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 High Schools Focus of Back-to-School Address "Rethinking High Schools" Topic of September Town Meeting Teleconference on Reading Efforts Professional Development Awards Partnership Grants to Improve Teacher Preparation Enrolling Children in Health Insurance Awards to Colleges Serving Hispanic Students Charter Schools Grants Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships New Online Credits

America Goes Back to School How can the back-to-school season be used to strengthen family & community involvement in your school? The Department's "Challenge Our Students & They Will Soar" website suggests a number of ideas, including... Employers Give your employees time to meet with teachers or volunteer at school. Encourage them to be mentors & tutors. Offer students internships & work-study experiences. Invite teachers into your workplace to show them the skills that today's workers need. Parents Slow down your lives & help your children grow. Spend at least 30 minutes a day supervising their education. Read to your young children, & share books with older ones. Keep in touch with teachers. Make sure your children are doing their homework. Keep TV watching to a minimum. Talk with your children frankly about drugs & violence -- & the values you want them to have. Educators, community leaders, & law enforcement officials Many communities are holding town meetings with mental health professionals to talk about troubled youth & school violence. Think about holding one in your community. Talk about how to help troubled youth. Find ways to connect each young person to a least one caring adult. Work with others in your community to develop quality after-school & summer programs. Teachers & school officials Make your school parent-friendly. Reach out to families & remove the obstacles that sometimes make them reluctant to get involved in school activities. Students Challenge yourselves! Take the tough courses in middle & high school that will put you on the road to college & careers. Take algebra in 8th grade, geometry in 9th grade, & physics, chemistry, & trigonometry in high school. Take 4 years of a foreign language, & an Advanced Placement art, music, English, or history course. Explore tech prep & other career courses. Studies show that students who take academically challenging high school courses are more likely to attend & complete college & earn more in the work world, regardless of their family's financial status or race. For more ideas, please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/08-1999/backschool.html http://www.ed.gov/Family/agbts/

High Schools Focus of Back-to-School Address "The American High School in the 21st Century" is the focus of Secretary Riley's annual back-to-school address on September 15. The speech will be webcast from the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., beginning at 12:30 ET. He will discuss... the record number of students entering high school in the coming decade, the importance of the 9th-grade transition, & preparing students for college earlier the need to provide a more rigorous curriculum for all students, restructure the high school day, & change the senior year as we now know it steps to keep young people safe ways schools & communities can address youth violence recent survey results portraying teenagers' views of high school & their future. You are invited to read the speech or view the archived webcast.

"Rethinking High Schools" Topic of September Town Meeting How can high schools use technology & new teaching techniques, strengthen professional development for teachers, & create personalized learning environments where all students reach high standards? This is among the questions to be discussed during this month's Satellite Town Meeting, which will be broadcast live from Nathan Hale High School in Seattle on September 21 from 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. ET. Secretary Riley & guests will feature high schools that are re-imagining the way they do business, including recently recognized New American High Schools & New Urban High Schools. For details & to register, please see: http://www.ed.gov/inits/stm/1999-2000.html

Teleconference on Reading Efforts How can you start a new literacy program for children or expand existing programs in your community? That's the focus of a teleconference (satellite & Internet) sponsored by the Department & the University of Vermont on Monday October 18, 1999, at 1:30 - 3:30 ET. "Campus & Community: Building Sustainable Literacy Partnerships" is designed to help schools, colleges, community organizations, religious groups, libraries, & others develop effective partnerships to improve children's reading achievement. A panel of community leaders will share success stories & practical strategies for building sustainable literacy partnerships. For details & registration, please see: http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmreads/ or phone 800-933-9712.

Professional Development Awards Last month, Secretary Riley named 3 schools & 4 school districts as winners of the Department's National Awards Program for Model Professional Development. Among the winners: Spring Woods, a large urban high school in Houston (TX), established a "schoolwide leadership cadre" to study whole school change. The resulting professional development plan established a set of goals: more inclusive, relevant, & challenging instructional practices; enhanced communication & learning among adults; & parent involvement that encourages diverse representation & participation in meaningful decisions & activities. The cadre helped create a professional development initiative based on a motivational framework for culturally responsive teaching & learning. The results: Student attendance has increased, while dropout rates & discipline referrals have declined. Reading, math, & writing scores on the state assessment have improved dramatically. (In math, for instance, the percentage of students scoring "proficient" rose from 22% to a proficiency level of 77%.) Wherry Elementary School's professional development program is built on the principal's belief that teacher expertise is the single most important factor affecting student achievement. When teachers in this K-5 public school in Albuquerque (NM) realized their students were doing poorly on standardized measures in literacy, they decided to focus their professional improvement on research in literacy development, assessments that guide instruction, & proven teaching strategies. They made time for professional development by voluntarily lengthening the school day by 10 minutes. They created study groups, monthly mini-inservices, & individual consultations, & they continually review student data & conduct needs assessments to determine next learning steps. The results: Wherry teachers speak openly of how their instructional practices have changed since their efforts began in 1994. They report significant use of new literacy teaching strategies, & they are more willing to be observed in their classrooms by colleagues. Test scores in literacy & writing have risen significantly. Other award recipients: Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia; Spring Woods Senior High School in Houston & Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, both in Texas; Olathe District Schools (USD233) in Olathe, Kansas; Edmonds School District in Lynwood, Washington; & Norman Public Schools in Norman, Oklahoma. For more information about these models & the program, see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/08-1999/model.html

