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

   FOR RELEASE                     Contact: Office of Public Affairs    September 7, 1995                                  (202) 401-3026

U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley has invited caring adults nationwide to rally around their local schools and make a commitment to improving schools and helping them become safe places of learning throughout the year.

Across the country, thousands of Americans -- athletes and astronauts, elected officials, business leaders and ordinary citizens -- are answering this call to support their local schools and colleges and to help students get on the right course.

As part of America Goes Back to School: A Place for Families and the Community, President Clinton will visit Southern Illinois University on Monday [Sept. 11] for a speech that will be available via satellite to students at campuses across the country. On the same day, Vice President Gore will join a "Save Student Aid" rally at the University of Pittsburgh.

Also on Monday, Riley will return to his hometown of Greenville, S.C., to go back to school with his grandchildren and another South Carolina native, astronaut Charles Bolden. Bolden, who is being promoted to brigadier general by the U.S. Marine Corps on Friday, will teach a science class with Riley and meet with parents and community leaders. They will visit Augusta Circle Elementary School, a public school attended by Riley's children and grandchildren, and Greenville High, Riley's alma mater.

"Now, more than ever," Riley said, "it is time for families and communities to reconnect with their local schools, commit themselves to fostering higher standards of learning, and work together to give our students the foundation they need to make the most of their lives."

Examples of other back-to-school activities with administration officials include:

• Trade Representative Mickey Kantor will teach a class on the world economy and trade at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va. [Sept 12];

• Council of Economic Advisors Chairman Joseph Stiglitz will join actress Barbara Bain in reading to students at a school in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles [Sept. 14];

• Domestic Policy Staff Director Carol Rasco will visit with students in Brooklyn, N.Y. [Sept. 14];

• Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros will join the C-Span School Bus in Hartford, Conn. [Sept. 14];

• Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt will go to Chartiers Valley High School in Pittsburgh [Sept. 13] and work with students involved in cleaning up a mine site as part of their studies;

• Transportation Secretary Federico Pena will visit Cora Kelly Magnet School in Alexandria, Va. [Sept. 14], joined by the Crash Test Dummies as part of a "Moving Kids Safely" presentation.

Many members of Congress are also going back to school, including Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas), who will visit elementary schools and a university in Houston [Sept. 11], and Rep. Xavier Beccerra (D-Calif.), scheduled to go to Abingdon Elementary School, Arlington, Va. [Sept. 12].

And, mayors across the country are issuing America Goes Back to School proclamations. Among participating cities: Birmingham, Ala.; Anchorage, Alaska; Tempe, Ariz.; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Boise, Idaho; Baltimore; Boston; Akron, Ohio; Portland, Ore.; Portsmouth, Va.; and Seattle.

America Goes Back to School: A Place for Families and the Community is sponsored by the Family Involvement Partnership for Learning, a coalition of more than 140 family, community, religious and education organizations, including the U.S. Department of Education. The partnership is dedicated to supporting family involvement in children's learning through family-school-community partnerships, including many family- friendly businesses.

Thirty years of research shows that when family and community members are directly involved in education, children achieve better grades and higher test scores, have higher graduation rates, are more likely to enroll in higher education, and are better behaved.