Community Update

No. 65
March 1999
U.S. Department of Education

Table of Contents

• New Challenges, A New Resolve: Moving American Education into the 21^st Century
• March Town Meeting Will Focus on Comprehensive School Reform
• Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology
• The 1999 Business and Education Conference: Better Education Is Everybody’s Business
• Announcements
• Calendar
• President Clinton Sends FY 2000 Education Budget to Congress
• Credits

New Challenges, A New Resolve: Moving American Education into the 21^st Century
March 4, 1999

Editor’s note: On February 16, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley delivered his sixth annual State of American Education address in Long Beach, California. Below are excerpts from the speech "New Challenges, A New Resolve: Moving American Education into the 21^st Century." The entire speech is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/02-1999/990216.html.

This is an exciting time for American education.... Across America there is a new realism mixed with hope: a willingness to take an honest accounting of our situation; a clear understanding of the changes we are experiencing and the challenges ahead; and a new resolve to overcome these challenges to give all of our children real hope for the coming times -- to get serious about providing a quality education to every American....

We have a new national focus on reading and we are hopeful that we have ended the reading wars. A landmark study by the National Academy of Sciences has laid out a balanced plan to improve reading. And, last week, we released new data that tells us that our nation’s reading scores are up for the first time in all three grade levels -- fourth, eighth and twelfth. That’s progress. But 38 percent of our fourth graders are struggling to learn this very first basic.

Our achievement scores are up for math and science. New standards have helped. Yet, we have increasing shortage of quality math and science teachers. And our nation’s math and science curriculum does not come close to matching world standards in our middle and high schools.

We have a stubborn achievement gap between the well-off and the poor. This is a hard, cold reality; too many of our schools are failing some of our children and some of them shouldn’t be called schools at all. We need to turn this around....

Another fact of great concern: our nation’s school buildings are over-crowded or simply wearing out. The American people know that and so do I. The President is going back to the Congress for the third year in a row to get you the help you need to modernize your schools. Congress needs to get it done.

Access to college is one of the greatest achievements of American education. Increases in Pell Grants and college work-study and the creation of the Hope and Lifetime Learning tax credits will give many more Americans the ability to get a higher education. We estimate that 5 million Americans will use the Hope tax credit for the first time this year when they fill out their income taxes....

As our children master the basics, we have to make sure that they go to schools that are safe and disciplined....Last year was a terrible time of random killings in our nation’s schools. This school year has started somewhat more quietly. But we must always remain vigilant....

We have to give teachers and principals the resources they need and free up their creativity to achieve results and reach high standards. We must make sweeping efforts to make teaching a first-class profession. And, then, we must hold schools accountable for results.

This is why President Clinton will send to Congress a significant revision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This revision is based on a comprehensive three-part strategy: 1) targeting increased investments to disadvantaged children, with particular attention to the early years of schooling; 2) improving teacher quality; and 3) promoting real accountability for results....

Now, I want to talk to you about America’s teachers -- America’s future....We can no longer fiddle around the edges of how we recruit, prepare, retain and reward America’s teachers. This is why I call on Governors and state legislatures to rise to the challenge and take a comprehensive look at the needs of this vital profession....

I ask state leaders to recognize the full dimension of the problem. Too many potential teachers are turned away because of the cumbersome process that requires them to jump through hoops and lots of them. Too many veteran teachers tell me that the process of maintaining their license adds little value to their professional expertise. And too many of our best teachers are leaving the profession because of low pay, poor working conditions and weak school leadership....

To recruit teachers, we must first overcome this paradox: in every poll, Americans tell us that being a teacher is one of the most important and valued jobs in this land. So often, however, these same Americans discourage their children from entering the profession because of low salaries....

To prepare the next generation of teachers, we must turn to the presidents of our great colleges and universities for new leadership. Our colleges of education can no longer be the sleepy backwaters that many of them have been. There must be greater collaboration from all parts of the university community, including the arts and sciences....

Now a few thoughts about the future. Let’s stretch our minds and ask ourselves how we can make American education more engaging....

Last month, with the support of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and with the help of NASA, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Jet Propulsion Lab at Cal Tech and the J. Paul Getty Trust, we launched the "Mars Millennium Project."

This project is a fusion of the arts, science and technology and it will ask thousands of young people to imagine and help us create the first American colony on Mars. We need to develop hundreds of projects like the "Mars Millennium Project" to make learning exciting and challenging....

I am optimistic. With a realism that is mixed with hope, we can achieve the democracy of excellence we seek. Le us build those new connections that bind us together. And let us always remember that the "victory is in the classroom" with America’s teachers... America’s future.

March Town Meeting Will Focus on Comprehensive School Reform

Research tells us that the best way to improve a school is with a comprehensive approach ensuring that every element of the school focuses on raising student achievement. Such an approach aligns all of a school’s resources--human, financial, and technological--and focuses on core academic subject areas, professional development for teachers, school organizations, and parent involvement to meet challenging academic standards.

