The NEGP Weekly for February 3, 2000

[NEGPWEEK@westat.com (NEGPWEEK)]

*******************THE NEGP WEEKLY****************
A weekly news update on America's Education Goals 
and school improvement efforts across America from the 
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL

Thursday - February 03, 2000 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 42
**************************************************

CONTENTS
**STATE POLICY 
1.) READING:  HOW TO TEACH ALL CHILDREN (Goal 3)
2.) TEACHER PREPARATION: UNDER REVIEW IN SUNSHINE STATE (Goal 4)

**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS 
3.) SOCIAL PROMOTION: DEMOTED IN ST. PAUL (Goal 3)
4.) CAREER-BASED EDUCATION: WHERE IT WORKS(Goals 3 and 4) 

**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS 
5.) LITERACY PROGRAMS: DEEMED OUTSTANDING BY DoED (Goal 6)
6.) TEACHER QUALITY: FINAL RULES FOR GRANT PROGRAM (Goal 4)

**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE 
7.) COLLEGE:  GIVING POOR KIDS A CHANCE (Goal 6)
8.) A GOOD CITIZEN: WHAT DOES IT MEAN? (Goal 3)

**FEATURE STORY
9.) STATE OF THE UNION: PRESIDENT CLINTON STRESSES EDUCATION (All Goals)

 
***FACT OF THE WEEK***
Between 1994 and 1997, the U.S. and 6 states (out of 51) significantly
increased the percentages of 2-year-olds who had been fully immunized
against preventable childhood diseases.  These states are Alabama, Illinois,
Michigan, Missouri, Washington, and West Virginia.

--The National Education Goals Report: Building a nation of learners, 1999



********************
STATE POLICY NEWS
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1.) ******** READING:  HOW TO TEACH ALL CHILDREN
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship)

Six steps must be taken in order to teach all children to read, according to
a new report issued by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB).  They
include:

>  early assessment
>  classroom reading instruction that meets the needs of all children
>  early intervention for children at risk of not learning to read
>  intervention for older children who are not reading at grade level
>  teacher education that prepares new teachers to meet every child's
reading needs
>  professional development that helps teachers continually improve their
skills in teaching reading

The report, titled Teaching All Children to Read, elaborates on the six
steps and provides details of what several SREB member states are doing to
improve reading instruction for all students.

Teaching All Children to Read is available on the SREB web site at
www.sreb.org.


2.) ******** TEACHER PREPARATION: UNDER REVIEW IN SUNSHINE STATE
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)

A core curriculum for prospective teachers comprises the core of a new plan
to change the way Florida approves teacher-preparation programs (Archer,
EDUCATION WEEK, 1/26).  A task force assembled several months ago by state
Commissioner of Education Tom Gallagher made the recommendations for teacher
preparation.

Under the proposal, all teacher candidates would be required to complete 15
hours in social studies, 12 in science and nine in math.  Those signaling
they want to work in elementary schools also would be required to take 12
hours in how to teach reading.  The proposal includes provisions for teacher
bonuses for graduates of education schools that abide by the new
requirements.  ED WEEK reports that the amount remains unspecified.

Gallagher premised the need for change on the results of a state-sponsored
survey of first-year teachers that found 45% of those surveyed said they
were inadequately prepared to teach to the state's academic standards for
students, and 75 percent reported they were at best only minimally prepared
to assess student progress.
                
ED WEEK can be found at www.edweek.com   The Florida Department of Education
is at www.firn.edu/doe


*************************
Community and Local News
*************************


3.) ******** SOCIAL PROMOTION: DEMOTED IN ST. PAUL
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship)

The St. Paul, Minnesota, school board last week unanimously agreed to a plan
that ends social promotion if students score low on districtwide achievement
tests and are chronically absent from schools (Tosto, PIONEERPLANET, 1/26).


Superintendent Pat Harvey said students who are held back will receive extra
help, "not just another year of the same grade," writes the paper.  Students
who score poorly on the Metropolitan Achievement Test and who were absent
from school 15 or more days during the prior school year would be required,
along with their parents and teachers, to sign an "academic growth plan."
By the summer of 2000, students who have fallen below the standard set would
attend summer school.  They could attend summer school again in the summer
of 2001.  However, if they are in grades 3, 5 or 8, and made no progress in
summer school, they would not be allowed to move to the next grade.

