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

No. 44, February 1997
U.S. Department of Education

An Important Time for American Education

Editor's note: Last month, President Clinton reappointed Richard W. Riley as U.S. Secretary of Education for the second term of the Clinton administration. Below is a statement from Secretary Riley regarding the nation's education agenda as America moves toward the next century.

Yet, as always, public education must play its traditional and vital role of passing on to each new generation the uniqueness of what it means to be a "good citizen." The common school, full of Americans of every race, creed and ethnic background, remains the great bastion of our democracy. Schools and parents working together are central to our efforts to have our children grow up free of violence and drugs.

During the last four years much has been accomplished. President Clinton has broken new ground on many fronts -- the creation of a new direct lending program, strong support for charter schools, significant new investments in technology, historic religious guidelines for our public schools, a new emphasis on partnership rather than regulation, and strong leadership to establish national standards of excellence.

During the election the voters listened very carefully as the president laid out a very bold mainstream education agenda for the second term. It is a forward-looking agenda, from improving literacy, to connecting up to the Internet, to greater access to college for many more Americans. I am excited to help the president and the vice president in this effort.

Equally important, in re-electing the president, the voters rejected the "blame the public education crowd." The American people sent a very clear message that they want those of us in Washington to focus in on positive and concrete solutions. In that spirit, I sincerely hope that the Congress will move beyond the issue of whether or not the Department of Education should exist or not exist. To my way of thinking, the American people made it very clear that they want someone at the cabinet table speaking up for education.

Improving education should be at the center of a bipartisan agenda that prepares our great country for the coming times. I urge Americans of all political persuasions to see the improvement of education as our great patriotic cause as we move forward to the 21st century.

March Town Meeting Will Explore School-to-Work Opportunities: Workplaces as Places to Learn

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. Broadcast and cable partners include Discovery Communications, the Public Broadcasting System, and Channel One. The program will be closed-captioned and simulcast in Spanish.

The satellite coordinates are as follows . . .

C-Band: Galaxy 9, Orbital Location 123 degrees West; Transponder 2; Horizontal Polarity; Channel 2; Downlink Frequency 3740 MHZ; Audio Subcarriers 6.2 MHZ (Spanish) and 6.8 MHZ (English).

Ku-Band: SBS-6, Orbital Location 74 degrees West; Transponder 15; Horizontal Polarity; Channel 15; Downlink Frequency 12068.0 MHZ; Audio Subcarriers 6.2 MHZ (Spanish) and 6.8 MHZ (English).

OCRE to Air Teleconference on Connecting Rural Schools and Communities to the Information Superhighway

The teleconference will offer case studies of successful technology models, and engage educators, government officials, and business and community leaders in an interactive conversation on how to technology can help revitalize and improve rural schools and communities.

"The ability to use computers to solve problems, gather information and communicate with others is rapidly becoming essential in the American workplace," U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley said. "American schools must prepare their students for this increasingly complex world . . . and we must bring technology into the classroom."

The live teleconference, distributed by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and produced in conjunction with the U.S. Distance Learning Association, will originate in Washington, D.C. The teleconference will be available to downlink sites throughout the nation. Among those invited to participate at the origination site are President Clinton, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Daniel R. Glickman, and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt. Information on establishing a downlink site is available from PBS at 1-800-257-2578.

PARTNERSHIP for
FAMILY INVOLVEMENT
in EDUCATION

Miss America Speaks Out in Support of America Reads

Editor's note: The America Reads Challenge asks citizens to volunteer to be part of a national, bipartisan effort to ensure that children can read well and independently by the end of third grade. Parents, educators and librarians, senior citizens, employers, employees, college work study and community service students, and members of religious, cultural, and community groups will be encouraged to become reading tutors and reading partners, assisted by reading specialists and coordinators across the country. Miss America 1997, Tara Holland, will be one of several spokespersons for America Reads. In keeping with her "Literacy in America: The Power of One" platform, Miss America will reach out to individuals to get involved in making a difference in the lives of children by helping to strengthen their reading skills. Community Update interviewed Miss America about her involvement with America Reads. Below are excerpts.

Miss America: Reading is the most important key to children's success in life. Obviously we read in every single job that we do. If we're going to educate our children properly, they have to be able to read and write well.

CU: What can people do to make a difference in helping children read well by the end of the third grade?

Miss America: People can get involved in the America Reads Challenge by becoming tutors and volunteers, by reading to children and allowing children to read to them at home and at school. We know that the more practice you get, the better you become. I think it's also really important to share with kids that it's fun to read. If they don't see anyone reading around them or think it's a fun activity, then they're less likely to do it. We need to make sure as parents and friends and older siblings that we read with them. I very much support the older children in the home reading with the younger children. Not only does it increase family unity, but it also improves the older child's reading skills along with the younger child's skills.

CU: What is the connection between improving adult literacy and improving literacy for children?

