tutors and by keeping progress charts on each child in case familes move to a new church.

The tutoring program involves the school district and local businesses as partners. During the school year, volunteers use the "Lesson Line" set up by the school district to coordinate with teachers and parents by telephone. Local supermarkets and businesses have supported the tutoring program by donating refreshments.

Currently, 350 children are being tutored each week by community volunteers, and more children will be served when the program expands this fall. "The kids and tutors develop a mutual bond that crosses all barriers -- age, race, religion, and background," said Jimmy England, one of the program's organizers. Volunteers agree that involvement is simple -- they contribute their knowledge and skills -- and the entire community is the winner.

Regional Conferences Will Explore Coordinating Federal Support

This year the Education Department is sponsoring 3 regional conferences on comprehensive, standards-based school reform. The focus of the conferences will be how states and communities can best utilize federal resources in a coordinated strategy to strengthen their comprehensive reform efforts. The programs to be discussed will include Goals 2000, the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA), the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act.

Grantees under all programs administered by the Education Department's Offices of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) and Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs (OBEMLA) are invited to participate in the regional conferences. Grantees from many programs administered through the Offices of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), and Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) will also gain useful insights into how federal programs can work together to promote comprehensive school improvement.

Check your state below to find out which conference to attend.

IAS Regional Conference in St. Louis, Mo., September 24-26, 1996: Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin
IAS Regional Conference in San Francisco, Calif., October 20-22, 1996: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau
IAS Regional Conference in Atlanta, Ga., November 20-22, 1996: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands

For additional information, contact http://www.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA/iasaconf/.

Make the Most of Parent-Teacher Conferences

Communication between parents and teachers is vital to help children reach their full potential in learning. Often busy schedules limit the time that parents and teachers can share information, so making the most of opportunities such as conferences becomes even more important. The editors of Parenting for High Potential, a new magazine published by the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), have compiled the following list of questions to help parents prepare for conferences with their children's teachers.

How is my child's class structured? What is a typical day like?
Does my child seem happy at school?
What do you see as my child's special interests and strengths? What can I do at home to help my child develop his/her talents?
Are there any subject areas where my child needs extra help or seems less motivated? How can I assist in those areas?
Does my child seem challenged by the academic work or does he/she seem to complete it with little effort?
How does my child react to trying new things? What about his/her reaction to making mistakes?
How does my child interact with other children and adults? Does he/she seem well- accepted among his/her peers? Are there any behavior problems?
What level of parental involvement is encouraged regarding my child's homework assignments?
How are my child's creative thinking and problem-solving skills? What do you recommend for development in these areas?
What appropriate after-school opportunities are available for my child in the school or community?

Parenting for High Potential is a quarterly magazine which premieres in September. The first issue features an interview with Education Secretary Richard Riley on how parents can get involved in their children's education. Each issue of the magazine will include tips from experts, reviews of books and computer software for children, and a pullout section for students.

To order the magazine, contact the National Association for Gifted Children, 1707 L Street, N.W., Suite 550, Washington, D.C., 20036. The phone number is (202) 785-4268.

Houston Links Community Resources to Education Needs

The Houston Education Resource Network (HERN) is an online service and Internet site that supports community partners working together to improve learning for all students. Parents, teachers, principals, counselors, site-based management teams, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and social service agencies can access a database of over 8,000 community resources and also find quick Internet links to the City of Houston, the Houston Public Library, the Smithsonian, major universities, the U.S. Department of Education, and other sites.

Designed to help those with the greatest needs and the least resources, HERN is accessible to users with minimal computing capacity. HERN provides individual e-mail accounts and full Internet access with no hourly charges or user fees.

The "Community Exchange" area of HERN matches needs of educators and schools with resources and donors. With an online form, teachers and schools can post their requests to the community for assistance, computers, equipment, and volunteers. Donors with resources to offer and companies with surplus supplies to give away are also linked to the Community Exchange.

With its networking potential and extensive resource bank, HERN benefits its many users. Parents can explore enrichment opportunities for students. Teachers can search for classroom speakers, tutors, field trip ideas, tickets to events, and lesson materials. Principals can create forums with other schools, sharing ideas to promote high achievement. Counselors can search the HERN database for after-school programs, social services, and information on colleges such as admission requirements and financial aid.

HERN was made possible by a gift to the Houston community in 1993 by the Robert and Janice McNair Foundation.

HERN's Internet address is http://www.rice.edu/hern. For more information, call (713) 951-7810 or write the Houston Education Resource Network, 1600 Smith Street, Suite 4300, Houston, Texas, 77002-7345.

Last month we reported that the U.S. House of Representatives had voted to cut President Clinton's 1997 budget request for education by $2.8 billion. The U.S. Senate has not yet acted on this proposal, and there has been no further action by the House.

As schools open their doors across the country, they are faced with the highest enrollment ever in our nation's history -- nearly 52 million students. The highlights of President Clinton's proposals in education address rising student enrollments and the need for better schools, focusing on improving the training of new teachers; assisting communities to pay the interest on construction projects to add classroom space and upgrade buildings; getting technology into classrooms while also improving the basics; and greatly expanding access to college for middle income and working families. These increased investments in education are all within the framework of a plan to balance the federal budget. Please watch this space for further updates on education funding proposals in light of the new baby boom.