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

Table of Contents State of American Education Address Mathematics: Consortium of High-Performing Districts Presidents' Summit on Teacher Quality Gateway to Educational Materials After-School Grants and Competition Schools Say Yes to National College Week Distance Learning on the Rise in Higher Education Direct Loans Less Expensive for Taxpayers Hope for Urban Education: A Study of Nine Schools Report on National Education Goals Year 2000 Update Kennedy Named Principal-in-Residence Luigart Appointed CIO New Online Credits

State of American Education Address Today Secretary Riley announced that he will deliver his 7th annual State of American Education Address at Southern High School in Durham, NC. In the speech, on February 22 at noon ET, he will discuss progress made in education since his first address in 1994 and will challenge schools and communities to renew their commitment to ensure that all students achieve their full potential in the 21st century. Southern High School was recognized by North Carolina for making exemplary growth in just one year after being on the state's list of low-performing schools. School leaders have worked to strengthen teacher development, reduce class sizes, make classrooms disciplined, provide rigorous courses, and improve the learning environment. This year, the proportion of students scoring at or above average on end-of-semester tests increased by more than 50%. The speech will be broadcast live from the Southern High gym (via satellite and the web) to schools, communities, and cable access TV stations nationwide. For more information or satellite coordinates to host a free downlink site, please visit http://www.ed.gov/registerevent or call 1-800-USA-LEARN.

Mathematics: Consortium of High-Performing Districts "A First Look at What We Can Learn From High Performing School Districts" examines why students in 18 affluent school districts in suburban Chicago, known as the First in the World (FiW) Consortium, performed well compared to random samples of students from other countries participating in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). This report tells that, among other things, FiW students... seem to be introduced to advanced math topics earlier than other U.S. students. are more likely than other U.S. students to be asked to perform reasoning tasks than to practice computational skills. are more likely than other U.S. students to be assigned homework daily and discuss completed assignments in class. have teachers who may be more likely than other U.S. teachers to participate in school-related activities outside the regular work day -- meeting with colleagues, identifying and selecting textbooks, buying supplies, and keeping up with new curriculum and instructional developments and techniques. "The Consortium has worked hard to create a structure for developing a cross-district community of learners that would involve educators, parents, and community leaders," the report says. "It has established teacher learning networks in 4 areas: curriculum, assessment, instruction, and technology; and awarded grants to groups of teachers pursuing projects in these areas." For the full report (August 1999): http://www.ed.gov/pubs/FirstLook/index.html

Presidents' Summit on Teacher Quality In September, Secretary Riley convened more than 60 college and university presidents and chancellors to discuss their role in improving the preparation of America's teachers. These leaders identified issues and suggested recommendations in 3 areas: the mission and structure of colleges and universities, partnerships, and accountability. The recommendations, while they do *not* represent consensus among participants, are provided in their entirety in hopes that higher education leaders across the country may find ideas to use or adapt on their own campuses. http://www.ed.gov/inits/teachers/conferences/summit.html

Gateway to Educational Materials Last month Secretary Riley announced a tool that helps teachers pinpoint -- from thousands of learning resources on the Internet -- the one that is right for their students. Teachers can type a topic, grade level, and other information into the Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM), which then retrieves lessons, instructional units, and other free educational materials from more than 140 websites and organizations. Teachers may also browse materials by subject area and keyword. More than 7,000 items are currently included in GEM, with new GEM consortium members joining and hundreds of items being added each month. http://www.thegateway.org

After-School Grants and Competition Last month Vice President Gore announced 125 new grants to support 517 community learning centers. He also announced the availability of applications for new awards under the program, 21st Century Community Learning Centers. This program allows schools to stay open longer to provide children and adults tutoring and homework help; academic enrichment; college prep activities; chorus, band, drama, and the arts; technology education; drug and violence prevention counseling; supervised recreational opportunities; and services for youth with disabilities. A list of grantees and the application are at http://www.ed.gov/21stcclc/

Schools Say Yes to National College Week In November, nearly 400 colleges and universities participated in the Department's first "National College Week." In an effort to promote awareness that college is affordable and financial aid is available for every student who is academically ready for higher education, college and university presidents visited local schools, hosted local college nights, wrote op-eds for local newspapers, and more. Among the highlights: Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Morris Brown University hosted over 1,000 middle school students at a "College is Possible" rally. Parents of every 8th-grade student in Nebraska received a letter from the president of the University of Nebraska and the Nebraska commissioner of education, urging them to pursue rigorous courses when they enter high school. The president of the University of Maine visited 3 high schools as part of his continuing effort to visit every high school in the state over the next 2 years. The Department is exploring ways to build on National College Week, including the possibility of a listserv for sharing with colleges and universities announcements and opportunities related to National College Week. If you're interested, please email Laura.Emmett@ed.gov or John.Emekli@ed.gov (or phone John Emekli at 202-401-4389).

