A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n
President Clinton's
Call to Action For American Education
In The 21st Century:
Ensuring Educational Excellence in 1998 and Beyond
January 27, 1998
In the 1997 State-of-the-Union message, President Clinton outlined a "Call to Action for American Education." This ten-point plan called for all Americans to join forces and work together to:
In this year's State-of-the-Union message, President Clinton announced the progress we have made, and where we will go from here.
- Over 52 million children are now in school, a new national enrollment record. We will continue to break that record for the next 10 years. We estimate that the nation will have to build 6000 schools just to keep up with rising enrollments.
- This is why President Clinton is proposing a major school construction initiative to help communities renovate or build anew 5,000 schools to address classroom overcrowding, make them safer, and modernize them. The federal investment of $10 billion over a 10-year period more than doubles the construction dollars proposed last year and would use Federal tax credits to provide nearly $22 billion in "zero-interest" bonds to build, renovate and modernize public schools.
- One-half of the school modernization bond authority would be allocated to the 100 school districts with the largest number of low-income students and the other half would be distributed to states and territories to provide bond authority to school districts in accordance with each state's plan.
- President Clinton has proposed a $12.4 billion initiative over 7 years to help local schools provide small classes with qualified teachers in the early years (grades one through three).
- The initiative provides funds to help local school districts hire and pay the salaries of an additional 100,000 teachers. States will receive funds for teacher training and first-time teachers will be required to pass state competency tests.
- Reducing class size can raise standards, improve discipline, and give children the individual attention they need. This focus on early grades with special emphasis on reading will be of particular help to children with learning disabilities -- they will be able to get help early on to keep up with their classmates.
- The President has proposed spending $350 million over five years to recruit and train teachers to work in high-poverty urban and rural areas. The funding will also be used to support the highest-quality teacher training and prepare those teachers to teach students to reach for high standards.
- National data shows that the nation will need 2 million new teachers over the next decade.
Ongoing Efforts:
- In 1997, $18.5 million was appropriated to expand the recognition and identification of accomplished and master teachers through National Board certification. Our goal is to place one National Board certified teacher in every school by the year 2006, for a total of 100,000.
- Over one million professional training opportunities have been provided annually through the Eisenhower Professional Development State Grants.
- Most juvenile crime takes place in the hours immediately after school is dismissed. To ensure that young people have a safe and drug-free environment during this critical time of the day, the President has announced a budget request for $1 billion over 5 years to keep schools open as after school learning centers for up to an additional 500,000 children a year.
- These start-up funds will be combined with local matching dollars to establish or expand 4000 after-school programs that will provide extended learning activities and safe-havens for learning enrichment including computer access, art, music and community service opportunities while improving student achievement and preventing juvenile violence and substance abuse.
Ongoing Efforts:
- For the first time since 1991, teen drug use is leveling off and, in some cases, even decreasing, but drug use is much too high and we need everyone's help to keep kids away from drugs. From 1991 until the present, 97% of the nation's school districts have received U.S. Department of Education funds to promote promising practices in drug and violence prevention -- working towards safe and disciplined learning environments.
- In 1998, the U.S. Department of Education will issue a National Report Card on School Violence in conjunction with the Department of Justice using technology to share information on promising drug and violence prevention strategies identified.
- Up to 22 states will receive funds totaling $6.5 million in 1998 for local programs that strengthen character and values in youth -- 10 more than in 1997 -- and we are seeking to fund even more through Character Education Grants.
- For America's working families, the President has proposed that $22 billion be devoted over five years to improve child care -- the largest investment in the nation's history. This will double the number of children receiving child care subsidies, help working families pay for child care through tax credits, and improve the safety and quality of child care.
Ongoing Efforts:
- To enable more young children to improve their readiness for school, 1998 funding for Head Start was increased by $374 million for a total of $4.4 billion. Work is beginning to take place that will do a better job linking the Head Start program to kindergarten and first grades so young children have a good transition to school.
- Secretary Riley has led a Partnership for Family Involvement in Education through which 4,000 local, state, and national organizations, are getting more involved in children's education at school and at home. Partners include organizations such as: Nickelodeon, YMCA, Pizza Hut, the United Methodist Church, and the National PTA -- and partnerships continue to grow.
- President Clinton and Congress have agreed to invest $210 million in FY99 to ensure that every American child reads well and independently by the end of the third-grade. This bipartisan effort will provide the opportunity for thousands of well-trained tutors to provide extra help for those children most in need of reading practice through after-school, weekend and summer programs, and will help families learn ways in which they can help their children with literacy skills at home.
Ongoing Efforts:
- In the FY 1998 budget, an additional $79 million was committed to improve reading through the Eisenhower Professional Development program, Even Start Family Literacy Programs, and America Reads Challenge Federal Work-Study.
- 850 colleges and universities are now participating in the America Reads Challenge by placing thousands of their work-study students as reading tutors in pre-schools and elementary schools nationwide to help children learn to read well and independently. The program will expand in summer 1998 to include family literacy programs.
- In addition, the America Reads Challenge READ*WRITE*NOW! summer reading projects, which consist of school-community partnerships and are targeted to help children living in the nation's poorest areas maintain and improve their reading skills, will expand to include at least one site in every state. Last summer, 15 pilot sites served more than 85,000 children.
