A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Table of Contents Workshops on New Initiatives IDEA Telecasts GEAR-UP Teleconference Reading Scores Up E-Rate Year 2000 Bug New American High Schools Hammer Award New Online Credits

WORKSHOPS ON NEW 1999 INITIATIVES Technical assistance workshops are being offered for those interested in applying for grants under major new fiscal year 1999 initiatives. These initiatives include... CLASS SIZE REDUCTION, a program to help school districts hire & train 100,000 new teachers & reduce class size to a national average of 18 in grades 1-3, & the READING EXCELLENCE PROGRAM, which aims to support young children's learning so they learn to read once they enter school, help every child read well by the end of the 3rd grade, & improve the instructional practices of teachers & other instructional staff in elementary schools. Workshops: March 8, Dallas, TX; March 11, San Francisco, CA; March 15, Washington, DC; March 19, New York, NY; March 25, Chicago, IL; & March 29, Charlotte, NC Reading Excellence Act Class Size Reducation PREPARING TOMORROW'S TEACHERS TO USE TECHNOLOGY, a program to help ensure that tomorrow's teachers are prepared to integrate technology effectively into the curriculum & use the new teaching & learning styles enabled by technology. Workshops: March 24, Baltimore, MD; March 30, Boston, MA; April 6, Milwaukee, WI; April 6, Portland, OR; April 8, Los Angeles, CA; April 9, Denver, CO; & April 9, Atlanta, GA http://www.ed.gov/teachtech/ GEAR-UP, a program that supports early college preparation & awareness at both the state & local level through Partnership grants & State grants, in an effort to encourage more young people to have high expectations, stay in school, study hard, & take the right courses to go to college. Workshops: March 1, Miami, FL; March 3, Atlanta, GA; March 4, Albuquerque, NM; March 5, San Juan, PR; March 8, Seattle, WA; March 9, Houston, TX; March 10, St. Louis, MO; March 11, Philadelphia, PA; March 12, Boston, MA; March 12, Los Angeles, CA; & March 15, Denver, CO http://www.ed.gov/gearup/ http://www.thenationalcenter.org/ LEARNING ANYTIME ANYWHERE PARTNERSHIPS, a program intended to increase student access to high quality technology-mediated learning opportunities that are not limited by the constraints of time & place. Workshops: March 1, Atlanta, GA; March 3, Denver, CO; & March 9, Washington, DC http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/FIPSE/LAAP/ SAFE & DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS, which aims to support comprehensive community-wide strategies for creating safe & drug-free schools & for promoting healthy childhood development, so that students can grow & thrive without resorting to violence or other destructive behaviors. This initiative will also help districts recruit, hire, & train drug & violence prevention coordinators in middle schools. Workshop dates & locations will be announced. http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSDFS/ For more information on these & other major new 1999 initiatives, please see: http://www.ed.gov/inits/FY99/index.html

IDEA TELECASTS NOTE: The March 3 telecast will be rebroadcast on March 10. The March 18 telecast will focus on new material. Two national satellite telecasts are being offered to help parents & practitioners in states, districts, & schools tackle key issues surrounding effective implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law reauthorized in 1997 to help America serve more than 6 million children with disabilities. The telecasts will air from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EST) on March 3 & March 10 and will feature the Department's Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education & Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), Judith Heumann, & Director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Thomas Hehir. Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions & get answers from officials responsible for implementing the statute & regulations. For ongoing information about OSEP & IDEA'97, please see: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/OSEP/ http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/Policy/IDEA/index.html

GEAR-UP TELECONFERENCE Learn how to apply for a GEAR-UP grant & how to organize or reinforce local partnerships by participating in the GEAR-UP Satellite Teleconference. To be broadcast from Columbus (OH) public TV station WOSU on March 30 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. (EST), the teleconference will highlight model programs & best practices & will allow participants across the country to ask questions & get practical information about GEAR-UP. Participants are encouraged to register before March 19 by calling 1-800-USA LEARN. Satellite coordinates & details on the telecast will be posted on the GEAR-UP website soon, where information on regional workshops & the final grant application package (due April 30) can be found now: http://www.ed.gov/gearup

READING SCORES UP The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as "the nation's report card," revealed that reading scores have improved significantly at all 3 grades tested, marking a *first* for the NAEP. According to the 1998 NAEP reading report card, average scores increased since 1994 for students in grades 4, 8 and 12, with lower performing 4th-graders & most middle school students making particularly significant progress. Fourth-graders increased their average reading score to 217 in 1998 from 214 in 1994. Eighth-graders increased their average score to 264 in 1998 from 260 in 1994 -- this growth was concentrated within lower & middle-level students. Twelfth-graders increased their average score to 291 in 1998 from 287 in 1994 -- this growth was greater among middle & upper performing students. NAEP scales range from 0-500.

E-RATE On February 19, 3,700 applicants were sent letters committing $323 million in E-Rate funds for schools & libraries. This "9th wave" of letters pushes the total dollars committed to over $1.4 billion, covers 94% of applicants who filed within the E-rate application window, and for the first time, extends funding to cover internal connections requests for applicants who qualify for a discount level as low as 70%. The application window for Year Two E-Rate discounts, which opened December 1, closes on April 6. To meet competitive bidding requirements, applicants should post their Form 470 to the web site by March 5. For more information, please see: http://www.sl.universalservice.org/

YEAR 2000 BUG This month the Department is mailing to all 15,000 school districts in the U.S. a new guide for educators to help address the Year 2000 computer problem. Produced with the Council of the Great City Schools, the 70-page handbook, "Squashing the Millennium Bug: A Year 2000 Compliance Guide for Elementary/Secondary Schools & School Districts," offers... A 57-point checklist that helps educators determine which systems might be affected by the Y2K bug. Obvious computer devices are mentioned, as well as not-so-apparent equipment like heating systems, food refrigeration units, security systems, televisions & elevators. Computer tests that school officials can use to determine whether equipment correctly rolls over to the year 2000, as well as testing for next year's leap year. Web site addresses for helping determine whether computers, software, networks, office equipment, & embedded devices like utilities & heating systems are Y2K compliant. Sample letters to vendors, inquiring if equipment is compliant, will be made compliant or cannot. Contract & procurement language with suggested wording to assure that schools enter into agreements that assure that new equipment will be delivered Y2K compliant. A web site address for America's Job Bank to locate programmers that can assist in Y2K renovation at http://it.jobsearch.org/ A 12-step guide for contingency planning -- just in case something happens despite efforts to avoid a Y2K crash. The handbook includes a section on "Key Dates to Consider," noting that one of the first big hurdles to clear will be Sept. 9, 1999. The problem is that "9-9-99" is commonly used to indicate an unknown date in 6-character data entry fields that do not require a leading zero. Early programmers used the notation because it was easy to type & yet far enough in the future to be easily differentiated from "real" dates. More Y2K resources & the Vendor 2000 Data Base are at: http://www.ed.gov/y2k/ http://www.vendor2000.com

NEW AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOLS Last month the Department awarded a $1.5 million grant to the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) in Atlanta for an 18-month effort to transform 25 high schools. New American High Schools provide students with information about careers while helping them reach challenging academic standards, so they may pursue college or other opportunities. These 25 schools have committed to raising student achievement by improving their curricula, teaching methods, after-school help, accountability, & relationships with middle schools & postsecondary institutions. http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/01-1999/sreb.html

HAMMER AWARD Last month the Department's Assistive Technology Team, led by Joe Tozzi, received a Hammer Award from Vice President Gore's National Partnership for Reinventing Government. The Team worked with employees, advocates, industry experts & other agencies to develop contract language for information technology acquisitions, assuring that software would be accessible to disabled employees & customers. These "Requirements for Accessible Software Design" are at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCFO/contracts/clibrary/software.html

NEW ONLINE "Investing in Smaller Classes & Modern Schools" offers a state-by-state analysis of the initial estimated distribution of $24.8 billion in tax credit bonds for school modernization & the number of teachers that would be supported in each state under the class size reduction effort. "To Sum It Up: Case Studies of Education in Germany, Japan, & the U.S." reports the main findings about the education systems, practices, attitudes, & beliefs of the participants in the education of primary & secondary students in Germany, Japan, & the U.S. http://www.ed.gov/pubs/SumItUp/ "Even Start: Evidence from the Past & a Look to the Future" synthesizes information from national studies of Even Start. http://www.ed.gov/pubs/EvenStart/highlights.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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