U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley and panelists will emphasize the great need for community-wide partnerships to improve education, and share successful ideas for mentoring, tutoring and after-school programs with the satellite audience. Entitled "Back to School: Families and Communities Working Together," the hour-long Satellite Town Meeting will air on Tuesday, September 16, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.

The U.S. 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 & Gamble Fund, and The SC Johnson Wax Fund. 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: Satellite SBS-6, Orbital Location 74 degrees West; Transponder 14; Vertical Polarity; Channel 14; Downlink Frequency 12043.5 MHZ; Audio Subcarriers 6.2 MHZ (Spanish) and 6.8 MHZ (English).

To participate in the Satellite Town Meeting, ask your local Public Broadcasting System (PBS) member station or Chamber of Commerce if your group can use the facility as a downlink site. Call 1-800-USA-LEARN for further information or to register your participation. Discovery Communications' The Learning Channel will rebroadcast each Satellite Town Meeting in the 1997-98 series. The Learning Channel will rebroadcast the September Satellite Town Meeting on Thursday, October 28 at 4:00 a.m. Eastern time.

School Systems Across the Nation Pledge to Participate in Voluntary National Testing Initiative

"Our tests in reading and math will give parents, teachers, and state leaders, wherever they live, an opportunity to measure the progress they want to achieve," U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley said.

The new tests will be made available to states and school districts to assess students in the spring of each year, beginning in the spring of 1999. Use of the tests will be strictly voluntary, and decisions about whether or not to participate will not affect continuing funding in federal programs. The voluntary national tests in the basic skill areas of fourth grade reading and eighth grade math will be modeled on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). In addition, the eighth grade math tests will be linked to the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), so that student scores can be compared to international benchmarks as well as national standards of excellence. While NAEP and TIMSS test only a random sample of students, the new national tests will be administered to all students in participating communities and will produce scores for individual students so that parents, students and principals can make real improvements.

The U.S. Department of Education will make available information that describes the knowledge and skills students must master in order to meet the national standards. Each year, once the tests are given, the test items will be released to the public to further clarify what students must know and be able to do to meet the standards. Educators will be able to use this information as a motivational tool to strengthen teacher preparation and professional development, and promote parental and community involvement in learning.

For more information about the voluntary national tests, call 1-800-USA-LEARN or visit http://www.ed.gov/nationaltests/.

PARTNERSHIP for
FAMILY INVOLVEMENT
in EDUCATION

Boy Scout Jamboree Highlights Volunteerism

The jamboree also hosted the official signing-on of the Boy Scouts of America to the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education. As part of their sign-on commitment, the Boy Scouts will support the U.S. Department of Education's new initiative Think College Early, which is intended to make both middle school students and their parents aware of the academic and financial preparations necessary to attend college.

In addition to the recreational activities usually associated with scouting, the jamboree showcased its educational component through the "Merit Badge Midway," which provided Boy Scouts with the opportunity to earn merit badges in subjects ranging from reading to astronomy. The jamboree also showcased the curriculum-based program "Learning for Life," a wholly owned subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America designed to help schools successfully handle the complexities of contemporary society and enhance student self-confidence, motivation, and self-esteem. The programs's life skills focus is complemented by an educational curriculum that promotes the importance of money management, writing resumes and violence prevention in everyday life, and reaches well over 800,000 students and over 6,200 groups nationwide.

The U.S. Department of Education, in partnership with the Boy Scouts of America and "Learning for Life," is putting together an "idea book" for after-school programs that help meet President Clinton's Call to Action for American Education in the 21st Century. The publication, scheduled for release in February 1998, will offer Boy Scout councils the opportunity to build upon effective examples of partnership efforts in the community. To obtain more information about the Boy Scouts of America, contact John Anthony at (972) 580-2420 or by fax at (972) 580-2502.

Help Support the America Goes Back to School Initiative

The national co-chairs of America Goes Back to School are family and child advocate Tipper Gore and wife of Vice President Al Gore; Drew University President and former New Jersey Governor Thomas H. Kean; actor Michael Keaton; and National PTA President Lois Jean White. The initiative is supported by a 55-member steering committee and over 3,000 members of the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education.

In 1996, America Goes Back to School events took place in every state in the nation. The following events are planned for this year:

• CNN Newsroom & WorldView, the cable network's educational programming, will go "on the road" around the country during the week of September 8-12, to talk with students and teachers and hold town meetings on various education topics.

• The mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, is sponsoring a back-to-school rally at the Alabama Fair Grounds to celebrate more than 10,000 children that read over 82,000 books this summer through the READ*WRITE*NOW! program. Rally participants will also lay out their plan to continue their commitment to reading in 38 after-school programs and many churches.

• The nation's 114 Urban League chapters will honor the accomplishments of local 10 to 17-year-olds who are "Doing the Right Thing" in areas such as academics and community service.

• United Airlines will show information on business involvement in education on many of its flights during the month of September.

• Southwest Airlines will kick off its "Adopt-a-Pilot" program, connecting pilots with classrooms to help students learn about math, history and geography.

• The 1997 Kentucky State Teacher of the Year, Rosalind K. Hurley Richards, will sponsor an on-air telethon where people may call in to donate time in the classroom instead of money.

For a free copy of the America Goes Back to School kit, call 1-800-USA-LEARN, or visit http://www.ed.gov/Family/agbts/. To register your America Goes Back to School event, fax a brief description with a contact name and address to (202) 205-9133, or send the material to America Goes Ba ck to School, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., FB10B, Washington, D.C. 20202-8173, e-mail: agbts@ed.gov.

