Last week the House and Senate marked up their respective fiscal year 2001 appropriations bills. The House bill falls $2.9 billion short of the President's request and includes no funding to turn around low-performing schools, guarantee reduced class size, or modernize school buildings. In addition, it limits safe after-school programs and reduces funds for a program to help disadvantaged students go to college. The Senate bill, though it includes $100 million more than the President's request, relies on a Title VI block grant rather than targeting funds for class size reduction and school modernization. The Secretary's full statement is at http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/05-2000/0511.html

In a speech to the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education (PFIE) this month, Secretary Riley asked Americans to look for new ways to increase family and community involvement in education and strengthen collaboration between parents and teachers. He pointed to a home visit program in the Sacramento school district where, between September 1998 and June 1999, teachers in 9 schools made more than 3,000 home visits to parents of students in low-income neighborhoods. The program helped improve reading, attendance, and parent involvement. The text of his speech is at
http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/05-2000/000502.html

The Department is sponsoring a free training session on how to develop and use "family-school compacts" -- written agreements among families, schools, community members, and students to help improve children's reading skills. Participants will receive 2 publications:

1. "A Compact for Reading Guide," which includes a 5-step plan for creating a community-family-school partnership
2. "School-Home Links Reading Kit," which features 400 standards-based reading activities for children K-3. Teachers can give the activities to families for at-home support of in-school programs. Families can also use the activities with children over the summer.

The compact guide and kit, including all 400 activities, are available online. The training will be held June 23, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Registrants are encouraged to apply early, as seating is limited. For details and to register please see http://www.ed.gov/pubs/CompactforReading/

The Knowledge Loom, a searchable database of promising practice resources, is now featuring "Practices in Early Literacy." You are invited to...

• read descriptions of promising early literacy practices and review research that supports these practices
• ask questions of experts and add your own stories
• participate in an online discussion with researchers and practitioners (available though June 8).

http://knowledgeloom.org

What can be done to recruit and keep good teachers? Secretary Riley discussed this question with nearly 100 Teachers of the Year last week.

You are invited to participate in the discussion:

• See what teachers (and others) across the country are saying. (Reasons cited thus far include lack of time for planning and discussions with other teachers, low pay, discipline problems, and low status as a profession.)
• Share your views on this and also why teachers leave teaching and how education has changed over the years.

Visit Teachers Talk and join the discussion.

On June 8, from noon to 1:30 p.m. ET, the Department will host a satellite workshop on applying for smaller learning community grants. The workshop will help local education agencies plan, develop, implement, or expand smaller learning communities in large high schools. Department staff will answer questions about application requirements, selection criteria, technical assistance, and more. Participants may call in or email questions throughout the broadcast. Registration for the workshop, the application for the program (due by July 17), and other information are at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/HS/SLCP/

The deadline for registering for the Reinventing High School national conference held in Washington, D.C. on June 14-16 has been extended to May 26.

The application for this year's New American High Schools competition is now online. New American High Schools improve student learning through innovative instructional techniques, leading edge technology, enhanced and targeted professional development, community service and integrated work-based experiences, and community-based partnerships. This competition is co-sponsored by the Department and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

Last week the President and First Lady hosted the first-ever White House Conference on Teenagers to discuss the importance of the teenage years in the social and intellectual development of children. The conference website offers a Council of Economic Advisers report that found, among other things, that teenagers with involved parents are more likely to excel in school and avoid at-risk behaviors. A conference fact sheet tells that teenagers rate "not having enough time" with parents and also education as their top concerns. In contrast, parents' top concerns are drugs, alcohol, and violence. http://www.whitehouse.gov

The President announced a new website where teens can find information to help them do homework, pursue a hobby, or choose a career. http://www.americasteens.gov

This month the Department awarded grants to New Mexico, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina to support the start-up and development of additional charter schools. Grants were announced also to 36 public charter schools in Arizona and one in Nevada. Funds will also support a charter schools website -- http://www.uscharterschools.org -- as well as technical assistance, identification of model assessment practices in charter and non-charter schools, research and evaluation, regional workshops, and a national conference. http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/05-2000/0504.html

Last month the President announced grants to 23 communities to make schools safer, foster children's healthy development, and prevent aggressive behavior and drug and alcohol use among the nation's youth. Each community developed a plan in partnership with law enforcement officials, mental health authorities, juvenile justice officials, and community-based organizations. Each plan addresses 6 elements: a safe school environment; violence, alcohol and drug abuse prevention and early intervention programs; school and community mental health preventative and treatment intervention services; early childhood psychological and emotional development services; educational reform; and safe school policies. http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/04-2000/0415.html

Last month the President announced grants to 3 school district partnerships under the Technology Innovative Challenge Grant Program. The awards -- which will benefit about 800,000 students and more than 40,000 teachers in Colorado, Florida, and New York -- are designed to improve teacher training, curriculum resources, and student achievement in core subjects. http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/04-2000/0417.html

Last week the President announced 3 new Community Technology Centers (CTC) grants for communities in the Delta regions of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. CTC grants are awarded to community centers, libraries, schools, public housing facilities and other organizations that help bring computers and Internet access to low-income residents. http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/05-2000/0510a.html

This month the Department awarded 12 grants to test ways of combining instruction in English and civics. Also, 31 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico will receive grants to teach English and civics to immigrants and others with limited English proficiency. http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/05-2000/0510b.html

"How businesses can help improve education in their communities" is the theme of new brochures that focus on the Department's 7 priority areas: reading, math, college, standards, technology, teachers, and safe schools. http://www.ed.gov/offices/OIIA/OIA/

The "Digest of Education Statistics" (1999 edition) is now available in HTML. The Digest is the Department's main compilation of education statistical information, with more than 450 tables and figures on pre-K through graduate school. Topics include schools and colleges, teachers, enrollments, graduates, educational attainment, finances, federal funds for education, employment and income of graduates, libraries, technology, and international comparisons. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2000/digest99/

"Trends in Educational Equity of Girls and Women," a study released last month, reports that females are doing as well as or better than males on 44 indicators of educational attainment, and that the large gaps in attainment between men and women have been closed or significantly decreased. However, the report notes that women lag behind males in math and science achievement in high school and are less likely to major in these fields in college. http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000030

"Programs for English Language Learners, Resource Materials for Planning and Self-Assessment" is a reference tool to assist school districts developing a comprehensive English Language Learners (ELL) program. http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/ELL/

ED Initiatives is made possible by many contributors, including Andrew Abrams, Shelley Amdur, Norris Dickard, Laura Emmett, Susan Frost, Cheryl Garnette, Peter Kickbush, Erica Lepping, Melinda Kitchell Malico, Eileen Marcy, Mary Anne Mather, Todd May, Bill Modzeleski, Tracy Sisser, Mary Stanik, Keith Stubbs, Melinda Ulloa, Susan Wiener , and others.

Have a comment or suggestion on ED Initiatives? Please send it to Kirk Winters in the Office of the Under Secretary at kirk.winters@ed.gov.