Secretary Riley kicked off the America Reads national summer reading campaign in Washington D.C. last week. "Students who read over the summer," he noted, "are better prepared to learn when they return to school in the fall." Research shows that students who do not read throughout the summer may fall back as much as a grade level in their skills.

The America Reads Challenge makes 4 recommendations to engage children in reading, particularly during the summer:

• Read and write 30 minutes a day, 5 days per week.
• Read at least one day per week with an adult.
• Get and use a library card.
• Learn one new word each day.

In addition, this year's Read*Write*Now! poster -- featuring Arthur and his family on the front and reading activities on the back -- is available in English and Spanish and may be ordered online: http://www.ed.gov/americareads

Last week, Secretary Riley named 198 public and private secondary schools as the 1999-2000 Blue Ribbon Schools. The schools excel in academic leadership, teaching and teacher development, and school curriculum. They also have strong community and parental involvement, high levels of student achievement, and rigorous safety and discipline programs. When applying to be recognized as a Blue Ribbon School, schools conduct a thorough self-evaluation, involving administrators, teachers, students, parents, and community representatives in the completion of their nomination form. The group assesses the school's strengths and weaknesses, and develops a plan for the future. A list of the schools and additional information are available at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/BlueRibbonSchools/states.html

The Department invites applications for a new national awards program that will recognize as many as 5 outstanding teacher preparation programs. The programs will be honored in a ceremony in Washington D.C. and will be featured at national and regional conferences. Any program that prepares elementary teachers or middle or high school math teachers for initial certification is eligible. (It need not be college or university-based.) The application deadline is July 3. The application and details are at http://www.ed.gov/inits/teachers/teacherprep/

The full text of "Designing Effective Professional Development: Lessons from the Eisenhower Professional Development Program" (1999) is now online. This report describes the program operations and the quality of Eisenhower activities across the country. It also provides data on the self-reported effects of teachers' experiences in Eisenhower activities. The Eisenhower Professional Development Program is the federal government's largest investment focused solely on developing the knowledge and skills of classroom teachers. http://www.ed.gov/inits/teachers/eisenhower/

Today Secretary Riley issued a statement calling on Congress to fully fund the President's budget proposal for fiscal year 2001. The statement notes that, under a bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee last week, states would receive no support specifically targeted to turn around the lowest performing schools or to improve the condition of outdated and dilapidated, sometimes dangerous, school buildings. States would lose $2.9 billion requested by the President to help schools improve the basic skills of disadvantaged students and use research-based, proven strategies to improve teaching and learning. The House bill, in comparison to the President's budget proposal, would mean:

• $1.75 billion less to reduce overcrowded class sizes by hiring quality teachers, which would jeopardize an estimated 29,000 new teachers already hired and deny children the benefits of smaller classes
• $690 million less to improve teacher quality and recruit teachers into high-poverty school districts
• $416 million less to help students in high-poverty areas learn the basics and meet the academic standards expected of all children.

The House bill also rejects $400 million of the President's increase for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, falls $125 million short of the President's budget for GEAR UP, and provides less funding to train teachers in using technology.

Tables showing the impact of the House and Senate bills are at http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/05-2000/0511.html State tables showing the effects of the House Appropriations Committees' action on selected student aid programs will be available later this week at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/budnews.html#FY2001 The full text of today's press release is at http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/06-2000/0601a.html

The full House is tentatively scheduled to take up its fiscal year 2001 appropriations bill next week, and the Senate could take up its own FY 2001 bill later this month.

Secretary Riley announced last week that 9 states have received grants to form partnerships with local school districts and communities to help incorporate good citizenship, compassion, and respect for others into education. These grants, made under the Partnerships in Character Education Pilot Projects Program, will help states work with school districts to develop curriculum materials, provide teacher training, build community consensus on common values, involve parents in character education, and integrate character education into the curriculum. The projects will be evaluated to determine their success toward reducing discipline problems and improving student grades, increasing participation in extracurricular activities, and strengthening parent and community involvement. States are also asked to establish a clearinghouse for the distribution of materials and information about character education. For details and a list of grantees, please see http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/05-2000/0523.html

