Last month, Secretary Riley announced Goals 2000 awards to Wisconsin, Indiana & Mississippi, bringing to 41 the number of states that have received funding during the 3rd year of this program.
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The President signed last month the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which aims to strengthen academic expectations & accountability for the nation's 5.4 million children with disabilities, and bridge the gap that has too often existed between the regular curriculum & what these children learn. For an overview, questions & answers, and other information, please see: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/IDEA/ Also, the Secretary solicits advice & recommendations from the public prior to publishing proposed regulations to implement programs under IDEA. Comments should be sent via e-mail or regular mail to: Thomas Irvin (thomas.irvin@ed.gov), Office of Special Education & Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education, Room 4607, Mary E. Switzer Building, 330 C Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20202.
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"Every girl growing up in America today should have the chance to become an astronaut or an Olympic athlete, a Cabinet Secretary or a Supreme Court Justice, a Nobel Prize winning scientist or President of the United States," the President said on June 17, the 25th anniversary of Title IX. He noted how far we've come -- that, for instance, in 1972, 9% of the medical degrees & 7% of law degrees were awarded to women, compared to 38% & 43% in 1996. He also directed all federal executive departments & agencies to develop vigorous, new plans for enforcing Title IX. A report on Title IX will be available soon in on the Department's web site. The President's statement & memo are at: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/WhiteHouse.html
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As of June 30th, more than 425 colleges & universities have accepted the President's call to help ensure that every child reads well & independently by the end of 3rd grade by earmarking all, or part, of their Federal Work-Study (FWS) fund increase for reading tutors. Forty-six states & D.C. are represented; California leads with 49 campuses, followed by Pennsylvania, where 27 campuses have accepted the challenge to commit a substantial portion of the newly- created positions to reading tutors for pre-K and elementary school students. A list of these colleges & universities is available at the America Reads Challenge home page, as is a new guide that discusses ideas & basic requirements for administering FWS & community service programs, including the America Reads Challenge program: "Expanding Federal Work-Study & Community Service Opportunities." http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/
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On June 10, the Department's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released a report showing U.S. 4th graders scoring above average in math & science among 25 other participating nations. According to the report, which is based on the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), only Korea outperformed the U.S. in 4th grade science, and only 7 of the 25 other countries did better than the U.S. in 4th grade math. In November, a TIMSS report found U.S. 8th graders performing slightly above average in science & slightly below in math. "Studying our international performance at grades four and eight gives clear evidence that math at eighth grade is a weak link," Secretary Riley said. "We now have further evidence of the critical importance of the president's proposal for a national test of math at Grade 8 to help students master math, no matter where they live in this great country." For the full report -- "Pursuing Excellence: A Study of U.S. Fourth-Grade Mathematics and Science Achievement in International Context" (June 1997) -- as well as the 8th-grade report & other materials, please see: http://nces.ed.gov/TIMSS/
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On June 30, President Clinton announced a tax cut plan that makes education a priority & honors the terms of the bipartisan balanced budget agreement. The package contains the President's $1,500 HOPE tax credit to make 2 years of college as universal as 4 years of high school & an additional 20% tax credit for lifelong higher education & training. The President's package is designed to help hard- pressed middle-income families invest in education and training -- two-thirds of the President's tax cuts go to the middle sixty percent of families, twice the share the Congressional plans provide these middle income families. For more information on the President's tax package, including a chart comparing his proposal to bills passed by the House & Senate, please see: http://www.ed.gov/news.html
On June 19, Secretary Riley testified on the Administration's proposals for reauthorizing the Higher Education Act of 1965 before the House Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, Training & Life-Long Learning of the Committee on Education & the Workforce. The proposals follow 4 principles: ensuring access, supporting high standards & high achievement, improving outreach to potential students & linkages to employment & elementary & secondary education, and simplifying program delivery & improving management.
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How K-12 schools & libraries can prepare to benefit from the $2.25 billion fund for discounted telecommunication services, internal connections & Internet access is described in a letter from Secretary Riley & other materials regarding the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruling (E-rate). http://www.ed.gov/Technology/
Last month, the Department announced $3.4 million in grants to organizations in Florida, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina & Oregon to help strengthen academic achievement of migrant students through the Internet, public television & other technology. One project, the Migrant Education Consortium for Higher Achievement (MECHA), will use WebTV as the primary means to deliver supplemental instruction to migrant students & to assess their progress. Interactive video, instructional TV, laptop computers & the web will also be used as students participate in project- based learning, thematic units & collaborative learning groups. Students will have their own individualized learning plans, accessible via the Internet. Five migrant teachers, along with instructional aides, will work with 100 migrant families each year, and a toll-free 1-800 number will offer families with technical assistance. MECHA is a collaboration among Barry University, the Dade County Public Schools Migrant Education Program, public television, telecommunications & software publishing industry partners, and school districts serving migrant children & youth in 5 states (Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Pennsylvania & Virginia). http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/06-1997/goregrnt.html
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Recent additions include the following:
- In May, NCES made available online the 1997 "Condition of Education," an annual report to Congress on 60 indicators considered to be the most significant national measures of the condition & progress of education at the time, but tempered, necessarily, by the availability of current & valid information. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs/ce/index.html
- NASA unveiled last month a redesign of "Spacelink," its web site of more than 15,000 files for teachers & students. The new Spacelink offers upgraded text & graphical interfaces, an improved search engine, better navigation capabilities & other enhancements, including "Cool Picks," a collection of intriguing educational NASA materials & sites. http://spacelink.nasa.gov/
- Transcripts of the proceedings of the April 17 "White House Conference on Early Childhood Development & Learning: What New Research on the Brain Tells Us About Our Youngest Children."
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ED Initiatives...