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

Table of Contents Goals 2000 Telecommunications Discounts... Voluntary National Tests... New Urban High Schools Technology Innovation Challenge... School-to-Work Town Meeting Technology Resources Center Budget Credits GOALS 2000 The Perquimans County School System, a low-income & rural school district in North Carolina, is using Goals 2000 funds to create a technology centered learning environment, offer training for teachers, and extend the school day for remediation classes -- all in an effort to improve student performance in algebra. Schools in Dare County (NC) are using Goals 2000 funds to prepare & support teachers & parents in learning how to integrate technology into each school's culture in ways that strengthen student learning.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS DISCOUNTS FOR SCHOOLS & LIBRARIES Billions of dollars in new investments for technology may be available to schools & libraries as early as the 1997-98 school year. It all depends on whether the 4 current Commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) vote to accept, modify or reject a set of recommendations made by the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service. The outcome of this vote, scheduled for May 8, could mean discounts of 20% to 90% off Internet access charges & other telecommunication services for schools & libraries. For more information, please see the "E-Rate Alert" at: http://www.ed.gov/MailingLists/EDInfo/0234.html

VOLUNTARY NATIONAL TESTS & 8th GRADE MATH Last week President Clinton addressed a joint session of the Michigan legislature, describing his 10-point Call to Action for American Education. Michigan is the 2nd state, after Maryland, to commit to taking the new voluntary national tests that are part of that 10-point plan. The tests, scheduled to be administered in the spring of 1999, will allow Michigan parents & teachers to see how well individual students are doing -- against national standards of excellence -- in reading at the end of 4th grade & in mathematics at the end of 8th grade. As part of ongoing efforts to help students meet these challenging standards in reading & math, the President last week directed the Secretary of Education & the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to "develop an action strategy for using federal resources to assist states & local school systems to prepare students to meet challenging math standards in 8th grade, and for involving the mathematics, scientific, and technical communities in support of these efforts." For more information on this March 6 directive & for the full text of the President's address to the Michigan legislature, please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/WhiteHouse.html

NEW URBAN HIGH SCHOOLS Secretary Riley & Assistant Secretary Patricia McNeil recognized 5 urban high schools this week for their efforts to restructure what & how they teach, so that learning is relevant & all students are prepared for college & career opportunities. The schools are: Hoover High School (San Diego, CA) William Turner Technical High School (Miami, FL) Chicago Vocational Essential High School (Chicago, IL) St. Louis Academy (St. Louis, MO) Central Park East Secondary School (New York, NY) The 5 schools -- selected under a new project, "Changing the Subject: The New Urban High School" -- approach reform from a perspective grounded in the needs of their communities, while stressing: high academic standards & career skills; a curriculum that emphasizes high-level academics linked with career experiences career exploration, internships & work-based experiences linked to classroom teaching strong partnerships between the high school & postsecondary institutions adult mentors to assist students with classroom & on-the-job learning experiences a safe, supportive learning environment within the school. One of these schools, Hoover High School, has organized its curriculum around 3 broad career pathways. Its 1,800 students develop individualized learning plans & document their work in computer-based portfolios that serve as electronic transcripts for college & career exploration. A second school, William Turner High School, is a model school for Dade County. Vocational & academic curricula are being integrated into 7 broad career pathways & in an atmosphere of high expectations for all of its 2,147 students. Students at Turner High have the option of earning not only a high school diploma, but also occupational certification. For additional information, please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/03-1997/urb-hs.html

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION CHALLENGE GRANTS Proposed new criteria, selection procedures, and application procedures for the Technology Innovation Challenge Grants program were published in the Federal Register on February 26 http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/1997-1/022697a.html Comments are due March 28. This year the Department expects to award about 20 new 5- year grants of approximately $900,000 each under this program (formerly known as the Challenge Grants for Technology in Education program). A Notice Inviting Applications will appear in the Federal Register as soon as the proposed new criteria & procedures are published in final form. (Information will be provided here as it becomes available.) BACKGROUND: The Technology Innovation Challenge Grants program makes grants to consortia led by school districts & including businesses, libraries, colleges, museums, community organizations & other organizations for innovative uses of technology to improve student achievement & teacher learning. Last year, 586 applications were received, with 24 of them receiving grants. For more information, including descriptions of projects that received awards last year & in 1995, please see: http://www.ed.gov/Technology/challenge/

SCHOOL-TO-WORK TOWN MEETING This month's Satellite Town Meeting, "School-to Work Opportunities: Workplaces as Learning Environments," features the CEO of Proctor & Gamble, director of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, superintendent of the Houston Independent School District (where work-based learning is incorporated throughout the curriculum) & others discussing... how schools can engage community partners in identifying necessary workplace skills & creating programs to develop those skills how businesses & community organizations can ensure that students are prepared for the high-skill jobs of the future how classroom learning can be integrated with on-the-job experiences how school-to-work programs contribute to the education of every student. Secretary Riley & J.D. Hoye, Director of the National School-to-Work Office, will host the teleconference live from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C., from 8:00-9:00 p.m. For satellite coordinates, please call 1- 800-USA-LEARN or e-mail Satellite.Town.Meeting@ed.gov The schedule for upcoming Satellite Town Meetings is available at: http://www.ed.gov/inits/stm/98-99stm.html

TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES CENTER ED employees can explore hundreds of educational software titles, as well as new products & technologies, at the National Library of Education's "Technology Resources Center" (TRC). School technology administrators, teachers & principals, and parents & students are invited to visit, and presentations tailored for particular groups or individuals can be arranged. "The TRC has an outstanding collection of CD-ROM & other computer programs, with special emphasis on younger children," says director Sheldon Fisher. Teachers sometimes use the TRC software library to compare how different titles teach the same subject or to examine various hardware configurations before making decisions on equipment. The TRC is located at Capitol Place & is open from 9:00 to 4:00 daily (appointments are requested). For additional information, please contact Sheldon Fisher (sheldon.fisher@ed.gov), National Library of Education, Office of Educational Research & Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20208-5721.

BUDGET This week Secretary Riley & other Department officials testified before the House Subcommittee on Labor- HHS-Education Appropriations on the President's 1998 budget request for the Department. For the full text of these statements -- which were made by the Department's top officials for elementary & secondary education; bilingual & minority languages; postsecondary education; vocational & adult education; special education & rehabilitation services; and research, statistics & improvement; as well as the Inspector General -- please visit "Speeches & Testimony" under the NEWS button on our home page (http://www.ed.gov/news.html#speech).

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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Last Updated -- June 21, 2001, (sf)