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

Table of Contents America Goes Back to School Helping All Children Read Well by the End of 3rd Grade Glenn Math & Science Commission Members Named A Talented, Dedicated, Well-Prepared Teacher in Every Class Ending Social Promotion Safe Schools, Safe Students Teleconference Advanced Placement Test Fees for Low-Income Students "Mars Millennium Project" Participation Guide New Projects Promote Distance Learning for College Campus Week of Dialogue Lower Student Fees on Direct Loans "NCES Classroom" Website for Students Credits

America Goes Back to School A bus tour, teen survey, science projects about Mars, & school visits are among the events planned as part of Secretary Riley's annual "America Goes Back to School" effort. Each year, from August through October, the Secretary calls for greater parent & community involvement in education. Joining him as this year's co-chairs are Tipper Gore, National PTA President Ginny Markell, & singing star Patti LaBelle. Thirty-seven distinguished local leaders are serving as members of the 1999 America Goes Back to School steering committee & have committed to organize events in their local communities. Now in its fifth year, America Goes Back to School is an initiative of the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education -- a coalition of more than 5,000 grassroots business, community, religious & education organizations nationwide. The new America Goes Back to School website offers tips for building partnerships & organizing fall events. It aims to help parents, community organizations, teachers, & educational partners use the back-to-school time to focus attention on increasing community involvement in education. It includes examples of last year's America Goes Back to School events, ideas for everyday learning fun, & more. Please visit the site at: http://www.ed.gov/Family/agbts/

Helping All Children Read Well by the End of 3rd Grade On July 26, Secretary Riley released 2 new booklets for raising student reading achievement. "Start Early, Finish Strong" (120 pages) looks at what families, early care providers, teachers & schools, community leaders, policymakers, & citizens can do to help every child become a reader. "The Compact for Reading" helps families & schools develop written agreements on how they can work to improve student reading. Published with the support of The Los Angeles Times "Reading by 9" campaign, the 80-page compact provides 400 activities to link the family at home with the classroom curriculum. Both are available at the America Reads Challenge website: http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/

Glenn Math & Science Commission Members Named This month Secretary Riley announced the appointment of members to the new National Commission on Mathematics & Science Teaching for the 21st Century. The year-long commission, to be chaired by former U.S. Senator & astronaut John Glenn, will develop a strategy to raise the quality of mathematics & science teaching in all of the nation's classrooms. Riley had called for the formation of the Commission to address the concern that too many U.S. students finish high school without mastering the challenging mathematics & science necessary for success in higher education & the competitive knowledge-based economy of the 21st century. The Third International Mathematics & Science Study (TIMSS) showed that, while U.S. fourth graders perform above the international average, performance in the middle grades is about average internationally, & by the end of secondary school, U.S. students score significantly below the international average in both general & advanced mathematics & science. The Commission, made up of prominent business, education, civic & government leaders as well as teachers & school administrators, will also address the fact that many mathematics & science teachers lack the appropriate licensure & credentials for the subjects they teach. Slightly more than 25% of America's current high school math & science teachers lack a major or a minor in the subject they teach. In high poverty schools, that figure is nearly 50%. Many teachers do not have regular opportunities to improve their professional practice by upgrading content & teaching skills. The Commission will submit its findings to Riley in the fall of 2000. For more information, visit the America Counts Math Initiative webpage: http://www.ed.gov/americacounts/

A Talented, Dedicated, Well-Prepared Teacher in Every Classroom Secretary Riley announced last week $43 million for 52 new grants to improve the quality of the nation's teaching force & reduce teacher shortages in high-need areas. Two types of teacher quality enhancement grants are being awarded. Twenty-four state grants will support comprehensive statewide reforms that tackle critical system changes. These grants will support stronger teacher certification & licensing standards, reforms that hold entire institutions of higher education -- not just schools of education -- accountable for preparing high-quality teachers, & alternative pathways into teaching for highly qualified individuals. For example... California will use its grant to reduce the number of teachers working under emergency permits & to reduce math teacher shortages in high-need school districts. The state is also reforming state licensure & certification policies & developing new performance assessments for all teacher licensure candidates. North Carolina will use its funds, as part of its new performance-based licensure system, to train "assessors" who will fan out across the state to evaluate the classroom teaching performance of new teachers. University-based teacher preparation programs will be redesigned, & a new statewide Alternative Licensure Network will be created to provide quality training for those in non-teaching careers to become teachers. Twenty-eight teacher recruitment grants will support partnerships between universities & school districts designed to attract new students into the teaching profession & reduce shortages & teacher turnover in high-need areas. For example... The Bank Street College of Education (NYC), in partnership with the Stevens Institute of Technology & 2 NYC school districts, will use its teacher recruitment grant to recruit, train, & place 75 new teachers who are currently uncertified, are changing careers, or who are from the Teach for America project. They will receive full scholarships to earn Master's degrees & extra training in the use of technology to enhance instruction in math, reading & science. The Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA, in partnership with Norfolk & Portsmouth public schools, will use the grant to recruit & train 100 teacher aides, substitute teachers, military personnel & other mid-career professionals interested in teaching as a second career. The emphasis will be on recruiting qualified minorities committed to the urban classroom. The grant will provide an array of support services for the prospective teachers, both during teacher preparation & their first three years of employment. These support services include tutoring, book stipends, evening childcare facilities, mentoring & computer laboratories. For more information, including a list of grantees, see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/07-1999/tqrecruit.html