Miss America: If you have parents or a parent who cannot read, then it's very likely that you're not going to be able to read. It becomes a perpetuating cycle. Parents who can't read are not able to read to their children. The two best ways to make a child ready to go to school are to read to that child and make reading materials available in the home.

March Is National Middle Level Education Month

College Presidents Pledge Student Tutors for the "America Reads" Challenge

It is anticipated that 100,000 student tutors will be getting involved in this effort at the outset. If a student works as a reading tutor, colleges will no longer be required to pay one- quarter of that student's work-study costs. President Clinton has appointed Carol Rasco as special assistant to Secretary Riley and director of the America Reads Challenge. Ms. Rasco previously served at the White House as assistant to the president for domestic policy. Members of the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education and the community at large are encouraged to get involved in this nationwide mentoring and literacy effort.

Free Publications Available from the U.S. Department of Education

Learning Partner booklets on helping children learn. These give parents ideas for helping their child strengthen various academic and school-related skills. A two-page sheet has also been created from each booklet listing things families can do at home and describing a few home activities. The following titles are available:

U.S. Department of Education
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
National Library of Education
555 New Jersey Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20208-5721

Master Teachers Can Now Seek National Certification of Excellence

"I firmly believe that we must recruit, support, and retain the most talented people into teaching," U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley said. "We must invest in high-quality teacher preparation and ongoing professional development, and that investment needs to be made at the school, state, and national levels. We must require tougher licensing and certification standards for teachers, and increase dramatically the number of teachers who meet the demanding standards of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards."

Some communities and states are taking actions to reward teachers for seeking National Board Certification. Others are exploring ways to employ these recognized master teachers to not only teach students, but mentor and help improve the skill of other teachers. The standards of excellence of the NBPTS are based on five core propositions: teachers are committed to students and their learning; teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students; teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning; teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience; and teachers are members of learning communities.

Based on these propositions, the NBPTS is setting advanced standards in more than 30 certificate fields. The certificates are structured around student developmental levels and the subjects taught. Standards are created by committees of classroom teachers, teacher educators and subject experts. These same standards are then reviewed nationally and extensively before final approval by the NBPTS 63-member board of directors, a majority of whom are classroom teachers. "My work with National Board Certification has empowered me as a teacher and the certification itself has served as a vehicle to carry me forward professionally," said Karen Carriera, a National Board certified teacher from Connecticut.

During the 1996-1997 school year, the NBPTS is offering six certificates: Early Childhood / Generalist (students ages 3-8); Middle Childhood /Generalist (students ages 7-12); Early Adolescence / Generalist (students ages 11-15); Early Adolescence / English Language Arts (students ages 11-15); Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/ Art (students ages 11-18); and Adolescence and Young Adulthood/ Mathematics (students ages 14-18).

The primary mission of the NBPTS is to establish high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do, as well as to develop and operate a national voluntary system to assess and certify teachers who meet those standards. Applications for the 1997-98 administration of NBPTS certification may be requested by calling 1-800-532-1813.

Arts Education Beneficial in Workplace and School Improvement

"My own view is that the ability to use color, shape, music, rhythm, and movement is essential to the finished product, primarily because of the sense artists develop for idea sequencing -- a crucial thinking skill," Will Tait, Creative Director of the software company Intuit, said. Rich Gurin, CEO of Binney and Smith, Inc. agrees. "We believe the skills the arts teach -- creative thinking, problem solving and risk taking, and teamwork and communication -- are precisely the tools the workforce of tomorrow will need," Mr. Gurin said.

The report provides examples of how integrating the arts into a school curriculum and local education improvement efforts can enhance the quality of schools, increase student attendance, and provide savings for the business community. For a copy of the report, contact the Getty Institute at 310-440-7315, or write to the Getty Education Institute for the Arts, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 91149-1683. There is a limit of one copy of the report per person. You may make extra copies of the report if you include the attribution, "reprinted from Business Week October 28, 1996 special advertising section, a division of The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc."

Month of March Highlights the Arts

A booklet of ideas for "Youth Art Month" is available by writing or calling Debbie Gustafson, Council for Art Education, Inc., 100 Boylston Street, Suite 1050, Boston, MA, 02116, 617-426-6400. This year's theme is "Art Can Make a World of Difference."

The American Alliance for Theatre and Education and the Educational Theater Association will sponsor the "Theatre in Our Schools" campaign. The honorary chair this year is Craig T. Nelson of the television series "Coach." Information packets (free) and start-up kits ($30.00) are available by writing or calling Theatre in Our Schools, Educational Theater Association, 3368 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45225-2392, 513-559-1996, fax 513-559-0012, E-mail: network@etassoc.org.

National Dance Week will be celebrated this year from April 27 to May 3. Gus Giordano, jazz dance performer, choreographer and educator serves as honorary chair. For more information write or call Patty Golding, National Dance Week Coordinator, 142 Parkedge Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15220, 412-922-8226.

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