Announcements

• Congratulations to the 1997 Apple P.I.E. (Parent Involvement in Education) award winners. Cosponsored by the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, Teachers College at Columbia University, and Working Mother magazine, the Apple P.I.E. Awards recognize effective efforts undertaken in support of family involvement in education. Award winners include: IBM, NationsBank, First Union, First Tennessee Bank, SAS Institute, Partnership in School, S.P.L.A.S.H. at Arizona State University, Rochester, Minnesota Public Schools Family Involvement Program, Libros y Familias (Books and Families), Voznesenka School Migrant Education Program, Parents as Teachers (PAT), Susan Werbin of New York, Laura Pickett of Montana, and Joyce L. Epstein of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University.

Balanced Budget Agreement Places Priority on Education

"This budget reforms and cuts yesterday's government so that we can help provide our people with the means to meet the challenges of tomorrow," President Clinton said.

The largest education investment in 30 years, the tax credits will make college and lifelong learning more affordable, and help students and their families get ready for college early. The balanced budget agreement contains the HOPE Scholarship tax credit for the first two years of undergraduate education, and a 20 percent tuition tax credit to help pay for the junior and senior years of college, graduate, technical or professional education.

"Now, America has tow big, new ideas for higher education that are in tune with the times: the HOPE Scholarship, and a tax credit for lifelong learning. They will help families pay for college and usher in a new era of expanded access to higher education," U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley said. "This plan creates smart tax policy and smart education policy for the 21st century."

Key priorities for President Clinton's tax cut plan include:

• Two-year HOPE Scholarships will provide a maximum $1,500 credit per student for the first two years of postsecondary education, making first two years of college as universal as a high school diploma is today. Students will receive a scholarship of 100 percent on the first $1,000 of tuition and fees and 50 percent on the second $1,000. The credit will be available for college enrollment after December 31, 1997. The credit is phased out for joint filers with incomes between $80,000 and $100,000, and for single filers with incomes between $40,000 and $50,000.

• 20 percent tuition tax credit will benefit third and fourth year undergraduate students, graduate students, and working people who are improving their education and skills. The 20 percent credit per student will be applied to the first $5,000 of tuition and fees through 2002, and to the first $10,000 thereafter. The credit is available for college enrollment after June 30, 1998 and is phased out at the same income levels as for the HOPE Scholarship.

• Education and retirement savings accounts will allow penalty-free IRA withdrawals for undergraduate, postsecondary vocational and graduate education expenses. Additionally, taxpayers are given the opportunity to deposit $500 per year into an Education IRA. Earnings would accumulate tax-free and no taxes will be due upon withdrawal for an approved purpose. The Education IRA is phased out for families with incomes between $150,000 and $160,000, and for single filers between $95,000 and $110,000.

• Employer-provided education benefits extends Section 127 of the tax code for undergraduates for three years. This provision allows workers to exclude $5,250 of employer-provided education benefits from their taxable income.

• Student loan interest deduction will allow a deduction of up to $2,500 per year of interest on education loans for expenses of students enrolled at an institution of higher education. The maximum deduction is $1,000 in 1998, increasing in $500 increments each year until reaching $2,500. The deduction will be available even if the taxpayer does not itemize deductions, and is available to joint filers with incomes between $60,000 and $75,000, and to single filers with incomes between $40,000 and $55,000.

• Community service loan forgiveness excludes from taxable income loan amounts forgiven for borrowers who take community service jobs addressing unmet needs. Loan forgiveness programs run by government agencies are already exempt and this provision would extend that to nonprofit tax-exempt charitable or educational institutions.

• Expanded benefits for pre-paid tuition plans would exempt from taxation some earnings on pre-paid tuition plans, and extend some benefits to private college programs.

The U.S. Department of Education's new handbook "Getting Ready for College Early, which is designed for parents of students in middle and junior high school, is available free of charge by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN or by visiting http://www.ed.gov/pubs/GettingReadyCollegeEarly/. Additional information pertaining to President Clinton's education tax credits is available by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN or by visiting http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/PPI/HOPE/.

New American High Schools Initiative Prepares Students for College and Careers

The New American High Schools have been reorganized on the basis of both high standards of excellence in academics and the awareness that students need more skills today to be prepared for the global economy of the 21st century. The New American High Schools initiative provides students with a comprehensive academic education, and communication and problem-solving skills blended with computer, technical and occupational skills.

The initiative provides students with opportunities to "learn-by-doing" in classrooms, actual workplaces and communities. The New American High Schools initiative also gives students access to technology to enhance learning and, most critically, affords them the benefit of strong partnerships between high schools and postsecondary institutions, business/employers, community service organizations, and parents.

Every New American High School carries out these principles in ways that work best for each individual school. However, to qualify to become a New American High School, each school went through a rigorous selection process and had to meet specific criteria. Presently, fourteen of these model high schools serve students across the United States.

One example is Central Park East Secondary School (CPESS) located in East Harlem, New York. Most of the students attending CPESS are from low-income families and many have a history of average or below-average academic achievement. CPESS not only helps prepare students for college, but it makes it an attainable reality. Now, more than 90 percent of CPESS graduates go on to college directly. Every student is required to complete college preparatory courses and participate in 100 hours of a career-oriented internship. To expose students to the university environment, a program called Summer University Opportunities is available at Columbia University, Cornell University, Syracuse University, Cooper Union and City University, among others.

Another CPESS program entitled "Tech-Scouts" allows students to make a two-year commitment to a technology program. During the first year, students learn to trouble shoot hardware and software problems, and become experts in various software applications. During the second year, students are assigned to internships with businesses and community service organizations, using the technological skills they have gained. Like all of the New American High Schools, CPESS has developed programs that best fit the unique circumstances and needs of its students.

To obtain more information about the New American High Schools initiative, call 1-800-USA-LEARN.

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