For more information, visit www.pioneerplanet.com


4.) ******** CAREER-BASED EDUCATION: WHERE IT WORKS
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship and Goal Four: Teacher
Education and Professional Development)

The American Federation of Teachers' (AFT) publication AMERICAN 
TEACHER features several successful career-to-school high schools (Rose,
February 2000).  They work, according to the AFT, because they affirmatively
answer a question the late Albert Shanker, president of the AFT, said every
student will ask about any education program: Does it count?  
        
One high school in Queens, New York, combines rigorous academic work with
vocational studies.  The schoolwork has a purpose and student achievement
counts:  Students who graduate become FAA-certified aviation mechanics.
According to the AFT, 90 percent of students at Aviation High School pass
state-mandated English exams, and more than 70 scored high enough to earn
Regents-level credit.

Like Aviation High School, William H. Turner Technical High School in Miami,
Florida, also "builds aggressive links to area businesses that lead to
valuable internship opportunities."  Both schools maintain high expectations
in academic subjects and offer an interdisciplinary "dialogue" that prevents
students from "falling through the cracks," writes the AFT.

The Cincinnati Federation of Teachers is in the midst of examining elements
of successful high school reform.  A CFT task force issued a report that
called on the district to move from comprehensive high schools to smaller
theme-based schools that could focus on particular subject areas or
occupations.  The report also recommended enforcing academic standards in
grades K-8, remedial or summer courses for high school students who do not
meet academic standards in high school and school design "driven by real
autonomy at the school level."

For more information, visit the AFT at www.aft.org


*********************
Federal Policy News
*********************


5.) ******** LITERACY PROGRAMS: DEEMED OUTSTANDING BY DoED
(Goal Six: Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning)

U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley recently honored ten adult education
and literacy programs.  The programs - from Arizona to Massachusetts - were
awarded as the Outstanding Adult Education and Literacy Programs 1998-1999.

This year's focus was on adult education programs that feature promising
practices in family literacy, workplace education or welfare reform.  State
directors of adult education nominate the programs for the competition.  The
awards program, which began in 1985, identifies model adult education
programs and practices and recognizes their success in assisting adult
learners to achieve their educational, personal and professional goals.

For more information and a list of the winning programs, visit
www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/adusite.html.


6.) ******** TEACHER QUALITY: FINAL RULES FOR GRANT PROGRAM
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)

New regulations for the Department of Education's Teacher Quality
Enhancement program are available in the 12 January Federal Register. The
program, entering its second year, has as its goal the recruitment and
training of quality teachers, placing them in high-need schools.  Funds from
this program can be used to provide scholarships to teacher candidates, with
a promise that they teach in high-need schools or districts.

The new regulations clarify "high-need school."  They also require grantees
offering teacher recruitment scholarships, in collaboration with high-need
districts, to place scholarship recipients in the highest-need schools and
provide two ways for scholarship recipients to relay to the Department of
Education that they are meeting their service obligation.  

For more information, contact: Office of Postsecondary Education; 1990 K
Street NW; Washington, D.C.  20006-8525; (202)502-7763; Louis_Venuto@ed.gov.


*********************************
Research and Education Practices
*********************************


7.) ******** COLLEGE: GIVING POOR KIDS A CHANCE
(Goal Six: Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning)

The Education Resources Institute (TERI) is launching a campaign to reduce
the growing gap in college opportunities for disadvantaged students.  With a
$900,000 grant from the DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest School-to-College
Transition Initiative, TERI will assist five cities to plan community-based
college information centers.  The cities are:  Los Angeles and San
Francisco, California; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Charlotte, North Carolina; and
Tidewater, Virginia.  Two of the cities will receive funds to implement the
plans.

DeWitt Wallace funds also make it possible for TERI to provide technical
assistance to help cities build centers through a tool-kit, including a
"how-to" manual and document prototypes and a training institute.  TERI also
is initiating a comprehensive campaign to secure public and private funds at
national, state and local levels to help create many more college
information centers nationwide.

TERI is a national non-profit organization dedicated to providing people of
all ages with access to education programs that will enhance the quality of
their lives."  (TERI press release, 1/21).  TERI is located at: 330 Stuart
Street; Suite 500; Boston, Massachusetts  02117-9123; (617)426-0681.


8.) ********A GOOD CITIZEN: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship)

After examining a broad range of service-learning programs nationwide, Joel
Westheimer and Joseph Kahne conclude "not many people agree on what a good
citizen does."  Some service-learning programs are "based on the belief that
good citizens show up to work on time and pay taxes," they write in an
EDUCATION WEEK editorial (1/26).  Other service-learning programs rest on
the premise that citizenship "simply entails acting decently toward the
people around you."

