Some 1.7 million children in kindergarten through 3rd grade now receive instruction in smaller, more personalized classes as a result of the first year of the national Class-Size Reduction program, says a report released yesterday by Secretary Riley. Improvements in reading achievement and teacher morale are among the benefits of the program. The report also cites studies showing that smaller classes contribute to higher academic achievement and fewer discipline problems. A press release and the report, "The Class-Size Reduction Program: Boosting Student Achievement in Schools Across the Nation," are at http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/09-2000/0907.html

Enrollments rose this fall to 53 million children in K-12 schools and 15.1 million Americans in higher education, setting new national records, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported last month. Enrollments will remain at record levels over the next 10 years and then increase each year for the rest of the century. By the year 2100, an estimated 94 million young people will be going to school in the U.S., an increase of 42 million students.

The Secretary noted that currently the greatest increase in enrollments is at the high school level. Overcrowded high schools present a special challenge, he said, as research indicates that teenagers do better, academically and socially, when they have fewer than 600 classmates.

"America's challenge as we begin the 21st century," he said, "is to make good choices now, so that we won't be overwhelmed later when it comes to the education of our children." He pointed to the Johnson-Rangel school construction bill, which would leverage $25 billion in school construction bonds for school districts and which is supported by 226 members of the House -- a bipartisan majority of Republicans and Democrats. He urged the congressional leadership to bring the bill to a floor vote so that it can be enacted before the end of this session.

The press release, speech, and report, "Growing Pains: The Challenge of Overcrowded Schools is Here to Stay," are at
http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/08-2000/0821.html
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/bbecho00/

Yesterday at the National Press Club in D.C., Secretary Riley delivered his annual back-to-school address. He spoke about his 5-day bus tour through the Mississippi Delta, where he emphasized the need to construct schools, reduce class sizes, and overcome the digital divide. He focused in the speech on transitions in children's lives: the early years, middle years, high school years, and the senior year. The speech is available at http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/09-2000/000907.html

Last month President Clinton announced the Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse, an online resource that can help school districts find qualified teachers. The clearinghouse can be used to...

access online job banks and job listings across the country, compare school districts and job offerings nationally, find out how to prepare to become a teacher, learn how to finance teacher preparation, understand in which geographic and subject areas teachers are most needed, find out about incentives districts offer new teachers, learn about strategies for finding and keeping teachers, expand a district's reach to a national audience of prospective teachers, and explore strategies for recruiting teachers.

"At such a critical time, when so many districts face a shortfall in certified teachers," Secretary Riley said, "this free service may have a tremendous impact on the way school districts find quality teachers." He noted that for prospective teachers, the clearinghouse is not only a gateway to job openings; it also offers resources and guidance to individuals considering careers in teaching.
http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/08-2000/0826.html
http://www.recruitingteachers.org

You're invited to the September 11 and 12 webcast of the "Secretary's Conference on Educational Technology: Measuring the Impacts and Shaping the Future." Featured schools and researchers will discuss...

• What are effective uses of technology in schools?
• What does it take to enable students, educators, and communities to use technology effectively?
• What assessment strategies capture the value technology brings to schools?

Commissioned papers written by Ed Gragert, Barbara McCombs, Barbara Means, Margaret Riel, Saul Rockman, Michael Russell, Bob Tinker, and others look at assessment, international education, technology policy and practice, structural changes induced by technology, and other topics. The papers, conference agenda, and details about the webcast (provided by Kidz Online and Apple Computer), are at http://www.ed.gov/Technology/techconf/2000/

When adult mentors read once a week with students who read below grade level, those students' academic performance and classroom behavior improve, according to a study announced this week. The Department study was conducted on Everybody Wins! Power Lunch, a privately funded program that pairs professionals with disadvantaged elementary students in Washington, D.C.-area schools. Among the findings: 25% of participating students who were reading below grade level improved their academic performance, more than double the 12% in the control group, and 55% of poor readers in the program always or often enjoyed reading, compared to 31% of control group students.
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/eval/elem.html#Miscl

