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 America Goes Back to School Helping All Children Read Well... A Talented, Dedicated, Well-Prepared Teacher... All Classrooms Connected to the Internet... E-Rate Update Letter Every School Strong, Safe, Drug-free... Helping All Children Reach High Standards Improving America's Schools Conferences Voluntary National Tests Budget Year 2000 Credits

AMERICA GOES BACK TO SCHOOL "America Goes Back to School is a special time for communities to reaffirm a commitment to learning & education," Secretary Riley said last week when announcing Tipper Gore, Dateline NBC anchor Jane Pauley, & National PTA president Lois Jean White as co-chairs of the America Goes Back to School initiative. "I hope parents, & business, cultural, civic & religious leaders, as well as elected officials, will seize this opportunity to go back to school & get & stay involved." Now in its 4th year, the initiative is sponsored by the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, a coalition of more than 4,000 business, community, religious, & education organizations. America Goes Back to School events are planned in communities across the nation... The "Central Kitsap Goes Back to School Fair" in Silverdale, WA, is a day-long event where 150 community, business, & education groups set up booths to provide information on strategies for developing strong family-school-community partnerships, an awareness of local programs for schools & students, & more. Last year more than 5,000 parents, students, educators, & community members participated. "America Dreams," a 6-week Internet-based project, challenges students to explore the American Dream from 3 perspectives: historian, storyteller, & celebrant. Students will examine the American Dream through the past, write their own community's dream & enter it on a digital "Portrait of America", & then share their own personal dream on the "Wall of Dreams" via the web. Their efforts will culminate in a "Celebration of America" in classrooms across the nation. The project, created by 2 Library of Congress teaching fellows, gets under way October 12. For details, please see: http://www.internet-catalyst.org/projects/amproject/ For more information on America Goes Back to School, see: http://www.ed.gov/Family/agbts/ http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/09-1998/agpr29.html

HELPING ALL CHILDREN READ WELL BY THE END OF 3RD GRADE More than 500 education leaders from across the nation gathered for the 1st national Reading Summit last week to redouble efforts to help every child develop strong literacy skills by the end of 3rd grade. Noting that 44% of American 4th graders failed to read at grade level in a 1994 national assessment, Secretary Riley urged Congress to pass a strong child literacy bill before adjourning for this year. He also called for... more parents to read daily to children from infancy an end to the "reading wars" about various teaching methods pre-kindergarten caregivers working together to develop pre-literacy skills children with limited English, disabilities & from low-income homes to receive special help standards for teacher preparation in reading to be raised. The conference was based on the 1998 landmark report of the National Research Council (NRC), "Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children." For more information, including the full text of the NRC report & the Secretary's speech, please see the Reading Summit homepage: http://www.ed.gov/inits/readingsummit/

A TALENTED, DEDICATED, WELL-PREPARED TEACHER IN EVERY CLASSROOM Secretary Riley focused his annual back-to-school speech, delivered earlier this month at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on teacher quality. Noting that 2.2 million teachers will need to be recruited in the next decade, he issued specific challenges to the higher education community, states & local school districts, & Congress. The text & archive are at: http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/980915.html http://www.broadcast.com/news/events/deptedu/

ALL CLASSROOMS CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET; ALL STUDENTS TECHNOLOGICALLY LITERATE Technology Innovation Challenge Grant awards were announced this week to 20 school district partnerships in 17 states. The grants, totaling $30 million, will help support the challenge of preparing new teachers, & supporting existing ones, to teach effectively using technology. "The grants," Secretary Riley said, "focus on enhancing teachers' skills & their professional development to use computers and advanced learning technologies in their classrooms." The 20 school district partnerships will work with partners in 150 school districts, 100 businesses, and 80 colleges & universities, benefitting about one million students & providing additional training opportunities for thousands of teachers in these communities. The grants, ranging in size from $789,000 to $2 million a year for 5 years, will business & community matching commitments valued at more than $90 million. For details, please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/09-1998/ticg98.html

E-RATE UPDATE LETTER On September 23, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Schools & Libraries Corporation Kate Moore posted an update letter to E-rate applicants. There, Moore observes: "With your cooperation & the intense work of our Client Service Bureau, over 29,000 of the 30,000-plus applications that were received during the 75-day application window have completed our data entry process. The remaining applications are in the final stages.... Many of you are asking, `When will the SLC launch the funding commitment process?' My answer to you is firm, if not highly specific: `early fall,' & `when we've got it right.' By 'getting it right,' I mean meeting a major milestone: implementing, consistent with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman's direction, the recommendations which the General Accounting Office (GAO) made to the FCC & the SLC. As soon as we know the date for the beginning of these waves of letters, the expected frequency of their distribution, we will place the information on the SLC Web Site. With a sense of history, urgency & integrity, we will together move this program forward." The letter can be found at the SLC website: http://www.sl.universalservice.org/