Live from Denver, Colorado, the March Satellite Town Meeting will focus on schools and communities that are using research-based designs for schoolwide change that work to raise student achievement. U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley and his panel of guests will examine comprehensive school improvement programs across the country that emphasize standards, basic academics and parental involvement. Entitled "High Standards at Work: Comprehensive Approaches to School Improvement," the hour-long program will air on Tuesday, March 16 at 6:00 p.m. (MT) and 8:00 p.m. (ET).

The U.S. Department of Education produces the Satellite Town Meeting series in partnership with the National Alliance of Business, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Committee for Economic Development, with support from The Bayer Foundation and The Procter & Gamble 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 coordinates are as follows:

C-Band: Galaxy 3, Orbital Location 95 degrees West; Transponder 21; Horizontal Polarity; Channel 21; Downlink Frequency 4120 MHZ; Audio Subcarriers 6.2 MHZ (Spanish) and 6.8 MHZ (English).

Ku-Band: SBS 6, Orbital Location 74 Degrees West; Transponder 9; Horizontal Polarity; Channel 9; Downlink Frequency 11921 MHZ; Audio Subcarriers 6.2 MHZ (Spanish) and 6.8 (English).

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

Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology

For the first time, the U.S. Department of Education this summer will award $75 million for grants that will help prepare future teachers to use modern learning technologies. The Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology program is part of President Clinton’s larger technology literacy initiative to ensure that all teachers are able to effectively use technology for improved teaching and learning.

In less than a decade our nation’s schools must recruit over two million new teachers. These future teachers must enter their classrooms as well-prepared technology proficient educators ready to work with modern learning technologies. To meet this demand, the Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology program will award Capacity Building, Implementation, and Catalyst grants.

Approximately 200 Capacity Building grants averaging $120,000 will support one year of work by universities, colleges, and consortium partners in laying the groundwork for the implementation of a full-scale technology-based teacher preparation initiative. In addition, 75 Implementation grants, of up to $400,000 a year for three years, will be awarded to institutions and consortia that are now ready to initiate systemic teacher preparation reform by starting or significantly expanding a program to develop well-prepared technology proficient teachers. Approximately 30 Catalyst Grants, averaging $500,000 a year for three years, will be awarded to regional or national consortia with successful track records and promising strategies for systemic improvements in the preparation of teachers to use technology.

Application workshops are scheduled in seven cities from March 24-April 9. For more information, visit http://www.ed.gov/inits/FY99/wkshps.html or call 1-800-USA-LEARN. Application guidelines for this program will be available in mid-March, with a deadline of May 24. Grants will be awarded by mid-August of this year. You may contact the program by fax at (202) 260-8412 or visit http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/PPI/teachtech/ to obtain additional information. Send application guideline requests to: Thomas G. Carroll, Director, Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology, U.S. Department of Education, Higher Education Programs, 1280 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202-5131.

The 1999 Business and Education Conference: Better Education Is Everybody’s Business

For the third year in a row, Employers for Learning of the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education and The Conference Board are cosponsoring a conference. "Making It Work, Making It Pay...Better Education Is Everybody’s Business," will take place on May 6-7 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Attendees will include a broad spectrum of interested employers, educators and community and religious leaders.

The conference offers a unique opportunity for everyone interested in business-education partnerships that support family involvement in education. Attendees will be able to share examples of effective practices that help accelerate efforts to improve education and transitions to postsecondary education, training and work, and use them to leverage exemplary practices drawn from the school day and from after-school learning. Presentations include "Making Technology Integral to Instruction and Learning"; "Improving Student Achievement in Science"; "Building Linkages for Success: In-school and After-School Learning"; and "Accelerating Best Practices that Support Employee and Family Involvement in Education." Business and education leaders will discuss how business-education partnerships can be a "win/win" for employers and their school partners.

Employers, and representatives of postsecondary institutions, schools, and community organizations are encouraged to attend the conference. For registration information, call The Conference Board at (212) 339-0345, write The Conference Board, P.O. Box 4026, Church Street Station, New York, New York 10261-4026, or register online at http://www.conference-board.org. Special registration rates are available for non-profit organizations and educators.

Visit us online at http://pfie.ed.gov. The Partnership for Family Involvement in Education's new Web site features a database search engine of all the members of the Partnership, examples of successful educational programs, an outline of the U.S. Department of Education's initiatives and publications, and numerous links to other relevant sites. Thirty years of research shows that greater family involvement in children's learning is critical to achieving a high-quality education for every student. Join us in our effort to link employers, educators, families, religious groups, and community organizations together to improve schools and raise student achievement.

