A College Education Is Necessary and Possible
April 3, 1998

Economically at-risk, middle grades students need to know that education after high school is not beyond their means. Teachers, guidance counselors, and community and business organizations must reach out to students and families whose lack of finances and information might prevent them from pursuing higher education goals. They should be encouraged to:

• Set high expectations and high standards;

• Work hard and take college preparatory and advanced placement courses, especially the college "gateway" courses of algebra in the eighth grade and geometry in the ninth grade;

• Find and connect with mentors who will support their positive goals; and

• Learn about programs to help them pay for college, and take advantage of tax cuts and savings plans.

President Clinton's 1999 balanced budget proposal features programs that encourage young people and their families to think about and prepare for college early in middle school. The 1999 budget request includes:

• $15 million for the Think College Early Public Information Campaign to inform middle and high school students and their families about ways to prepare and pay for a college education;

• $140 million for the High Hopes for College initiative to fund partnerships between colleges and universities and middle grades schools that encourage college enrollment among low-income students;

• $7.6 billion, an increase of $249 million, for the Pell Grant Program to provide grants to millions of low-income students; and

• $900 million, an increase of $70 million, for the Work-Study Program to give students the opportunity to work their way through college.

The U.S. Department of Education's publications Getting Ready for College Early and The ERIC Review: A Pathway to College, and information about the 1999 budget request, are available by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN. Information will soon be available at the U.S. Department of Education's "Think College" Web site at http://www.ed.gov/thinkcollege/.

April Town Meeting Will Focus on Helping Children Master Math and Science

Satellite Town Meeting panelists will discuss ways to help build a strong foundation in mathematics and science in the middle grades by raising standards, measuring student performance, and encouraging schools to offer a challenging curriculum. Entitled "Making Math Count: World-Class Achievement Starting with Algebra," the hour-long Satellite Town Meeting will air on Tuesday, April 21, 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 U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 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 Service, 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 1; Vertical Polarity; Channel 1; Downlink Frequency 3720 MHZ; Audio Subcarriers 6.2 MHZ (Spanish) and 6.8 MHZ (English).

Ku-Band: Telstar 5, Orbital Location 97 degrees West; Transponder 24; Horizontal Polarity; Channel 24; Downlink Frequency 12124 MHZ; Audio Subcarriers 6.2 MHZ (Spanish) and 6.8 MHZ (English).

To participate in the Satellite Town Meeting, ask your local Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member station or Chamber of Commerce if your group can use the facility as a downlink site, or call your local public, education, or government access channel. Call 1-800-USA-LEARN for additional information or to register your participation, or visit http://www.ed.gov/inits/stm/.

President Clinton Makes Building and Renovating Public Schools a National Priority

"The number of American schools that are physically worn out and overcrowded are nothing less than a national embarrassment," U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley said in a recent address to school principals.

The proposal provides tax credits in lieu of interest payments for investors in two types of bonds. A total of $19.4 billion in zero interest bonds (9.7 billion in 1999 and $9.7 billion in 2000) is proposed for the new 15-year Qualified School Construction Bonds which are available to states and school districts in need. The Qualified Zone Academy Bonds program, created by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, would be increased and extended by $2.4 billion under this proposal.

"This school modernization proposal is attractive because it provides valuable federal support while maintaining local autonomy," Vice President Gore said. "It's a win-win proposal for students, parents, schools, communities and investors."

On April 8, Vice President Gore, Secretary Riley, members of Congress, mayors and state and local education officials will kick off a series of forums in cities and communities across the nation to highlight the need for school construction and modernization. These forums will provide parents, teachers and others the opportunity to talk about what kinds of newly built or modernized schools can best meet the needs of their children and the community for the next 50 years.

For information about the forums, contact "School Construction" at the U.S. Department of Education by fax at (202) 205-9133. For more information about the FY 1999 budget proposal and school modernization and construction, call 1-800-USA-LEARN or visit http://www.ed.gov/updates/inits98/index.html.

