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 President Releases 1999 Budget Two Years of College... High Standards for All Students... All Classrooms Connected to the Internet... State of American Education Webcast Workshops on After-School Programs NEH Schools for a New Millennium Program Millennium Evenings at the White House Fleming Nominated for Legislative Post New Online Credits

PRESIDENT RELEASES 1999 BUDGET This week the President unveiled his 1999 budget, which, said Secretary Riley, "represents a greater increase in the federal investment in improving elementary & secondary education than any budget in the last 30 years." Initiatives proposed in the budget & in the President's State of the Union Address last week include: tax credits to pay interest on bonds to build & renovate public schools. class size reductions in grades 1-3 to a nationwide average of 18 students, by helping school districts hire & pay an additional 100,000 teachers. grants to urban & rural school districts to support standards-based, district-wide reforms. grants for creating or expanding quality before- & after-school programs. For information on these & other initiatives, please see: http://www.ed.gov/updates/inits98/ Budget tables, a summary & Secretary Riley's statement on the budget are at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/Budget99/ .

TWO YEARS OF COLLEGE & LIFELONG LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENTS An initiative to inspire more young people to set high expectations, stay in school & study hard, and go to college was announced by President Clinton on February 4. The President's 1999 budget includes $140 million for the initiative, "High Hopes for College," to promote partnerships between colleges & middle or junior high schools in low-income communities. These partnerships will give children support, starting in 6th or 7th grade & continuing through high school graduation. The aim is to: tell families early that college is within reach. provide children with mentoring & other support. reach 3,000 middle schools & serve over 1 million students over 5 years. For more information, please see: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/PPI/highhopes.html

HIGH STANDARDS FOR ALL STUDENTS; HISPANIC EDUCATION ACTION PLAN On February 2, Vice President Gore announced the Administration's $600 million Hispanic education action plan. It is based on high standards & research-based school reform & includes: a $393 million increase for Title I funding -- 32% of those served under Title I are Latino. $66 million to train 20,000 teachers to teach students English & help adults learn English. $30 million to transform schools with high dropout rates. $69 million to prepare disadvantaged youth for success in college. One program, Upward Bound, has been found particularly helpful to Hispanic youth. $60 million to improve education programs for migrant youth & adults. For more information, please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/02-1998/wh-022.html

ALL CLASSROOMS CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET; ALL STUDENTS TECHNOLOGICALLY LITERATE The Schools & Libraries Corporation (SLC) opened its website January 30. Its opening triggers a 75-day window during which all applications for E-Rate discounts will be treated as if they arrived simultaneously. To qualify during this window, two forms must be submitted by April 14 -- Forms 470 and 471. After April 14, funds will be disbursed on a first-come, first-served basis. To date, more than 5,700 applications have been received. All U.S. K-12 schools & public libraries qualify for discounts under the E-Rate, or Universal Service Fund, which was created as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to help U.S. schools & libraries have affordable access to modern telecommunications & information services. Discounts range from 20 to 90%, based on the percentage of students eligible for the national school lunch program. For details, visit the SLC website at http://www.sl.universalservice.org/, send e-mail to question@slcfund.org, or call the SLC hotline, 888-203-8100. Technical assistance is being provided by the Department's Regional Technology in Education Consortia. Contact names & information can be provided by visiting http://rtec.org/ or calling 1-800-USA-LEARN.

STATE OF AMERICAN EDUCATION TO BE WEBCAST Secretary Riley's 5th annual State of American Education Address will be webcast live (audio & video) on February 17 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern time. His speech, which will be delivered at a Seattle (WA) middle school, will include a focus on the role middle schools play in preparing today's students for the demands of the 21st century. That evening, the Satellite Town Meeting on "Raising Student Achievement" (8:00 Eastern time) will also be webcast live. These webcasts are made possible by NASA's Quest Project. To participate, see: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/stm/

WORKSHOPS ON AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS Several workshops are ahead for helping potential applicants to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program plan & implement high- quality after-school programs: Feb. 9 in Los Angeles & Chicago, Feb. 11 in Seattle & Flint (MI), & Feb. 13 in Denver. To register for the workshops, which are supported through a donation from the C.S. Mott Foundation, please contact the National Community Education Association at (703) 359-8973. For information on the workshops & for this year's 21st Century Community Learning Center Program application, see: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/21stCCLC/ Congress appropriated $40 million for the program this year, & the President requested $200 million for fiscal year 1999.

NEH SCHOOLS FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM PROGRAM The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is launching a 3-year initiative, Schools for a New Millennium, to strengthen schools & teachers' competence & creativity with new humanities materials & technologies. Projects to be supported will: involve a whole school. leverage public-private funding partnerships to support "extended year" professional development for a critical mass of the school's instructional staff. focus on challenging, substantive humanities topics. support hands-on training for a school's teachers over a significant time period (4-6 weeks), so that teachers develop confidence with the technology & create challenging & engaging classroom uses that enrich the school's curriculum. establish links with parents, as well as local colleges & universities, to provide ongoing support, evaluation & improvement. use the Internet to disseminate their work. Applications must be received by April 1, 1998 (or by April 1, 1999, for next year's program). For other information, e-mail education@neh.gov or call (202) 606-8380 (TDD 606-8282).

MILLENIUM EVENINGS AT THE WHITE HOUSE The first of a series of Millenium Evenings at the White House (lectures & performances) will be broadcast via the web & satellite on February 11 at 7:00 Eastern time. It will feature Harvard University professor emeritus Bernard Bailyn discussing "The Living Past -- Commitments for the Future," including core American ideas that shaped the nation & that must be preserved in the next millenium. Bailyn won Pulitzer & Bancroft prizes in 1968 for his book "Ideological Origins of the American Revolution."

FLEMING TO BE NOMINATED FOR LEGISLATIVE POST Last month the President nominated Scott Fleming to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Department's Office of Legislation & Congressional Affairs (OLCA). Fleming is currently Deputy Assistant Secretary & Acting Assistant Secretary of Legislation & Congressional Affairs. He began in the Department in 1995 as Director of Congressional Affairs. Before coming to the Department, Fleming was Chief of Staff for Representative Nita Lowey (NY) & worked for former Representative Dan Glickman (KS)& former Senator Stuart Symington (MO).

NEW ONLINE An overview of progress since the 1997 State of the Union Address & a look at proposals in 1998 State of the Union Address are featured in "President Clinton's Call to Action for American Education in the 21st Century: Ensuring Educational Excellence in 1998 & Beyond." http://www.ed.gov/updates/inits98/overview.html U.S. State & Local Gateway offers information on hundreds of federal programs under 11 subjects -- education, environment/energy, families/children, health, housing, money matters, transportation/infrastructure, public safety, workforce development & others. It was developed through a federal interagency project in collaboration with the Vice President's National Performance Review (NPR) to provide easy access to federal information. http://www.firstgov.gov/Government/State_Local.shtml ACCESS ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) recently added to its collection of research-based brochures for parents & teachers online: How Can I Support My Gifted Child? Getting Online: A Friendly Guide for Teachers, Students & Parents How Can I Support My Daughter in Early Adolescence? Why, How & When Should My Child Learn a Second Language? These & more than 30 other parent brochures are at: http://www.eric.ed.gov/resources/parent/parent.html

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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