EVERY SCHOOL STRONG, SAFE, DRUG-FREE & DISCIPLINED More than 90% of Americans favor offering daily enrichment programs for all children, & 80% would be willing to pay more taxes for such programs, according to new survey results released this week. The survey, funded by the Mott Foundation, involved 800 registered voters nationwide August 17-20. When asked about after-school hours, those surveyed said they are most worried about children being alone & unsupervised, followed by peer influence & TV watching. Only 4 out of 10 feel their communities offer programs to address this need. The results of this survey, Secretary Riley said, underscore "why the Clinton Administration has called for raising federal support from $40 million to $200 million for after-school programs." He estimated that the Administration's proposal would support the development or enhancement of after-school programs in 4,000 schools affecting 500,000 children. Links to the Mott Foundation press release & poll data are available at the 21st Century Community Learning Centers website -- http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/21stcclc/ -- where examples of successful applications from 1998 21st Century Community Learning program are also now available.

HELPING ALL CHILDREN REACH HIGH STANDARDS The gap in student achievement between high & low poverty schools continues, but students in high-poverty schools are making progress in math, according to a new report. "School Poverty & Academic Performance: NAEP Achievement in High-Poverty Schools" shows that students generally do less well if they attend a school where the majority of students are from disadvantaged circumstances (where at least ¾ of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch). While student achievement in reading remains largely unchanged over the past few years, national assessment scores in math are improving at all income levels, with the greatest gains coming in the high-poverty schools. Secretary Riley noted, however, that a significant gap remains between students in high & low poverty schools -- & that parents, teachers, & students need more reliable information about progress. "We need voluntary national tests that show what students have learned & what they haven't," he said. A summary of the report is available online at: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/schoolpoverty/index.html

IMPROVING AMERICA'S SCHOOLS CONFERENCES Teachers & principals, administrators & program managers, state & local education officials, community based & national education organizations, & others are invited to participate in one of 3 regional conferences on Improving America's Schools this fall in 3 locations: Portland (OR) on October 19-21, Denver (CO) on November 18-20, & Nashville (TN) on December 15-17. Participation by state & local teams is encouraged, & group discounts are available. Participants will learn about... funding opportunities, specific programs, & comprehensive school reform practical strategies & models for aligning & integrating federal, state, & local programs & resources, including those for special populations how comprehensive school reform promotes equity & excellence how to better use the Department's technical assistance network & resources the Administration's priorities & initiatives & how they relate to state and local efforts. For more information or to register online, please see: http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/iasconferences/index.htm

VOLUNTARY NATIONAL TESTS When releasing 3 reports on student testing this month, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) issued a press release stating that the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) is "on the right track" for voluntary national tests & that "one proposed alternative to national testing -- linking the results of existing commercial & state tests & providing comparable information about achievement of students taking different tests in different parts of the country -- is generally not feasible." The release says that NAGB should move quickly to decide how tests should be scored, in what forms scores should be shared, & how students with disabilities & students who are English-language learners should be included. Secretary Riley responded, saying he was "pleased that NAS found test development proceeding on course for pilot testing in Spring 1999 so that parents & teachers can have the best information about student performance. If we want to know how well students are performing compared to rigorous & widely accepted national standards, we simply cannot rely on existing tests." The NAS press release & reports can be found at: http://www2.nas.edu/whatsnew/2926.html http://www.nas.edu/morenews/

BUDGET As the end of the fiscal year approaches (September 30) without a 1999 appropriations bill for the Department & other federal agencies, the House & Senate passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) on September 17. This CR makes funds available October 1 through October 9 for the Department & other federal agencies whose annual appropriations have not been enacted. The President is expected to sign the legislation. Congressional leaders have not yet scheduled full House & Senate consideration of their 1999 appropriations bills. ON SEPTEMBER 3, the Senate Appropriations Committee acted on fiscal year 1999 appropriations for the Department. Statements by Secretary Riley & the President on the Committee's actions -- & a detailed table (PDF) showing both the House & Senate Committee amounts for the Department's programs & activities in fiscal year 1999 & comparing the Senate Committee action to the President's 1999 budget request -- are at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/budnews.html

YEAR 2000 Acting Deputy Secretary Marshall Smith appeared before the House Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations of the Committee on Education & the Workforce last week to testify about Department efforts to address the Year 2000 problem, which results from a common computer programming practice of representing dates with 6 digits instead of 8. "Much work remains," Smith said, "but I believe the Department is on track. We are executing a comprehensive plan for ensuring that our systems are Year 2000 compliant within the milestones established by OMB [the Office of Management & Budget], we are developing contingency plans on the outside chance that something goes wrong despite our best efforts, & we are working to make sure our partners and customers are as prepared as we are for the arrival of the next century." The full text of his statement is at: http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/year2k.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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