More than 100 State Teachers of the Year & other award-winning teachers will be asked *5 questions* during focus group sessions next week in the Nation's Capitol at the 5th annual National Teacher Forum, "Making Teaching a True Profession." Teachers & other education-minded Americans are invited to respond to those 5 questions -- & read others' responses, as well as a background paper -- at: http://www.ed.gov/comments/nationalforum97/
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Last month the President announced $40.4 million in grants to help meet the growing demand for starting public charter schools. "These funds will continue our plan to help America create 3,000 charter schools by the next century," the President said. Two states, Pennsylvania & South Carolina -- and 2 schools in Hawaii -- are receiving 1st-year grants (under the 3-year grant program) to support start-up & development of additional charter schools. Nine states are receiving 2nd- year grants (AK, C T, DE, FL, IL, KS, NJ, NC & WI, plus DC, Puerto Rico & a school in NM) while 10 states are receiving their 3rd & final year of support under the program (AZ, CA, CO, GA, LA, MA, MI, MN, OR & TX).
Under the Public Charter Schools Program, passed in 1994 as part of the Improving America's Schools Act, states conduct competitions & award subgrants to provide start-up funds for new or recently established charter schools. These funds help pay for planning, design & start-up costs. Secretary Riley noted that more than 420 charter schools receive support from the program.
For more information, including state contacts, please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/09-1997/chart97.html
For general information about charter schools, please see: http://www.uscharterschools.org/
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Secretary Riley described "a new American consensus about how to improve education" in a speech last month at the National Press Club. He also released "What Really Matters in American Education," a report that discusses vouchers & their impact on sc hooling, the effect of private & public school choice programs on student achievement, the impact of course-taking & standards on student achievement, improvements needed in public schools, trends in education gains, exemplary efforts at comprehen sive school reforms in urban school districts & more. The report & speech are at:
http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/09-1997/index.html
http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/09-1997/970923.html
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Children do better in school when their dads are involved in their schools, and this holds true regardless of family income or race, parents' level of education, whether their fathers live with them, or whether their mothers are also involved in their sch ools, according to a report released by the National Center for Education Statistics & highlighted Vice President Gore & Secretary Riley on October 2. Among the findings, which are based on parent interviews: children in 2-parent families where both parents are highly involved get better grades, enjoy school more & are less likely to repeat a grade, compared with those where only mothers are highly involved. The report, "Fathers' Involvement in Their Children's Schools," is available at: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/fathers/index.html
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The Department is offering 4 live, interactive teleconferences via satellite in the next 2 months on:
- the E-rate & how schools & communities can integrate technology into learning (Oct. 21, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET).
- preparing teachers to involve families in children's learning, with special guest Vice President Gore (Nov. 5 at 2:00-4:00 p.m. ET).
- financial aid -- practical information about everything students & families need to know about federal student financial assistance. Registered sites will receive materials & financial aid applications (Nov. 10 at 8:00 -8:45 p.m. ET).
- Teacher recruitment & making sure there is a talented, dedicated & well-prepared teacher in every classroom (Nov. 18 at 8:00 -9:00 p.m. ET).
For information, please call 1-800-USA-LEARN or e-mail
Satellite.Town.Meeting@ed.gov All events are free, but registration is required in order to receive materials.
WHAT IS THE KEY to establishing quality before- & after- school enrichment programs? *Strong partnerships* with organizations & government agencies that can help provide resources & people to make the programs work, panelists told Secretary R iley during last month's Satellite Town Meeting. Panelists described various approaches. In Washington Heights (NYC), Intermediate School 218 partnered with the Children's Aid Society & others to keep the school open from 7 a.m. until late evening, o ffering academic tutorials, enrichment courses, arts & sports activities. The Children's Aid Society supplies resources & staff for many services & courses offered at the school. In the small town of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, every elementary school is open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. year round. Through flex-time scheduling & partnerships with local colleges, parents & state government, Murfreesboro has been able to offer education programs after school taught by certified teachers, witho ut significantly increasing costs or demands on staff. For a videotape of the September Satellite Town Meeting, send an e-mail to:
Satellite.Town.Meeting@ed.gov
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Last month, Secretary Riley announced 9 Star Schools grants to help improve teaching & learning through the use of satellite, cable, fiber optics, and multimedia technologies. Eight 5-year grants (totaling $15 million) went to education organizations in 8 states (CA, FL, HI, IL, MA, SC, WA, WY) to help them acquire, develop & produce programs to teach students & train teachers, as well as pay for facilities & purchase equipment. One *dissemination* grant (to WestEd in CA) will help state departments of education & school districts plan & implement technology-based distance learning systems. For more information, please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/09-1997/starsc97.html
For information about other Star Schools projects, see:
http://www.ed.gov/EdRes/EdFed/Star.html
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This week the President signed a "continuing resolution" (CR) that had been passed by the House & Senate allowing the Department to operate at current 1997 spending levels while the House & Senate work in conference committee to resolve difference s in their respective appropriations bills. The CR will expire on October 23 or when a 1998 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill has been agreed to by both chambers & signed by the President. Conferees on the Department appropriations bill are no t expected to meet until October 7. As previously reported, the Senate passed last month as part of its appropriations bill an amendment that would fold most elementary & secondary education funding administered by the Department into block grants to be distributed to local education agencies (school districts). The House education appropriations bill includes no such amendment; however, it would halt funding for the development of voluntary national tests. The President said on September 16 that h e would veto any legislation that includes the Senate block grant provision & the House bill effort to stop voluntary national testing (http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/WhiteHouse.html).
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Last month, Vice President Gore unveiled a one-stop website developed by 15 federal agencies for non-profit groups. The U.S. NonProfit Gateway serves as a directory to more than 300,000 government webpages on grants, budgets, volunteer opportunities & ; agency partnerships. At the announcement, the Vice President mentioned the Department's Partnership for Family Involvement for Education & other efforts, including...
- The Environmental Protection Agency's "EnviroFacts," which offers maps displaying air pollution levels & Superfund clean-up decisions.
- The Department of Health & Human Services' "HealthFinder," which provides consumer health information.
- The Department of Labor's "America's Job Bank" -- a service for job seekers & employers that was created in conjunction with the 50 state employment services.
The U.S. NonProfit Gateway is at: http://www.nonprofit.gov/ The Department of Education's NonProfit Gateway is at: http://www.ed.gov/NPAdvisor/
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"Topics A to Z" -- an alphabetical list of links to the best starting points for major topics addressed at the U.S. Department of Education's website & at other Department-sponsored websites.
http://www.ed.gov/topicsaz/
"Families' Guide to the 1997 Tax Cuts for Education" -- describes the HOPE Scholarship tax credit, the Lifetime Learning tax credit & other benefits provided by the August (1997) balanced budget law for adults returning to school & families se nding children to college.
http://www.ed.gov/updates/97918tax.html
September 18 testimony by Acting Deputy Secretary Marshall Smith on the William D. Ford Direct Loan Consolidation Program before the House Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, Training & Life-Long Learning.
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OLCA/msmith.html
An "interactive budgeting worksheet & calculator" where students can key in their expenses & income -- education (tuition, books, fees), housing, transportation, financial aid, employment & more -- and estimate their budgets for the academ ic year.
http://www.ed.gov/DirectLoan/calc.html
"1998 congressional budget tables" show action taken by the House & Senate appropriations committees on the President's 1998 budget request for the Department.
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/Budget98/
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ED Initiatives...