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 Master Foundations of Math... Save Money by Consolidating Student Loans E-Rate Announcement ... New Initiatives After-School Grants New American High Schools Improving America's Schools (IAS) Conferences Arts Assessment Results Arts Literacy Teleconference Year 2000 Computer Challenge... Grants Forecast Humanities Summer Seminars... Credits

HELPING ALL CHILDREN MASTER FOUNDATIONS OF MATH BY END OF 8TH GRADE Last week, Vice President Gore called on the nation's college students & other adults to commit to helping all students master the fundamentals of algebra & geometry by the 8th grade, under the new "America Counts" challenge. New initiatives in the challenge include... A federal work-study waiver will encourage colleges to sign up students to tutor in math. Beginning in July 1999, colleges & universities can receive waivers for the 25% of wages they would otherwise pay their federal work- study students who tutor K-9 students in math. (This waiver is similar to one in which more than 1,000 colleges & universities are participating under the America Reads Challenge.) The National Science Foundation will help develop training programs & materials to enhance the impact of the tutoring effort. A new guide, "Yes, You Can," suggests ways schools & other organizations can set up mentoring programs. The guide emphasizes math & science, & will be online soon. In addition to providing personal attention & additional learning time for students who need extra assistance in math, America Counts aims to bolster teachers' knowledge in math, improve math curricula, strengthen state & local coordination of resources, & build public understanding of the mathematics our students must master to ensure their & our nation's prosperity & growth. For more information, please see the America Counts homepage: http://www.ed.gov/americacounts/

SAVE MONEY BY CONSOLIDATING COLLEGE STUDENT LOANS If you are paying back college loans, you now have the opportunity to consolidate & refinance those loans at a new, lower interest rate -- 7.46% -- but only if your application is received by January 31, 1999. This lower interest rate would save most borrowers at least $50 for every $1,000 of debt over the life of their loans. A typical student borrower at a 4-year college, who graduates with $13,000 in debt, will save about $700 over a 10-year repayment period. For parent (PLUS) loan borrowers, the savings may also be significant. This opportunity is offered through the Department's Direct Loan Program. It may also be available from private lenders who participate in the government-guaranteed student loan program; however, private lenders are not required to offer it. Find out more about this lower interest rate by contacting a private lender or by applying through the Direct Loan Program. You can receive more information about the Direct Loan Program, including an application, by calling 1-800-557-7392 or visiting: http://www.ed.gov/DirectLoan/consolid2.html

E-RATE ANNOUNCEMENT TO BE WEBCAST NOVEMBER 23 On Monday, November 23, Vice President Gore & Secretary Riley will announce the first discounted telecommunications services provided to schools & libraries nationwide as a result of the E-rate. With the start of E-rate discounts & the next installment of the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund to states, schools & libraries across the country will be able to connect young people from all walks of life -- urban, suburban, & rural areas -- to the power of the Information Age. This announcement will be webcast live on Monday at 10:30 a.m. (ET) through the Department's website: http://www.broadcast.com/news/events/deptedu/

NEW INITIATIVES Now available online are descriptions of 9 major new initiatives for fiscal year 1999 -- Class Size Reduction, the Reading Excellence Act, Safe & Drug-Free Schools, Gear-Up, Technology Teacher Training, Improving Teacher Quality, Bilingual Education Professional Development, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, & Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships -- at: http://www.ed.gov/inits/FY99/

AFTER-SCHOOL GRANTS Last week President Clinton announced nearly $60 million in new grants to help 183 communities (in 44 states & D.C.) establish school-based after-school programs. The awards, under the 21st Century Community Learning Center program, will enable schools to stay open longer & provide a safe haven for children, intensive tutoring in basic skills, drug & violence prevention counseling, & opportunities to participate in supervised recreation, chorus, band & the arts, technology education programs & services for children & youth with disabilities. These grants follow the awarding of $40 million in new after-school grants to 99 communities in June 1998. The President requested & received an additional $200 million in his fiscal year 1999 budget request to expand the program to approximately 1,600 schools to serve up to 250,000 children per year. The Department will begin a new grant competition later this month to compete an additional $100 million for more high quality after-school programs next year. To request an application or for additional information, including a list of grantees, see: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/21stcclc/

NEW AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOLS Seven high schools were recognized last week as "New American High Schools" for their school improvement efforts & the commitment by all staff & their communities to high levels of student academic achievement. Assistant Secretary for Vocational & Adult Education Patricia McNeil noted that these schools help students meet challenging academic standards & also develop communications, problem-solving, computer & technical skills needed to pursue college & careers. Each school also has developed effective partnerships with the community, parents & postsecondary institutions & demonstrated sustained student academic performance over a 5-year period. For more information, including a list of the schools & previous winners, see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/11-1998/nahs.html