Ending Social Promotion Last month Secretary Riley released "Taking Responsibility for Ending Social Promotion: A Guide for Educators & State & Local Leaders." The 72-page guidebook aims to help states, districts, & schools identify strategies & resources for ending the practice of promoting unprepared students by ensuring that all students have the opportunity & assistance they need to meet challenging standards. The report is at: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/socialpromotion/

Safe Schools, Safe Students Teleconference School is out for the summer in most communities, but parents & families are already thinking about the coming academic year & about the safety of their children. Last year's tragic shootings on school property have heightened anxieties & many are asking, "What can I do?" On August 12 at 7:30 PM ET, the Department will present a satellite teleconference, "Safe Schools, Safe Students: What Parents Can Do." Secretary Riley & Attorney General Janet Reno will co-host the meeting, which will feature practical advice from local educators, community leaders, law enforcement officials, & medical & mental health professionals on what can be done to keep students safe. To register, please see: http://www.ed.gov/registerevent To view the teleconference via webcast, please see: http://www.connectlive.com/events/deptedu/

Advanced Placement Test Fees for Low-Income Students Thousands of low-income students will have access to advanced placement (AP) tests under a second year of AP state grants, the Department announced this month. Thirty-three states & D.C. will share in more than $2.8 million, under the AP Incentive Program grants, to encourage low-income students to prepare for & take AP tests. For more information, please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/07-1999/aptest.html

"Mars Millennium Project" Participation Guide On July 4, in honor of the second anniversary of the landing of the Mars Pathfinder, the Department -- working with NASA, the National Endowment for the Arts, & the J.P. Getty Trust -- released the Mars Millennium Project Participation Guide. The guide aims to help students, teachers, parents and community leaders participate in this project to design a livable community for 100 people on Mars for the year 2030. The project offers K-12 students an interdisciplinary learning opportunity that weaves together the arts, sciences, math, geography, & humanities. Mission Control would like to know about your project. You may register your Mars Millennium Project design online for inclusion in the Mars Millennium Virtual Gallery. All submissions must be entered online before June 1, 2000. For details, visit the "Virtual Gallery" windowpane at: http://www.mars2030.net

New Projects Promote Distance Learning for College This month Secretary Riley announced the selection of 15 postsecondary schools, systems, & consortia that will have an opportunity to enhance access to federal student aid for distance education students pursuing college-level academic studies & training. These selections are the first to be made under the new Distance Education Demonstration Program, which was authorized last fall by the Higher Education Amendments of 1998. The 15 participants include 118 institutions in 17 states. Under the federal student aid programs (Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended), a number of statutory & regulatory provisions limit distance education students eligibility to receive financial assistance. The 15 grantees will receive waivers from one or more of these requirements. Some participants will also test new models for delivering federal financial aid to their distance education students. According to statistics for the fall of 1998, distance education courses were offered by 90 percent of all higher education institutions enrolling more than 10,000 students & 85 percent of schools with enrollments between 3,000 & 10,000 students. For more information, please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/06-1999/distep.html

Campus Week of Dialogue October 4-8 has been designated by the President's Initiative for One America & Secretary Riley as the "Campus Week of Dialogue." Colleges & universities across the U.S. are organizing events for that week designed to promote racial understanding & cultural awareness. This second annual Campus Week of Dialogue builds on last year's national conversation & aims to engage our future leaders in thinking together about America's race related challenges. To find out how you may participate, please visit the Campus Week of Dialogue website: http://www.ed.gov/campusdialogue/

Lower Student Fees on Direct Loans More than 2 million students will be eligible to save an average of $631 on their direct student loans, as a result of 3 discounts announced last month by the Department. On a 10,000 loan with a standard 10-year repayment a student will save an estimated $100 on the origination fee; $157 for the interest rate reduction for electronic debit repayment; & $374 for the in-school or grace consolidation savings. These discounts are similar to those now offered to students under the Federal Family Education Loan(FFEL) program by many lenders & guaranty agencies, & will help restore parity between the Direct Loan & FFEL programs. For details, see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/06-1999/fees.html

"NCES Classroom" Website for Students "NCES Classroom," a new website for students, was announced by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) yesterday. Features include... College Search, which allows students to find tuition, degrees, programs, & other information on every college & university in the U.S. (It includes links to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook homepage & to the Department's Student Financial Aid homepage.) Find Your School, where students can locate their schools on a map, find out how many teachers & students there are, & discover other information about their schools. Games & Activities, which offers a word search, a quiz, a coloring page, & other games, all with an educational twist. Fun Facts, which lets students read surprising facts about America's education institutions. NCES Classroom is at: http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids