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 Information on 9 New Initiatives All Students Prepared for & Able to Afford 2 Years of College Comments Sought on Teacher Quality Draft Application... Science Programs Sought by Expert Panel 21st Century Community Learning Centers Workshops Second Wave of E-Rate Letters Sent 21st Century Skills & Jobs Teleconference Annual Goals Panel Report Released John Stanford "Education Heroes" Announced Head of Office of Student Financial Assistance Announced Directory of Resource Organizations Improved Credits

INFORMATION ON 9 NEW INITIATIVES Fact sheets, questions & answers, contacts, & other information on 9 new Department initiatives for fiscal year 1999 are now online. The initiatives are 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. http://www.ed.gov/inits/FY99/index.html

ALL STUDENTS PREPARED FOR & ABLE TO AFFORD 2 YEARS OF COLLEGE Among the programs featured in a 55-page booklet on mentoring programs -- "Yes, You Can: Establishing Mentoring Programs to Prepare Youth for College" -- is a collaboration between San Jacinto Community College, local industry, & middle schools in Houston. Partners in this program, called the Middle School Math & Science Project, include representatives of 3 regional industries: oil, space, & the marine industry. The aim is to help middle & high school students develop an interest in science, mathematics, & related careers & also encourage them to attend college. Participants are 7th graders who are potential first- generation college students with limited exposure to science outside school. These 7th graders spend 1-2 weeks on San Jacinto's campus each summer for 4 consecutive summers, where college faculty & guest speakers emphasize inquiry-based activities. Mentoring is provided by San Jacinto College students who act as counselors & spend the entire day with program participants. "Junior counselors," who are former program participants, assist the mentors & provide additional role models for new participants. To complement their studies, students also visit local industries. For instance, when learning about geology, students examine the oil industry & visit oil rigs; during a unit on physics, they visit NASA; when studying biology, they go to Galveston to see industries related to marine biology. For more information on this program & for the full text of "Yes, You Can," please see: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/YesYouCan/

COMMENTS SOUGHT ON TEACHER QUALITY DRAFT APPLICATION PACKAGES Draft application packages for the new Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants Programs (authorized by the 1998 amendments to the Higher Education Act) are available for public review & comment until January 11. These competitive grant programs are designed to improve teacher recruitment, preparation, licensing, & support. States are eligible to apply, as are partnerships among higher education institutions & high-need school districts. http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/heatqp/index.html

SCIENCE PROGRAMS SOUGHT BY EXPERT PANEL March 1 is the deadline for submitting science programs to be considered for designation as "promising" or "exemplary" programs. Programs selected by the Mathematics & Science Education Expert Panel for such designations will receive national recognition. "Guidelines & Materials for Submitting Science Programs for Review" are at the expert panels website: http://www.rmcres.com/expertp/index.html Also at the website is additional information about expert panels on gender equity; the safe, disciplined, & drug-free schools; and the educational technology.

21st CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS WORKSHOPS A dozen regional workshops for potential applicants under the 21st Century Community Learning Centers will be held across the country from January 11 to January 30. This program, which issued a notice inviting applications on December 7, provides grants to rural & inner-city public schools, or consortia of such schools, to support planning, implementation, or expansion of projects that benefit the educational, health, social services, cultural, & recreational needs of the community. For more information, including the 1999 application package & relevant publications, please see: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/21stcclc/

SECOND WAVE OF E-RATE LETTERS SENT Earlier this month, the Schools & Libraries Corporation (SLC) distributed the second wave of the E-Rate letters, providing more than 3,300 applicants with over $75 million in discounts. These letters, combined with the first wave of letters (sent in November), represent more than 6,000 funding commitments totaling nearly $150 million for schools & libraries. A total of $1.9 billion in E-Rate discounts is anticipated by the end of January 1999. For more information, please see: http://www.sl.universalservice.org/

