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

   FOR RELEASE                     Contact:  Melinda Kitchell Malico    August 10, 1995                                    (202) 401-1008

The Goals 2000: Educate America Act, passed by Congress last year with bipartisan support, helps states and communities advance their own school improvement efforts, based on the results of local decision making. Riley said Goals 2000 offers unprecedented flexibility and is being administered without regulations.

Funds for continued school improvement under Goals 2000, nevertheless, are on the Congressional chopping block. While President Clinton requested $750 million for Goals 2000 in fiscal year 1996, the House voted last week to eliminate all funds for the education improvement initiative as part of $4 billion in cuts to education. The Senate will take up its fiscal year 1996 appropriations bill in September.

The second year of support -- $362 million for state and local grants in fiscal year 1995 -- will help states and communities implement school improvement plans to raise student academic achievement, involve parents in schools, bring technology into the classroom, upgrade teacher professional development, and create partnerships with business and community groups. States that submit a school improvement plan developed with input from parents, educators, community members and the private sector, as well as states that show substantial progress toward that end, are eligible for second-year funding.

New York's second-year Goals 2000 funds will help the state continue its ongoing work on school improvement based on challenging standards, said Riley. Critical areas of school improvement are among the priorities New York will focus on in the coming year: planning for local school improvement and putting the plans into action, preparing new teachers to succeed in the classroom, and keeping teachers' skills and knowledge current throughout their careers. Twelve Dutchess County school districts representing 57 schools, for example, are working with five local colleges and universities to provide professional development for teachers through a Summer Institute. It's clear that New York school districts realize the importance of ongoing efforts to improve teaching and learning, as 240 applications were received last year for Goals 2000 support.

"Goals 2000 makes a vital contribution to school improvement," Riley continued. "We must not abandon the children, teachers, schools and communities that have worked so hard to make schools better.

"Improving teaching and learning is critical to the nation's future. It is essential that we continue to assist states and communities as they develop and adopt challenging academic standards that will guide the education of students into the next century."

New York joins Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington as states who are receiving a second year of funding to support community efforts to improve schools. Ninety percent of the new funds will go directly from the state to local school districts.

New York's first-year Goals 2000 grant totaled $6,995,086. Forty-eight states and nine territories received almost $85 million in first-year Goals 2000 support.