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

A biweekly look at progress on the Secretary's priorities

STATE OF AMERICAN EDUCATION

"It's not enough to have high expectations or set challenging standards," Secretary Riley said last week in his 4th annual State of American Education Address. "We must put standards of excellence into action. That is my agenda." The Secretary noted that "40% of our children are not reading as well as they should by the end of the 3rd grade, and this nation is below the international average when it comes to 8th grade math.... That is why the President has called for challenging, voluntary national tests in 4th-grade reading and 8th-grade math." The Secretary also announced, during the February 18 speech at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, that "a broad spectrum of religious denominations here in Atlanta will spearhead a drive to support the President's reading challenge" (the America Reads Challenge). The full text of the speech, "Putting Standards of Excellence Into Action," is available in our Online Library at: http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/02-1997/StateofED.html

As noted in the previous issue of ED Initiatives, the President's February 4th State of the Union Address, his 10- point "Call to Action for American Education in the 21st Century," materials supporting his call for challenging national standards & tests in reading & mathematics, and his proposed 1998 budget for the U.S. Department of Education are available in our Online Library (http://www.ed.gov).

GOALS 2000

A consortium of 25 school districts in New Mexico, the "Northern New Mexico Network for Rural Education," is using Goals 2000 funds to support sustained professional development based on needs identified by school & district frameworks, which are all aimed at strengthening academic standards & student learning. Under the "Teacher Dream Fund," made possible through a Goals 2000 grant to the Ruidoso Municipal School District that is administered by the Center for Teaching Excellence at Eastern New Mexico University, more than 100 teachers across New Mexico are pursuing their own professional development "dreams." They are attending workshops on portfolio assessment, paleontology & science; taking courses on integrating technology into instruction, improving math & reading instruction; participating in Advanced Placement & thematic learning institutes; creating a "field trip" of Shakespeare's sonnets & dialogues; & more. The workshops, courses, institutes & projects have a common goal of improving student learning.

BILINGUAL ED INFORMATION VIA E-MAIL

"Newsline" is a free weekly email-based news service -- launched in June 1996 -- describing funding sources, current events, research findings, promising practices, and issues related to the education of linguistically & culturally diverse students in the U.S. "Newsline" is produced by the National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education (NCBE), which is supported by the Department's Office of Bilingual Education & Minority Languages Affairs. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: majordomo@cis.ncbe.gwu.edu In the body of the message type: subscribe newsline Back issues of "Newsline" are available at: http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/majordomo/newsline/archive.html

BUDGET

After sending his 1998 budget to Congress on February 6, President Clinton, Secretary Riley & others met with Congressional leaders on February 12 in a bipartisan meeting to find common ground on budget & other pending issues. Education was among a handful of issues singled out for active Executive-Congressional cooperation & negotiation.

Although formal Congressional hearings on the Department's fiscal year 1998 appropriations request are not scheduled to begin in the House until March 11, early discussions between the Administration & the Congress are already underway to explore potential areas of bipartisan agreement on the Department's education budget & new initiatives.

IN MEMORIAM

Secretary Riley issued this statement when learning of the death of Al Shanker on February 23:

"I worked with Al Shanker for many years & always held him in the highest regard. I have lost a friend & the American people have lost a great champion of education. Al Shanker was a champion not only of America's teachers, but of America's students. He was a pioneer in seeking to raise standards in our classrooms."

ONLINE LIBRARY

Recent additions to our Online Library include...

• "Time Spent Teaching Core Academic Subjects in Elementary Schools: Comparisons Across Community, School, Teacher, and Student Characteristics" (February 1997) tells the number of hours & the percentage of school time spent on core academic subjects during the elementary school week around the country. ("Highlights" available at: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs/97293.html -- full text available in PDF.)

• "The NAEP Guide: A Description of the Content & Methods of the 1994 and 1996 Assessments" (February 1997) describes how the NAEP (the National Assessment of Educational Progress) is organized, governed & more. ("Highlights" available at: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs/97586.html -- full text available in PDF.)

• "Serving Private School Students With Federal Education Programs" tells representatives of children enrolled in private elementary & secondary schools about resources available through federal education programs. It also provides other materials useful to public school officials who administer federal education programs on behalf of children attending private schools (http://www.ed.gov/pubs/ServPrivate/).

• "Teacher Professionalization & Teacher Commitment: A Multilevel Analysis" (February 1997) examines the relationships between a set of characteristics traditionally associated with professions & one of the most important aspects of teaching quality & performance: teachers' commitment to their teaching careers. ("Highlights" available at: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs/97069.html -- full text available in PDF.)

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.

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[Past Issues of ED Initiatives]

Last Updated -- Feb. 26, 1997, (pjk)