Earlier this month, 5 high schools were recognized as "New Urban High Schools" for their efforts to restructure what & how they teach, so that learning is relevant & all students are prepared for college & career opportunities.
One of the schools, Chicago Vocational Essential High School, has transformed itself over the past 5 years into 8 "schools within a school." Each of these smaller "schools" is organized around a broad career cluster, and vocational & academic teacher s in each school meet regularly to plan integrated units of study. More than 2,700 students attend Chicago Vocational, which has been recognized locally & nationally for its achievements in personalizing education in a large urban site. A second sch ool, the St. Louis Career Academy, offers computer-assisted instruction, project-based learning, and small-group work to its 240 students. Juniors & seniors participate in workplace internships in the life sciences, and they demonstrate what they're learning in portfolios & exhibitions. The Academy is a pilot program for the new St. Louis Career Education District, which will operate 4 such academies, each serving 450 students from the city & the surrounding county.
For more information on this new project, "Changing the Subject: The New Urban High School," please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/03-1997/urb-hs.html
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Last week Secretary Riley announced Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF) awards to Alabama, Hawaii, Maryland, & Vermont, bringing to 16 the number of states that have received grants under this program.
Alabama will use its $3.5 million grant to create a statewide Intranet connecting every school, school system central office, public library, and the State Department of Education (via fiber optics) to each other & to the Internet. In Hawaii, where n early every school is already connected to a Wide Area Network, the state will use its $1 million grant to align the use of technology with other aspects of education. Maryland's $2.4 million grant will support continued implementation of district technology plans in Maryland. Local school systems, especially those targeting students in poverty, will use these funds for staff development, hardware/software acquisitions, or network connections, according to their identified needs. Partnerships with institutions of higher education, public libraries, and private sector organizations are being encouraged through the grant process. Vermont's $1 million grant will help poor & needy school districts purchase hardware, software, networking links, Internet access, and professional development -- all in support of individual school district plans to use technology in helping students reach state academic standards.
The TLCF is designed to help advance the President's four technology goals: training & support (in technology) for all teachers, access to modern computers for all students & teachers, connections to the Information Superhighway for all classroom s & schools, and high quality software & online resources as part of the curriculum in every school. The TLCF benefits students in both public & non-profit private schools. For more information, please see the full text of the press releases at: http://www.ed.gov/news.html#pr
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On March 14, Secretary Riley sent a bill to Congress that would offer federal assistance to help local communities & states rebuild their schools. The "Partnership to Rebuild America's Schools Act of 1997" would provide $5 billion over the next 4 yea rs to help upgrade old schools & build new schools. It would spur $20 billion in investments for school modernization by states, localities, and the private sector. The bill has been introduced in the House and Senate as H.R. 1104 and S. 456.
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On March 20, the President sent to Congress, as part of his 5-year balanced budget, "The Hope & Opportunity for Postsecondary Education (HOPE) Act of 1997." The bill, known as The HOPE Act, includes a $10,000 tuition tax deduction, a $1,500 Hope Scho larship tax credit, a substantial Pell Grant expansion & increase, a cut in student loan fees, new tax incentives for educational assistance from employers, and other provisions. It would provide...
- $38.4 billion over 5 years in tax relief for middle- income families struggling to pay for college.
- At least $40 billion in Pell Grants over 5 years to provide more tuition assistance to low- & moderate- income families, the largest increase in 2 decades.
- $2.6 billion in savings over 5 years in reduced loan fees for student loan borrowers -- putting more money into the hands of students when they pay tuition bills & other college expenses.
- Financial support for worker training through the tuition deduction and the extension of the tax-free treatment of up to $5,250 per employee in employer- provided educational assistance.
More than 250 college presidents have expressed support for initiatives in The Hope Act. For more information, please see: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/PPI/HOPE/
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The Apple PIE awards program is seeking nominations for individuals, businesses, schools & community organizations that have developed partnerships to increase parent & family involvement in children's education. The program -- formerly known as the Golden Apple Awards and sponsored by "Working Mother" magazine, Teachers College (Columbia University) & the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education -- is particularly interested in partnerships that focus on...
providing school-age child care, increasing communication between home & school, using technology to increase parent involvement, establishing programs that promote flextime & parent leave to support education, academic programs that e ncourage parent involvement in science & mathematics, literacy volunteer programs, and mentoring programs.
The deadline for nominations is April 14, 1997. Awards will be made in 3 categories: individuals, businesses, and schools & community organizations. Last year's winners include...
- BE&K Engineering & Construction Company (Birmingham, AL), which sponsors of an Adopt-a-School program & whose employees remodeled a school's library.
- Barbara Taibi (Montclair, NJ), who created the Winter Indoor Recess Program at her son's school, where parent-volunteers initiate lunchtime activities such as dancing & storytelling.
- The Allen County (IN) MegaSkills Program, which offers workshops to parents on how to help their children develop confidence, responsibility & teamwork skills.
- Family Involvement Programs developed at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ), which provides after- school training sessions in math, science & technology to children & parents.
For more information, please call Catherine Cartwright (212- 445-6143) or Kalia Doner (212-580-0181) or send an e-mail message to Kalia Doner at: Kalia@interport.net
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The Department's National Institute on Student Achievement, Curriculum & Assessment is seeking "peer reviewers" -- qualified researchers, experienced teachers & other practitioners, and policy makers -- to review competitive program applications & #38; recommend which applications should be funded. These reviews, scheduled for late spring & summer 1997, will focus on proposals to study or experiment with models to improve the following: student achievement, assessment & curriculum, at-ris k populations, early childhood, postsecondary education, school policy, and governance & management. A review of curriculum development projects in international education, and civics & economic education is scheduled for June 5-6; a review of ch arter school research & development proposals is scheduled for June 10-14; a review of proposals for Field Initiated Studies (FIS) is expected late in July. If you are interested in serving as a peer reviewer for any of these reviews, please send a s hort resume, a 1-paragraph summary of your resume, contact information (your address, e-mail, phone & fax numbers), which competitions interest you, your area of expertise, and dates you are available to Paige Russ, National Institute on Student Achie
vement & Assessment, Room 510, 555 New Jersey Ave. NW, Washington DC 20208-5573. Or, fax or e-mail this information to Paige Russ at (202) 219-2135 or paige.russ@ed.gov (Please do not respond to a particular co mpetition if you or your organization plan to submit a proposal.)
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Recent additions to our Online Library include...
- "Sexual Harassment Guidance" provides information for educational institutions on standards used by the Department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to investigate & resolve allegations of sexual harassment of students by school employees, other stu dents, or 3rd parties. http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/1997-1/031397b.html
- "The Regulation of Private Schools in America: A State-by-State Analysis" summarizes state laws affecting private schools. Regulations for each state are presented under 5 categories: record- keeping & reports, licensing/registration/ accreditat ion, health & safety, curriculum, and public funding. http://www.ed.gov/pubs/RegPrivSchl/
- The Safe & Drug-Free Schools (SDFS) Program unveiled its new home page. This program is the federal government's primary vehicle for reducing violence & the use of drugs, alcohol & tobacco, through education & prevention activities in our nation's schools. http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSDFS/
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ED Initiatives...