Distance Learning on the Rise in Higher Education The number of higher education institutions offering education courses outside the traditional classroom has increased from 33% in 1995 to 44% in 1998, according to a report released last month by the Department's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The report also tells that... 79% of public 4-year institutions, as of 1997-98, were offering distance education classes. Distance education course offerings and enrollments have nearly doubled between 1994-95 and 1997-98, as have the number of degree and certificate programs offered. The fastest growth has been in courses provided over the Internet, jumping from 28% of institutions in 1995 to 60% in 1998. "Distance Education at Postsecondary Institutions: 1997-98" is at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000013

Direct Loans Less Expensive for Taxpayers Direct student loans are much less expensive for taxpayers than guaranteed student loans, according to a recent Department report. Under current projections, for every $100 loaned this year, direct loans will cost taxpayers $18 less than guaranteed loans. The report, a summary, and Deputy Secretary Marshall (Mike) Smith's remarks are at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/loansum.html

Hope for Urban Education: A Study of Nine Schools Nine urban elementary schools that have served children of color in poor communities and achieved impressive academic results are the focus of a report Secretary Riley released last month at the Department's third regional Improving America's Schools conference in Chicago. "What stands out among these schools," the Secretary said, "is a clear and unrelenting focus on high standards, a commitment to serving children and ensuring their academic success, and a collective sense of responsibility and persistence among school staff." Most of this 150-page report (126 pages) is devoted to indepth case studies of these 9 schools. The report is at http://www.ed.gov/pubs/urbanhope/

Report on National Education Goals Last month the National Education Goals Panel marked its 10th anniversary by hosting a conference and issuing its annual report, "The National Education Goals Report, Building a Nation of Learners, 1999." Top performing and "most improved" states are included in the report, which looks at state performance on 34 indicators. The report, plus highlights from papers commissioned for the conference (in "Building on the Momentum" and "Lessons Learned, Challenges Ahead"), can be found at http://www.negp.gov/

Year 2000 Update All of the Department's systems have completed Y2K transition testing and have resumed normal production operations, including the 11 systems of high-impact student financial aid programs, the computer network (EDNET), the grants payment and accounting system (EDCAPS), and the Impact Aid System. For details and updates, please see: http://www.ed.gov/y2k/

Kennedy Named Principal-in-Residence Secretary Riley has tapped a Missouri school principal, Carole Kennedy, to be the Department's new principal-in-residence. In this 2-year position, Kennedy will provide a school leader's viewpoint within the Department and serve as a contact for principals around the country. Kennedy has served as president of the National Association of Elementary School Principals and as a member of the National Assessment Governing Board in 1998. She also served on the Department's America Goes Back to School steering committee in 1996 and helped develop the nationally recognized Parents as Education Partners program. She received Missouri's National Distinguished Principal Award in 1988 and was selected in 1989 by the American Association of School Administrators as one of America's 100 outstanding education administers. Kennedy has been principal of John B. Lange Middle School since 1997 and also served as principal of New Haven Elementary School (1991-1997), both in Columbia, MO. She was also principal of Conn-West Elementary School in Grandview, MO, from 1981-1991. Before becoming a principal, Kennedy taught elementary and middle school.

Luigart Appointed CIO Craig B. Luigart, former corporate and U.S. Navy information management executive, has been appointed chief information officer (CIO) of the Department. As the new CIO, Luigart oversees the agency's computer operations and technology development, managing more than 300 information technology professionals and contractors. Before coming to the Department, Luigart served as chief technology officer for Just Medicine Inc., of Norcross, GA, developing new mobile clinical technologies. A career naval officer, he was previously the program manager for the Department of the Navy's Information Network Program Office, where he was responsible for the design of global business information systems. He also served as the chief information officer for the naval information systems' infrastructure for the Pentagon and Washington region. Before that, Luigart was chief information officer for the 38,000-employee Naval Air Systems Command. He was also a technical advisor to Highway 1, a not-for-profit technology industry consortium to promote computing between the government and its constituents.

New Online The Religion and Public Schools website offers materials that can help school districts design their own policies on religious expression, inform teachers and principals of their responsibilities and the rights of their students, and provide parents with information about their children's right to religious expression. http://www.ed.gov/inits/religionandschools/ Deputy Secretary Marshall (Mike) Smith testified before a congressional subcommittee last month on efforts to improve the Department's programs for students, families, educators, and taxpayers over the past 7 years. http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/12-1999/991206.html The Department's Publications Center (ED Pubs) received outstanding scores from the U.S. Government Customer Satisfaction Initiative. According to the University of Michigan and Arthur Andersen, who conducted the survey, these results place ED Pubs services and Department products in company with many of the best in private business. For details, please see: http://www.ed.gov/Survey/edpubsacsi/ ED Pubs is available at http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html "The Initial Report of the Secretary on the Quality of Teacher Preparation" is the first in a series of reports required by Congress. It provides state-level information on teacher certification and licensure assessments, the percentage of teaching candidates who passed assessments (disaggregated by teacher preparation program), and the extent to which teachers received waivers of state certification. http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/News/teacherprep/index.html