The Partnership for Family Involvement in Education Proudly Supports

The Think College Initiative:
You and Your Children Can Go to College

A Special Insert for Parents

"Your children can go to college. If you know a child from a poor family... If you know a young couple struggling with bills, worried they won't be able to send their children to college... If you know somebody who's caught in a dead-end job and afraid he can't afford the classes necessary to get better jobs for the rest of his life... Tell them not to give up--they can go on to college." President Clinton State of the Union address, January 27, 1998

Today, there are more resources available to help all ages choose and pay for a college than ever before. College can be the key to the kind of life you and your child will want. Going to a two-year community college or four-year college at any age provides choices and life opportunities. In college you and your children can discover and develop career strengths you didn't even know of!

Try to imagine what your family's future will look like. The world is changing. Everyday is a new challenge. The job market is now filled with new technologies and constant change. To be competitive, you and your children will need high-level, adaptable skills and an understanding of the world around you. More than ever before, your children and your family will need the advantage that an education beyond high school will provide.

The United States has the finest system of higher education in the world. There is more money available for your family to pay for college these days. It might be easier than you think!

Money is available to help you pay for college.

New Tax New On Your Tax Form Starting in 1999...

• If you fill out a tax form, don't forget to claim up to $1,500 in HOPE tax credits for each of the first and second years of college.
• For college and training beyond the first two years, many parents can get up to $1,000 a year until 2002 and $2,000 after that if your family makes between $18,000 and $40,000 (or $80,000 for joint filers) a year.

• 1998 Student Guide
• School Shopping Tips
• FAFSA Form

For more material, call 1-800-USA-LEARN

Money you don't have to pay back--need-based scholarships:

• Look at Pell Grants--the average one is almost $2,000 for low-income students.
• See what money you can earn by working while you are at college--work-study.
• Learn about other help from the college you are interested in. Contact the college financial aid office to find out about scholarships, grants and work opportunities.

Save your own money and consider loans:

• Save for college--start early!
• Get information about student loans that you pay back after leaving school.

• Consider the benefits! More than five million working adults are going back to college. Adults who continue their education to improve their job skills or acquire new ones stay competitive in their current careers or are successful in entering new career fields.

• Complete your basic education. If you are 16 or older and have not completed high school, contact your city or county education office to learn about adult education and GED programs in your area.

• Learn about continuing education and training opportunities. Go to your local job service or one-stop career center to get information on how to participate in education and training programs. At work, visit the personnel office and ask what college and training assistance they offer. Contact the admissions office of a community college, university, graduate program, or technical school and request information for programs, part-time study options, and distance learning possibilities.

• Choose a program that's right for you. Apply! Practice filling out forms and then fill out and send in your applications.

• Apply for money. If your child is a junior or senior in high school, get a FAFSA form by calling 1-800-4FED-AID or from the soon to be available Web site at http://www.ed.gov/thinkcollege/ between January 1 and April 30. Try to do it as close to January 1 as possible.

Support your children in realizing their dreams. Talk to them about how to build a positive future that includes college. Have high expectations of them. We know that when we expect a lot of our children, they come through. Your encouragement can help make your children's dreams of attending college become reality.

America Goes Back to School Planning Tip: Work with your local steering committee to continue planning your America Goes Back to School event. Once you've developed a proposal for your event, bring it to local businesses and community organizations for their support, time, volunteers and funding. Start talking to local celebrities about being your spokesperson. Begin developing a media strategy and thinking about the various ways to get your message out.

Math and Science Study Points Out Problems and Positive Solutions

At the fourth grade, U.S. students were near the first in the world in science, and were above the international average in mathematics. However, by the eighth grade, U.S. performance had fallen to slightly above the international average in science and to below the international average in mathematics. By the twelfth grade, U.S. performance declined even further to below average in both science and mathematics, even among our most advanced students.

"These results are entirely unacceptable, and absolutely confirm our need to raise our standards of achievement, testing, and teaching, especially in our middle and high schools--and to get more serious about taking math and science courses," Secretary Riley said.

Secretary Riley outlined six steps that states and communities can take to improve mathematics and science achievement. First, build a firm foundation in the middle grades. The U.S. curriculum stands still during these years, failing to lay sufficient groundwork in algebra and geometry so that students are prepared for rigorous high school mathematics and science.

The second and third steps are to raise standards and to measure student performance against them. President Clinton has proposed a voluntary national test in mathematics at the eighth grade. The voluntary national test will establish a rigorous national benchmark that will reflect not only how a student's performance compares across states but also around the world.