21ST CENTURY SKILLS & JOBS TELECONFERENCE Are people in your community getting the skills they need to get & keep good jobs throughout their careers? Are local employers getting the skilled workers they need to stay competitive? Spur discussion & action in your community by organizing a meeting around "21st Century Skills for 21st Century Jobs," a satellite summit with Vice President Gore & leaders from business, labor, education, government & local communities on January 12, 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. ET. For more information, & to register your meeting, please call 1-800-USA-LEARN or see: http://www.vpskillsummit.org/

ANNUAL GOALS PANEL REPORT RELEASED On December 10, the National Education Goals Panel released its 8th annual report. In addition to this report, which looks at state & national progress toward the 8 National Education Goals, the Goals Panel issued 3 other publications: Data Volume for the National Education Goals Report 1998 provides detailed information about each state's performance towards attaining the National Education Goals. Promising Practices: Progress Toward the Goals 1998 identifies top performing & improving states on one National Education Goal indicator & tells the story of how these states have made progress toward the goal. Talking About Tests: An Idea Book For State Leaders offers state & district examples on how to simplify the complicated messages of standards & assessments & how to make test results more meaningful to parents. These 4 documents are available from the Goals Panel by calling 202-724-0015 & also on the web (in PDF) at: http://www.negp.gov/

JOHN STANFORD "EDUCATION HEROES" ANNOUNCED This month Secretary Riley presented the first-ever John Stanford "Education Heroes" award to 10 citizens for their extraordinary commitment to improving schools & communities & increasing learning opportunities for students. Riley named the awards in honor of Gen. John H. Stanford, the former Seattle schools superintendent known for his efforts to inspire the entire community to help improve local schools. Stanford died this month of leukemia. "The remarkable contributions of these citizens," the Secretary said, "exemplify what Americans can do when they are committed to our children & their education." He noted that these heroes have used creative & innovative approaches to support students, such as... engaging students in science, technology, the arts or nature to inspire them to learn involving parents & the community in establishing equitable & respectful learning environments for diverse student populations mobilizing parents to better communicate with & get involved in schools making their message for better education heard by the larger community. The 10 heroes, nominated by the secretary's 10 regional representatives & selected by a committee of the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, are: Don Johnson, principal, Elmdale Elementary School Berkeley, Springdale, Arkansas Alice Waters, chef, Chez Panisse & creator, "The Edible Schoolyard," Grand Junction, Colorado John McConnell, physicist & founder, Exploratorium, Berkeley, California Stephen B. DeMasco, founder, Kids for Life Foundation, New Haven/Branford, Connecticut H. Roy Kaplan, regional director, National Conference of Communities & Justice, Tampa, Florida Jacqueline Greenwood, principal, Arlington High School, Indianapolis, Indiana Eugene Eubanks, professor, University of Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri Kathleen Gaffney, founder, Artsgenesis, Jersey City, New Jersey Veronica Joyner, founder, Parents United for Better Schools, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Patty Arthur, parent, Spokane, Washington.

HEAD OF OFFICE OF STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE ANNOUNCED This month Secretary Riley announced the appointment of Greg Woods as chief operating officer for the office of student financial assistance, a new position as head of the federal government's first performance-based organization (PBO). Since 1993, Woods has served as deputy director for information technology, customer service, & regulatory reform at the Vice President's National Partnership for Reinventing Government. From 1985 to 1993, Woods served as CEO of Science & Engineering Associates, a startup company that develops computer systems & innovative software products. He was the deputy chief operating officer of Science Applications International Corporation, a consulting firm (1984-85), & was president of its subsidiary JRB Associates (1979-1984). For more information, please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/12-1998/woods2.html

DIRECTORY OF RESOURCE ORGANIZATIONS IMPROVED The Education Resource Organizations Directory (EROD) has been redesigned to make it easier to find help on education challenges from nearly 2,500 national, regional, & state organizations. The state map shows key state & Department-funded organizations serving your state. Simple & advanced searches help you find quickly organizations that address a particular topic (such as reading or charter schools). It's available at: http://www.ed.gov/Programs/EROD/

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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