- President Clinton's new Education Opportunity Zones will strengthen schools and help students to master basic and advanced skills where the need is greatest -- in urban and rural communities with concentrated poverty and low expectations. This initiative will invest $200 million in FY99 and $1.5 billion over 5 years in 50 school districts with a demonstrated commitment to high standards, strategies to prevent students from falling behind, programs to turn around failing schools, and evidence of student achievement.
- Getting students ready for college means "thinking college early" and taking the gatekeeper courses, like algebra and geometry, chemistry and physics, that put students on the academic track to college success. The Department of Education, working with schools, colleges and parent groups, communicates to families and educators the critical importance of taking all the core courses in high school, starting with algebra in the 8th-grade, and having access to high quality curriculum and instruction, including Advanced Placement Courses.
Ongoing Efforts:
- These efforts build on the Administration's continued support for school, community, and state work to promote high standards of discipline and achievement through Goals 2000: Educate America Act, Title I, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Bilingual education programs, and the comprehensive school reform initiative enacted by the Congress. Last year, the Administration obtained a 7.5% increase in funding for these programs that help over 16 million low-income children, children who speak English as a second language, and children with disabilities learn the basics and have access to a high standards curriculum and instruction.
- President Clinton and Congress have approved development of the first-ever voluntary national tests in 4th-grade reading and 8th-grade math. These tests will give parents, educators and communities the information they need to make sure their students master the basics and get the extra necessary. Development of the tests is being overseen by the bipartisan, independent National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) and the tests will be based on the highly regarded and widely used standards of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
- Beginning January 1st, every public, parochial, and private school is eligible to receive significant discounts for Internet and telecommunications services through the E-rate, a $2.25 billion fund administered by the Federal Communications Commission. The average discount will cut costs by 60%. For our poorest schools, access will be almost free.
Ongoing Efforts:
- Funding for educational technology more than doubled in FY 1998, amounting to an almost $600 million investment of funds to help schools acquire hardware, software, and link to the Internet and to train teachers in using computers and educational software.
- Continuing grants, begun by the President during his first term, include the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund, supporting all 50 states, and the Technology Innovation Challenge Fund, helping 62 projects involving 33 states, 548 school districts, 293 businesses, and 140 colleges and universities.
- Sixty-five percent of schools are now connected to the Internet -- and fourteen percent of classrooms, up from 1994 when only 9% of schools and 3% of classrooms were wired.
- In 1998, we will step up our efforts to: help ensure all new teachers know how to use technology effectively in the classroom; establish computer learning centers in low income communities; and through technology, allow adults the opportunity to learn anytime, and anywhere.
- President Clinton seeks to increase the Federal-Work Study program to $900 million, a $70 million increase over FY 1998 and nearly fifty percent more than FY 1996. This would allow one million undergraduate and graduate students to meet their financial needs and gain experience while helping the surrounding community and their campus.
Ongoing Efforts:
- In 1997, the administration achieved historic increases in funding to help Americans go to college through:
- the new HOPE Scholarship Tax Credit -- making the first two years of college universally available and possibly free-- estimated to provide some $4.2 billion to 5.5 million students;
- the largest Pell Grant increase in 20 years -- $1.4 billion for some 3.9 million students that never has to be paid back;
- making life-long learning easier for adults interested in finishing their degrees, going back to school, upgrading their skills, or advancing in their careers, with a new tax incentive called the Lifetime Learning Credit estimated to put $2.5 billion back in the pockets of 7.1 million students;
- and other opportunities to finance higher education through student loans, AmeriCorps participation and education IRA's.
- Federally-funded school-to-work activities benefitted one million students in 3,000 high schools in 1996 preparing them for both college and careers. By the year 2000, 2 million students will be participating in school-to-work efforts, through 900 partnerships.
- Over 200,000 employers are currently participating in school-to-work partnerships, providing over 60,000 work-based learning opportunities. By the year 2000, we expect 600,000 employers to join the school-to-work effort.
- By building strong partnerships between schools, colleges and employers, we are building school-to-work systems, retooling vocational education, expanding TechPrep programs and supporting New American High Schools dedicated to preparing all high school students to successfully complete at least two years of postsecondary work.
Ongoing Efforts:
- 500 new charter schools will be developed in 1998 through competitive grants -- increasing to 1,000 the number the U.S. Department of Education is helping to start up and support to meet the President's goal of developing 3,000 new charter schools by early in the next century.
- States and communities will be encouraged to expand public school choice for parents and students while maintaining accountability. They are supported through grants and technical assistance, research and development of charter schools, and technical assistance and information to promote new, high quality magnet schools.
Ongoing Efforts:
- Through the Adult Education and Literacy Act and the Even Start program we are helping over 4 million adults to receive basic education and literacy skills, improve English language abilities, and earn high school diplomas so that they can go on to college, get good jobs, be effective citizens and help their children be good students.
- The U.S. Department of Education is promoting the use of technology to expand access to adult education and literacy services through television programming and distance learning. Our Crossroad's Cafe, basic skills and English language improvement program --a Sesame Street for adults--is currently available to adults in 37 states. A new $2 million technology grant program will support the development of new ways to use technology in the schools.
- The Administration is retooling vocational-technical education in high schools, community colleges and technical institutes to prepare students with the academic and technical skills needed for the high tech jobs of the future.
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Last Updated -- January 28, 1998, (pjk)