U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and Kiwanis International President-Designate Case Van Kleef today announced the "Take the Lead in Preparing America's Future" partnership, a campaign to further engage the business community in the Department's efforts to ensure students are fully prepared to succeed in higher education and the workforce. The announcement came as Kiwanis International kicked off its 89th annual convention in St. Louis.

"America's youths are our future," Secretary Paige said. "Today's students face a rapidly changing and intensely competitive global marketplace. To continue to effectively compete, our children must have a quality education. And through the education reforms of the No Child Left Behind Act, we're replacing the outdated ways of the past with accountability for results--so that all children are given a chance.

"But no reforms can succeed without the involvement of the local community. That's why I'm pleased to announce our partnership with Kiwanis International to connect their members with educators and students. Kiwanis has a tradition of working with youths and schools, and I am pleased they will 'take the lead' in their local communities to help America's future--our future."

The new partnership builds upon the Department's "Preparing America's Future" efforts to create opportunities to fully prepare youths for success in higher education and the workforce.

As part of the effort, Kiwanis International clubs across the country will work within their communities to create and support mentoring and tutoring programs and share their business knowledge and experiences with students and teachers.

The No Child Left Behind Act is the bipartisan landmark education reform law designed to change the culture of America's schools by closing the achievement gap among groups of students, offering more flexibility to states, giving parents more options and emphasizing teaching methods that have been proven to work. Under the law's strong accountability provisions, states must describe how they will close the achievement gap and make sure all students, including those with disabilities, achieve academically.

Founded in 1915, Kiwanis International is comprised of service- and community-minded individuals who support children and young adults around the world. More than 600,000 Kiwanis members in 92 countries make their mark by responding to the needs of their communities and pooling their resources to address worldwide issues.

To learn more about No Child Left Behind, visit www.ed.gov.

###

Top

Back to June 2004