This month President Clinton announced new 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants to 1,500 schools in 48 states and Micronesia to provide high-quality afterschool community learning centers. The school-based centers, in collaboration with community partners, will help provide enriched learning opportunities for 275,000 children and 100,000 adults. Studies by the FBI and youth-advocacy groups have found that the peak hours for juvenile crime and victimization are from 2 to 8 p.m. -- hours when youth are most often without supervision. The programs, which operate beyond regular school hours and during the summer, provide learning opportunities including tutoring and homework help, academic enrichment, college prep, art instruction, technology education, drug and violence prevention counseling, supervised recreational activities, and services for youth with disabilities. More information on the grant, grantees, and program is at http://www.ed.gov/21stcclc/

"Learning Everywhere: Afterschool and Summer Programs for Youth" is the subject of a satellite town meeting on June 20. The program, hosted by Secretary Riley from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. ET, will focus on the ways that families, communities, businesses, and schools can provide safe, enriching, and fun approaches to learning before and after school. The discussion will address several questions, including:

• What do quality afterschool and summer programs look like?
• How can schools, parents, and community organizations work together to create and support such programs?
• How can these programs build on what children are learning in school and help make sure that students do not fall behind academically?

To register or locate a local meeting or TV broadcast of the teleconference, please see http://registerevent.ed.gov/

Two weeks ago, President Clinton traveled to Philadelphia to visit the first class of GEAR UP students and to highlight this program. GEAR UP -- Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs -- is an initiative designed to raise expectations and create college opportunities for disadvantaged children. This year the program is providing college scholarships to nearly 450,000 middle school students and is funding state efforts to promote college awareness and provide scholarships for needy students. More than 1,000 organizations are partners. During the next academic year, GEAR UP will serve more than 750,000 students. For more information about GEAR UP, please see http://www.ed.gov/gearup/

Students who move quickly may be able to save money by consolidating college loans before new and most likely higher -- interest rates become effective July 1. Each year, student loan interest rates are adjusted according to a formula based on the interest rates of the 91-day Treasury bills. Since last year, the Federal Reserve has increased the short-term lending rate by nearly 1.25 percentage points. This means that borrowers could see their Stafford loan rates rise from current rates to a rate approaching the 8.25% cap. Rates on PLUS loans for parents with dependent undergraduates could rise to the 9% cap.

Through loan consolidation, multiple outstanding student loans are combined into a single loan, and the interest rate is fixed for the life of the loan. Though individual circumstances may vary, additional benefits may include eliminating the hassle of dealing with multiple lenders, calculating loan payments based on income, and extending the repayment period.

Interested borrowers are urged to act now. The weighted average interest rate is calculated using the interest rate that is in effect on the date the loan holders certify the underlying loans -- not the date the consolidation application is submitted.

For more information, visit http://loanconsolidation.ed.gov (or http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/05-2000/0525a.html), or call 1-800-557-7392 (TDD 1-800-557-7395).

The President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), in partnership with the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF), has announced a new Environmental Education Teacher Professional Development Awards program. It will identify outstanding K-12 teachers who are environmental educators or use the environment as an integrating context for learning for their students. One teacher from each state and 6 additional jurisdictions will be selected. Awardees will receive a merit certificate and $1000 to be used for professional development. Applications are encouraged from all locations and under- represented minority groups. For more information on eligibility and how to apply visit http://neetf.org/Education/ceq.shtm    http://www.neetf.org/

Exploration of the frontiers of discovery -- deep sea and outer space -- is the next topic in the series of Millennium Evenings at the White House. Titled "Under the Sea, Beyond the Stars," the President and First Lady will host this broadcast featuring scientists Marcia McNutt, marine geophysicist from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Research Institute, and Neil Tyson, astrophysicist at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City. This event will be webcast and broadcast via satellite on June 12 from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. ET. You may email questions to the presenters in advance or during the event. To learn more about the event, or how to host a downlink site in your community or school, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/

ED Initiatives is made possible by many contributors, including Shelley Amdur, Stephanie Babyak, Cindy Balmuth, Ida Roxanna Eblinger, Liz Eisner, John Emekli, Laura Emmett, Andy Finch, Karen Santos Freeman, Susan Frost, Jane Glickman, Gregory Glova, Marty Jacobs, Peter Kickbush, Melinda Kitchell Malico, John McGrath, Sara Mead, Carol Rasco, Tracy Sisser, Bob Stonehill, Keith Stubbs, David Thomas, Nancy Weaver, 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.