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 Helping All Children Read Well... High Standards for All Students... After-School Centers Preparing All Students for College... Summer Seminars in Humanities International Space Station Satellite Event Millennium Logo Sought New Online Credits

HELPING ALL CHILDREN READ WELL BY THE END OF 3rd GRADE More than 825 colleges & universities are providing thousands of college federal work-study students the opportunity to work with children on their reading skills. At Arizona State University, college work-study students go to elementary schools on weekdays & Saturdays to tutor children in after-school programs. Also on Saturdays they work with bilingual students at a Phoenix public library. In New Haven, CT, more than 70 college work-study students from Yale University tutor 3rd-graders one-on-one for an hour after school 3-4 days a week. They also visit the library together once a week. To find out how you can get involved in helping children in your community read well & independently by the end of 3rd grade, call your local college or university & ask about their tutoring efforts in reading. For more information about university tutoring programs, please see: http://www.ed.gov/inits/ americareads/ARC_FWS/

HIGH STANDARDS FOR ALL STUDENTS; ALL CLASSROOMS CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET; ALL STUDENTS TECHNOLOGICALLY LITERATE A 90-minute session on the E-Rate -- which offers up to $2.25 billion in telecommunications discounts for schools & libraries -- and a speech by Secretary Riley will be broadcast live, via satellite & the Internet, from the final 1997 Improving America's Schools Conference on December 16, 10:00 a.m. to noon EST. A video appearance by President Clinton at the December 14-16 conference in Washington, D.C. will also be aired via the Internet. For coordinates & other information on the satellite broadcast, please see: http://psrtec.clmer.csulb.edu/satellite/ (Link deactivated after broadcast) For details on the Internet broadcast & information on goals, materials, & highlights for the conference, "A Call to Action: Working Together for Equity & Excellence," see: http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/iasconferences/ http://www.iaswebcast.org/ Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF) awards were announced to all 50 states on December 10 by Vice President Gore & Secretary Riley. In the 2nd year of the 5 year program, states are receiving a total of $425 million this year, more than double the $200 million provided last year. The TLCF is designed to support states & schools in reaching 4 goals: All teachers will be trained to help students learn through computers & the information superhighway. All students & teachers will have access to modern computers. All schools & classrooms will be linked to the information superhighway. High-quality software & online resources will be part of the curriculum in every school. A press release & estimated state allocations (provided under the fiscal year 1998 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill signed into law in November) are at: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/12-1997/tlcfto~1.html

AFTER-SCHOOL CENTERS Hundreds of new after-school centers in rural & urban schools across the U.S. will be supported under a program announced December 2 by Vice President Gore & Secretary Riley. The program, "21st Century Community Learning Centers," received $40 million in the 1998 Labor- HHS-Education appropriations bill, a significant increase over the 1997 appropriation of $1 million. Rural & inner-city public elementary or secondary schools -- or consortia of those schools, or local education agencies applying on their behalf -- are eligible to apply. Partnerships with community-based organizations & consortia of schools are encouraged. Grants may be used for planning, implementing or expanding after-school projects. Only applications that include significantly expanded learning opportunities for children & youth, and that contribute to reduced drug use & violence, will be funded. Applications available at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/21stcclc/. For more information, please see the December 2 Federal Register notice (the online version is at: http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/1997-4/120297e.html). See also the press release announcing the program & a report, "Keeping Schools Open As Community Learning Centers" (July 1997): http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/12-1997/commlr.html http://www.ed.gov/pubs/LearnCenters/

PREPARING ALL STUDENTS FOR COLLEGE & CAREERS More than 1,000 communities have launched school-to-work partnerships supported by the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, according to "Report to Congress: Implementation of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act." The September 1997 report tells that... 23% of U.S. schools offered at least one component of STW (as of June 1996). One million (of about 13 million secondary students in the U.S.) participated in one or more school-based STW activity between January & June 1996. Only 2% of all secondary students participated in comprehensive STW activities. The number of businesses participating in STW partnerships increased to 200,000 in June 1996, up from 135,000 in December 1995. Businesses offered about 119,000 work-based learning opportunities for students in June 1996, compared to 53,000 in December 1995. Challenges ahead for STW are also examined in the report, which will be available later this week at: http://www.stw.ed.gov/

SUMMER SEMINARS IN HUMANITIES The industrial revolution, Native American literature, autobiographies of the Harlem Renaissance, Latin American nationalism & the history of the Irish famine are among the topics of the 20 seminars being offered to teachers this summer by the National Endowment for the Humanities. NEH is also offering 8 institutes for teachers at locations such as the Folger Shakespeare Library, Harvard's Graduate School of Education, the National Humanities Center, and the Renaissance Society of America. Applications are due March 1. For the complete list of NEH seminars & institutes, please call (202) 606-8463 or e-mail research@neh.fed.us

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION SATELLITE EVENT Top NASA scientists, engineers & astronauts who are making the International Space Station a reality will be featured on February 19 from 12:30 - 2:00 PM (ET) in "Countdown to Launch," the 5th annual NASA teleconference (via satellite) about the International Space Station. They will show & discuss space suit technology, underwater & virtual training, robotic tools that will help build the Space Station, and research in microgravity that may lead to new medical therapies on earth. Students will be able to ask questions live or e-mail questions in advance. Designed for middle & high school students, the program also offers activities to prepare students before the teleconference & to extend learning after it. Teachers are encouraged to invite science & engineering professionals into classrooms as part of this learning experience. National Engineering Week, a participating organization, will help locate an expert in your area. The teleconference is produced by NASA & the WHRO Center for Public Telecommunications & is presented by the PBS Adult Learning Satellite Service. To license or find a site near you, or for more information, please see: http://centauri.larc.nasa.gov./station.htm or call 1-800-257-2578.

MILLENNIUM LOGO SOUGHT A Millennium logo design competition has been announced by the White House Millennium Program & is open to children & adult American citizens, as well as permanent residents of the U.S. Entry specifications are available from the National Endowment for the Arts website at http://arts.endow.gov or by calling (202) 682-5013. Questions may also be emailed to: millennium@arts.endow.gov Entries must be postmarked by December 30, 1997, & sent to: Millennium Logo, National Endowment for the Arts, Room 523, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20506-0001.

NEW ONLINE A "Parents Guide to the Internet" was released by Vice President Gore at the Internet Online Summit earlier this month to help parents & families -- regardless of their technological know-how -- use the Internet as a tool for learning. http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/internet/ (The Internet Online Summit website: http://www.kidsonline.org/) Allocations of federal education dollars to states, by program, have been updated to reflect the Department's fiscal year 1998 appropriation, which was signed into law on November 13, 1997. (NOTE: Item no longer on-line) "Reading & Mathematics Achievement: Growth in High School" (December 1997) reports, among other findings, that "All of the significant differences in reading & mathematics achievement between whites & black & Hispanic minority groups at the end of 12th grade reflect differences in achievement between the groups before they enter high school." http://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/98038.html "Teaching Workload of Full-Time Postsecondary Faculty" looks at the time postsecondary faculty members spend on teaching, research, administrative tasks & professional growth activities. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs/ce/c9743a01.html 41 new ERIC Digests (research syntheses) have been added to the full-text searchable database that now offers nearly 1,800 Digests published through September 1997. http://www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/index/

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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