Partnership Grants to Improve Teacher Preparation Today Secretary Riley announced $33 million for 25 partnerships to improve programs that prepare new teachers. The 25 grants, made under the new Teacher Quality Enhancement Program, will support partnerships between one or more college or university teacher preparation program, the school of arts & sciences at the school, & a high-need school district. The grants aim to... Produce teachers with strong content knowledge in subjects they teach Immerse student teachers in extensive clinical (classroom) experiences Provide mentoring & other support for new teachers Integrate technology into teacher preparation programs. For summaries of grants & other information, please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/

Enrolling Children in Health Insurance Communities & schools around the country are using innovative approaches to increase children's enrollment in free or low-cost health insurance programs, such as Medicaid & the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). In Boston, a group of teenagers launched a "Coaches Campaign" in which they make presentations to coaches, dramatizing how the lack of health insurance can cause injuries to go untreated, or in some cases prevent a would-be school athlete from signing up for a team. With help from a local advertising firm, the students designed & distributed posters & brochures to athletic directors across the state, encouraging all coaches & school athletes to help enroll children in health insurance programs. In Minnesota, students new to Minneapolis Public Schools sign up for specific schools, arrange for school transportation, & take academic placement tests at the Welcome Center. With help from the local Department of Public Health & the Alinna Foundation, they can also apply for health insurance. During August & September, when nearly 4,000 children register for school, someone is available at the Center to help families fill in health insurance applications. Later in the year, after back-to-school registration, families are referred to the Medicaid or MinnesotaCare (the state health insurance program) office for help in completing the enrollment process. The U.S. Departments of Education, Health & Human Services, & Agriculture, & groups such as the Center for Policy & Budget Priorities are working with school districts to make enrolling children in health insurance a natural part of school business. For more examples of innovative school-based approaches to enrolling children in CHIP, please see: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/chip/

Awards to Colleges Serving Hispanic Students Last month the Department announced $28 million in awards to 76 Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI). The purpose of the awards, the first to be made under the HSI program, is to improve & expand academic programs & facilities of colleges that are educating the majority of Hispanic college students. For project descriptions & program information, please see: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/HEP/idues/hsi.html

Charter Schools Grants The Department awarded last month more than $95 million to support start-up & development of additional charter schools in 32 states. For more a list of grantees & contacts -- & for more information about charter schools -- please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/08-1999/support.html http://www.uscharterschools.org/

Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships Last month the Vice President announced $10 million for 29 Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships (LAAP) awards. The program supports colleges, universities, companies, & non-profit organizations working together to expand adults' access to high-quality learning opportunities through the Internet or other means. LAAP is designed to help students who live in underserved geographic areas, who have limited access to the traditional college campus setting, & who need more flexible education & training opportunities to keep pace with changes in the job market. The program also helps meet critical needs of business & industry. Examples of the grants include... The National Telecommuting Institute will develop an at-home training program that will prepare people with severe disabilities to perform customer service jobs in "e-commerce" from their homes using the Internet. The Hispanic Educational Telecommunications System (HETS) will pool faculty & staff to develop workforce training, counseling, & courses to serve an estimated 100,000 students enrolled through the nation's Hispanic Serving Institutions. The College of the Mainland in Texas project will partner with some 30 Gulf Coast petrochemical companies to develop a program for industry workers to refresh their skills, learn new technologies & safety precautions, or earn an associate's degree. For more information, please see: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/FIPSE/LAAP/

New Online The Teacher Quality Website offers information for policymakers & educators on recruiting & preparing teachers, providing professional development opportunities, raising teaching standards, & other issues. It includes classroom resources, research, & information for people interested in becoming a teacher. http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/heatqp/ The Department is reviewing regulations relating to the federal student financial aid programs, as required by the Higher Education Act. The views of students, schools, financial institutions, & other customers & partners are invited. http://www.ed.gov/offices/ODS/regreview/