Next, offer a more challenging curriculum to students and encourage them to take demanding courses. In other industrialized nations, all students have studied algebra and some geometry by the end of eighth grade. In the United States, only 25 percent of eighth-graders have studied even algebra. U.S. students need to study algebra and geometry by eighth and ninth grade so they will be able to go on to higher-level mathematics and science, including physics, chemistry, trigonometry, and calculus.

Fifth, improve the teaching of mathematics and science through teacher training. Many high school mathematics and science teachers have neither a major nor minor in their subject area and are unprepared to engage students in challenging material.

Finally, destroy the myth that not all students need advanced mathematics and science. In our knowledge-based economy, demands for strong math and science skills are continually increasing, because they are required at all levels of the workforce.

Twenty school districts outside of Chicago demonstrate a success story in raising student achievement based on the lessons of TIMSS. The "First in the World Consortium" gave their own students the TIMSS test to benchmark their performance against world-class standards. The performance of Consortium students was close to the first in the world on the fourth- and eighth- grade assessments; on the twelfth grade general mathematics and science assessments, student performance was, in fact, first in the world.

The secret to their success? Twice as many Consortium students study algebra by the end of eighth grade as students in the United States as a whole, and all Consortium mathematics and science teachers either majored or minored in the subject area they teach. The majority of their seniors are taking or have taken calculus, or an advanced placement math or science course. The First in the World Consortium demonstrates that U.S. students can achieve to world-class levels of excellence when they are supported by high standards, a challenging curriculum, and effective teaching.

For more information on TIMSS, visit http://nces.ed.gov/timss/. For more information on the mathematics initiative of the U.S. Department of Education, visit http://www.ed.gov/about/archives.jsp#2.

Surplus Federal Computers Get New Life in Nation's Classrooms

"This program is good for our schools, good for our businesses, good for our government, and good for our children's future," Vice President Gore said. "It proves that we can truly reinvent our government--to make it work better and cost less--while investing in the world-class education our children deserve."

The Computers for Learning program is open to all pre-kindergarten through grade 12 public, private, parochial, and home schools, and is funded by the Department of Energy and supported by the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the General Services Administration. The Computers for Learning program allows schools and educational nonprofits to register on the web at http://www.computers.fed.gov to receive free computer equipment. The Web site also provides a technology tutorial and information on how to find assistance if computers require upgrading and on how to contact volunteers with technical knowledge.

To add an even greater level of service and convenience, a number of transportation systems and movers have formed the Computers for Learning Partnership to lend their support to the program by transporting donated federal computers free of charge from agencies to schools. Partnership members include Allied Van Lines, Atlas Van Lines, Bekins Van Lines, Global Van Lines, Mayflower Transit Incorporated, North American Van Lines, United Van Lines, Wheaton World Wide Moving, several small moving companies, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Once eligible schools and educational nonprofits are registered with the Computers for Learning program, federal agencies will use the Web site to donate computers based upon indication of need, including: the location of school or educational nonprofit; the number of students on subsidized lunch assistance; a school's computer-to-student ratio; and the number of computers in the school connected to the Internet. Agency officials will contact the selected school or educational nonprofit directly and will provide further information about transferring title for the donated computers.

A toll-free hotline is available at (888) 362-7870 to schools and educational nonprofits who are unable to access the Internet. Information on contacting a Partnership member is available by calling (888) 362-7870. For more information about the E-rate, call (888)-203-8100 or visit http://www.sl.universalservice.org/. For general education technology information, call 1-800-USA-LEARN or visit http://www.ed.gov/Technology/.

Announcements

• On April 16, at 2:30 p.m. Central time, there will be a special one-hour, town hall style teleconference with Vice President Al Gore on after-school programs. Call 1-800-USA-LEARN for more information and to register your participation.

• LD OnLine http://www.ldonline.org/ is a comprehensive Internet service offering information and ideas about learning disabilities for parents, teachers and children. Features of the site include the ABCs of learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder, a national calendar of events, audio clips from experts, artwork and essays by children with learning differences, research findings, bulletin boards, a resource guide, and more. LD OnLine is the official Web site of the Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities.

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