October 10-17 is the 3rd Annual Campus Week of Dialogue. Schools, colleges and universities across America are organizing events to promote racial reconciliation and cultural awareness. Secretary Riley sent a letter inviting college and university presidents, students, faculty, associations, and national and local leaders to host a campus week activity. Last year nearly 700 institutions participated. To find out how you may participate, please visit http://www.ed.gov/campusdialogue/

October 16-23 is National College Week. College and university presidents and college students are invited to reach out to middle and high school students with the message that college is possible. Many young people believe that higher education is financially out of reach because they lack an understanding of the resources available to help cover college costs. Also many more young people would be better prepared to do college level work if they began preparing for college earlier in their high school careers. Last year more than 500 colleges and universities participated in National College Week. For more information, please see http://www.ed.gov/collegeweek/

The Improving America's Schools conferences are just around the corner. As previously reported, the Department's 3 regional IAS conferences will be held September 18-20 in Sacramento, CA, October 2-4 in Louisville, KY, and December 13-15 in Washington, D.C. A detailed conference agenda and online registration are available at http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/iasconferences/index.htm.

The first Satellite Town Meeting of the 2000-2001 season gets under way September 19 from 8:00 to 9:00 PM (ET) when Secretary Riley and guests discuss school design and educational technology. Among the questions they will address:

• What should schools of the 21st century look like?
• How can new or renovated facilities accommodate fast growing enrollments, while providing the smaller learning environments students need?
• In what ways has technology revolutionized teaching and learning? How can buildings reflect that change?
• How can communities find resources to make these investments?

For details and to register online for "Modernizing Schools: Technology and Buildings for a New Century," please see http://www.ed.gov/MailingLists/STM-LIST/msg00127.html Note: Apple Computer's Apple Learning Interchange provides live and archived webcasts of Satellite Town Meetings: http://ali.apple.com/events/edgovseries/

Yesterday a coalition of 31 organizations released a report recommending ways to strengthen the national system of adult education. (The system currently serves only 4 million of the 40 million adults in the U.S. who have low literacy skills.) The report, issued by the National Coalition for Literacy, calls for...

• $1 billion in federal support annually for the adult education, language, and literacy system -- an increase of more than $600 million over current appropriations
• greater use of distance learning
• unions and employers to expand their joint efforts to provide adult education, language, and literacy programs to workers and their families.

The report, "From the Margins to the Mainstream: An Action Agenda for Literacy," is at http://www.nifl.gov/Coalition/margins_to_mainstream.pdf

Last month Secretary Riley announced 10 grants to help adults access quality distance learning wherever and whenever they choose. The grants were made through the Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships (LAAP) program to national and regional partnerships involving 2 or more institutions of higher education, community organizations, businesses, and other public and private agencies.
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/FIPSE/LAAP
http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/08-2000/0828.html

On September 27 at 1:00 PM ET, federal and private sector leaders responsible for the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) will discuss...

• challenges and strategies for moving a diverse population into the workforce and into high-skilled jobs
• the role of one-stop career centers in helping all workers thrive in the 21st century economy.

The hour-long discussion will be aired via satellite and also webcast (and archived). Additional information and online registration will be available after September 12 at http://registerevent.ed.gov/

You are invited to comment (by September 11) on the draft of the Department's Strategic Plan 2001-2005. http://www.ed.gov/pubs/stratplan2001-05/index.html

Editor's Note: We apologize for the short notice on this invitation to comment. We have been on vacation.

NAEP 1999 Trends in Academic Progress: Three Decades of Student Performance presents results from NAEP's long-term trend assessments in reading, math, and science administered in 1999 to students aged 9, 13, and 17. http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000469

Federal Support for Education Fiscal Years 1980-2000 looks at federal financial support for education since FY 1980, including the Department and other federal agenices. http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000068

ED Initiatives is made possible by many contributors, including Stephanie Babyak, Donald Conner, Ida Eblinger, Scott Fleming, Alan Ginsburg, Jane Glickman, Donna Hinkle, Patty Hobbs, Audrey Hutchinson, Peter Kickbush, Bob LeGrand, Debbie McLean, Sara Mead, Lynn Reddy, Diane Reed, Tracy Sisser, Mary Stanik, Bob Stonehill, David Thomas, Peter Woolfolk, 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.