IMPROVING AMERICA'S SCHOOLS (IAS) CONFERENCES The final IAS conference of 1998 will be held in Nashville (TN) on December 15-17. Teachers & principals, administrators & program managers, state & local education officials, community based & national education organizations, & others are invited to attend & learn about funding opportunities, comprehensive school reform, strategies for integrating various resources, ways to better use the Department's technical assistance network & resources, the Administration's priorities & initiatives & how they relate to state & local efforts. Participation by state & local teams is encouraged, & group discounts are available. For more information or to register online, please see: http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/iasconferences/index.htm

ARTS ASSESSMENT RESULTS Results of a national assessment of 8th graders in the arts were released last week in "The NAEP 1997 Arts Report Card: 8th-Grade Findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress." The report looks at student achievement in music, theatre, & visual arts. Each of the 6,660 8th-graders in 268 schools who took the assessment created or performed -- such as painting an original picture or singing an existing song -- as well as interpreted works of art. "This NAEP assessment," Secretary Riley said at its release, "verifies that most American children are infrequently or never given serious instruction or performance opportunities in music, the arts, or theater -- that's wrong. At a time when creativity & communication skills are at a premium, arts should be used for their rich potential to captivate & engage students in the process of learning." The report is available at: http://nces.ed.gov/NAEP/report97/1999486.shtml

ARTS LITERACY TELECONFERENCE How can the study of music, dance, theater, or the visual arts motivate children to learn, boost achievement in other disciplines, or enhance creativity? These are among the questions to be discussed in "Arts Literacy for a Changing America," a live teleconference from the Newseum in Arlington, Virginia, on Tuesday, December 1, 7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (ET). Secretary Riley & CNN's Bill Press will lead a discussion with educators, community leaders, business people, & others on... ways to examine schools' arts programs to determine if they are enabling students to achieve high standards strategies for integrating arts assessments into overall school improvement efforts the results of the recent NAEP arts assessment of 8th-grade students in visual art, music, & theater. This is an opportunity for you & other community leaders to meet & discuss ways to strengthen arts education in your schools. Register your participation (to ensure you will be notified of any changes) by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN, by emailing Satellite.Town.Meeting@ed.gov, or by visiting: http://www.ed.gov/inits/stm/

YEAR 2000 COMPUTER CHALLENGE TELECONFERENCE Is your school or college ready for the Year 2000? On Monday, December 7, from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. (ET), Secretary Riley & John Koskinen, Chair of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, will host a live, interactive teleconference, "Meeting the Year 2000 Computer Challenge: Schools, Colleges & the Millennium Bug." The teleconference will look at... steps schools & colleges can take to address the Year 2000 challenge lessons learned from school & college officials already working on their systems resources available to overcome the Millennium Bug the Department's Year 2000 efforts & systems that affect schools & colleges, including upcoming opportunities to conduct tests with Department systems. The teleconference is free, but registration is requested. Questions will be invited via phone & fax. For details, please visit http://www.ed.gov/Y2K or call 1-800-USA-LEARN.

GRANTS FORECAST This month the Department issued its "grants forecast" identifying upcoming programs & competitions under which the Secretary has invited, or expects to invite, applications for new awards for fiscal year 1999. The notice tells, for each program, dates when applications will be available & due, estimated number (& average size) of awards, who to contact for an application, & other information. The notice -- published in the November 3 "Federal Register" (Volume 63, Number 212, pages 59435-59455) -- is intended to help potential applicants prepare to respond to expected fiscal year 1999 grant competitions. It is advisory only, not an official application notice of the Department. For more complete information, please see the notice at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCFO/grants/forecast.html

HUMANITIES SUMMER SEMINARS & INSTITUTES The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced its residential seminars & institutes for teachers during summer 1999. For K-12 teachers, 20 seminars are offered -- studies of the journals of the enlisted men who traveled with Lewis & Clark; comparative African literature; poetry of modern America; Beowulf & the heroic age; studies of epic literature, the Holocaust, & contemporary Latin American fiction; & others. Institutes for K-12 teachers will take place in settings that range from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival to Harvard University to Senegal, on topics such as the Arab world & the West, the use of maps as texts to study world history, personal identity & freedom in African-American autobiography, & the history of technology in the United States. For college & university teachers, 23 NEH seminars & institutes will focus on topics such as nature & society in Africa & the Americas, Roman Egypt, the philosophy of experimental inference, Black film studies, nineteenth-century Spanish realism, the Cold War, & others. Applications are due March 1. Information & application forms for specific seminars & institutes are available from their directors.

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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