Announcements

• The First Day Foundation, a member of the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, encourages communities and employers to get involved in local schools by holding special activities on the first day of school, and providing leave for employees to participate. For more information, call 1-877-FIRSTDAY, write to First Day Foundation, P.O. Box 10, Bennington, Vermont 05201, or visit http://www.firstday.org.
• ACT, Inc., a founding member of the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, offers information and resources on getting ready for college. Parents wanting to find information on getting their child into college and on to a meaningful career path should explore ACT’s "Information for Parents" Web site. Suggestions about becoming familiar with college entrance requirements in the freshman and sophomore years, researching colleges and majors, and applying for financial aid are mapped out in an easy-to-follow timeline. For more information, contact Susan Owen, ACT, Inc., P.O. Box 168, Iowa City, Iowa 52243, call (319) 337-1156, fax to (319) 337-1014, e-mail webmaster@act.org or visit http://www.act.org/path/parent/.
• The Partnership has produced materials on preparing educators to involve families, including speakers notes, overheads and the Harvard Family Research Project publication New Skills for New Schools: Preparing Teachers in Family Involvement. These materials are available at the partnerships Web site at http://pfie.ed.gov/bpres.php3. Call -- 877-4ED-PUBS to order a hard copy of the publication (#EE 0201P).
• From March 1-15, a series of technical workshops in 11 sites across the country will be held to assist people who are interested in applying for $120 million in partnership and state competitive grants under the U.S. Department of Education’s GEAR UP initiative. GEAR UP will fund five-year programs to give middle grades students the hope and pathways to prepare for college. For more information, call 1-800-USA-LEARN or visit http://www.ed.gov/gearup. You can also register online.
• From March 8-29, the U.S. Department of Education is offering a series of technical workshops in six sites across the country to assist people who are interested in applying for the Reading Excellence and Class Size Reduction programs. These workshops will provide an important opportunity for state educational agencies, state legislative officers, local educational agencies, community-base organizations, teachers, and parents to develop thoughtful plans for providing quality instruction and learning environments for America’s children. For more information, visit http://www.ed.gov/inits/FY99/wkshps.html or call (202) 260-8228.

President Clinton Sends FY 2000 Education Budget to Congress

President Clinton’s FY 2000 balanced budget proposal focuses on real improvements in student achievement by accelerating fundamental changes and increasing accountability based on high standards. The budget seeks to help end social promotion, reduce class size, modernize schools, raise the quality of teaching, expand after-school activities, improve literacy, and provide new pathways to college for disadvantaged students.

Key priorities of the president’s FY 2000 budget request for the U.S. Department of Education include:

• $1.4 billion for class size reduction, an increase of $200 million, to recruit and train 100,000 new teachers over seven years to reduce class size in grades 1-3 to a nationwide average of 18 students.
• $491 million for Goals 2000 State Grants to help schools raise academic standards, improve teaching, expand the use of technology and increase parental involvement.
• $450 million for the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund, an increase of $25 million, to provide students and teachers with computers, educational software, telecommunications and technology training.
• $600 million for keeping schools open as 21^st Century Community Learning Centers, an increase of $400 million, to support before- and after-school programs that will keep schools open as safe havens while providing extended learning activities to improve student achievement.
• $175 million for schools to begin comprehensive school reform, an increase of $30 million, to help schools carry out research-based improvement.
• $130 million for Charter Schools, an increase of $30 million, to support the planning, development and initial implementation of public charter schools.
• $8 billion for Title I Grants to Local Education Agencies, an increase of $320 million, to help disadvantaged students master basic skills and challenging curriculum, and meet high standards.
• $286 million for the Reading Excellence Act, an increase of $26 million, to help children learn to read well and independently by the end of the third grade.
• $115 million for Teacher Quality Enhancement, an increase of $40 million, to help recruit and prepare excellent and diverse teachers for America’s classrooms.
• $541 million for Safe and Drug-Free Schools State Grants, an increase of $10 million, to help schools become safe, drug-free learning environments and place drug and violence prevention coordinators in middle schools.
• $7.4 billion for the Pell Grant Program to raise the maximum Pell award from $3,125 to $3,250 and provide Pell Grants to over 3.9 million low-income students.
• $934 million to expand Work-Study, an increase of $64 million, to help undergraduate and graduate students pay for college through part-time work assistance.
• $240 million for GEAR UP, an increase of $120 million, to give disadvantaged students and their families pathways to college by partnering middle and high schools with colleges and universities or through state-administered programs.
• $630 million for TRIO Programs, an increase of $30 million, to provide education outreach and student support services designed to encourage disadvantaged individuals to enter and complete college.
• $20 million for Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships, an increase of $10 million, to support access to quality postsecondary education for underserved populations through the use of technology and related innovations.
• $10 million for Building Schools as Centers of Community Grants to encourage greater public participation in the planning and design of new schools.
• $6.7 million for America Counts to ensure that middle school students master challenging mathematics, including the foundations of algebra and geometry, by the end of the eighth grade.

President Clinton will also propose, as part of his tax legislation, tax credit to support $25 billion in interest-free bonds to finance construction or renovation of up to 6,000 elementary and secondary schools. Additional information pertaining to the U.S. Department of Education’s FY 2000 budget is available by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN or by visiting http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/Budget00/.

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