Westheimer, an assistant professor at New York University and Kahne, an
associate professor at Mills College, while acknowledging that "acts of
civic decency are important," they argue students must learn how to "create,
evaluate, criticize and change public norms, institutions and programs" in
order to become truly effective citizens.  They give several examples of
service-learning programs that meet their standard.  For example, students
in one school studied domestic violence and led workshops for their peers on
how to avoid it.  They also applaud the efforts of the Surdna Foundations'
Effective Citizenry program, which funded 10 curriculum groups nationwide to
engage in democratic-values education.  

The authors:  "In our study of these programs, we have seen compelling
evidence that when service experiences are combined with rigorous analysis
of related social issues, students do develop the attitudes, skills and
knowledge necessary to respond in productive ways."

Visit EDUCATION WEEK at www.edweek.com.


*****************
Feature Story
*****************


9.) ******** STATE OF THE UNION: PRESIDENT CLINTON STRESSES EDUCATION 
(All Goals)

In his last State-of-the-Union address, President Clinton announced a
national effort to increase school accountability and to invest more in
schools nationwide.  Clinton tied his education plans into the general theme
of opportunity, responsibility and community - a theme that echoes
throughout past State-of-the-Union speeches.  

"First and foremost, we need a 21st century revolution in education, guided
by our faith that every single child can learn," declared Clinton.  He noted
that "all successful schools have followed the same proven formula:  higher
standards, more accountability, and extra help so children who need it can
get it to reach those standards."  The programs that emerged from the
President's speech include:

>   After-school programs.  The President urges Congress to invest $1
billion to expand after-school and summer school for students across the
nation - more than double the $453 million enacted last year.  A White House
press release notes that under the President's proposal, the number of
children served will triple from 850,000 to 2.5 million children.
>  Expansion of Head Start.  The President calls on Congress to increase
funding for Head Start by $1 billion - the largest funding increase ever
proposed for this program.  
>  Doubling funds to turn around failing schools and giving states a new
high-performance bonus.  Clinton sends to Congress a plan to increase
funding for a school accountability plan launched after last year's
State-of-the-Union address to $250 million from $134 million.  Clinton also
proposes a $50 million initiative to provide high-performance bonuses to
states that make exemplary progress in improving student performance and
closing the achievement gap between high- and low-performing groups of
students.  
>  Teacher Quality Plan.  Clinton proposes a new $1 billion initiative to
improve teacher quality, called the Teaching to High Standards Initiative.
The program would give grants to states and districts to fund high quality,
standards-based professional development for teachers, among other things.
>  Class size reductions.  Clinton again calls on Congress to renew its
commitment to reduce class size by continuing to reach the goal of hiring
100,000 high quality teachers.  

While Clinton touched on other topics - from technology to charter schools -
he continued to sound the theme of accountability and investment in American
education.

The full text of Clinton's State-of-the-Union address can be found at
www.whitehouse.gov.
        

************************************
The NEGP WEEKLY is a publication of:
The National Education Goals Panel 
1255 22nd Street NW, Suite 502 
Washington, DC 20037; 
202-724-0015 

NEGP Executive Director: Ken Nelson 
Publisher: Barbara A. Pape 
www.negp.gov 
************************************


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WHAT IS THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL? 
The National Education Goals Panel is a unique bipartisan body of state and
federal officials created in 1990 by President Bush and the nation's
Governors to report state and national progress and urge education
improvement efforts to reach the National Education Goals. 

WHAT DOES THE GOALS PANEL DO?
The Goals Panel has been charged to: 
* Report state and national progress toward the National Education Goals. 
* Work to establish a system of high academic standards and assessments. 
* Identify promising and effective reform strategies. 
* Recommend actions for state, federal, and local governments to take. 
* Build a nationwide, bipartisan consensus to achieve the Goals. 

WHAT ARE THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS? 
There are eight National Education Goals set for the year 2000. They are: 
1) All children will start school ready to learn. 
2) The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90%. 
3) All students will become competent in challenging subject matter. 
4) Teachers will have the knowledge and skills they need. 
5) U.S. students will be first in the world in math and science achievement.
6) Every adult American will be literate. 
7) Schools will be safe, disciplined, and free of drugs, guns and alcohol. 
8) Schools will promote parental involvement and participation. 

WHO SERVES ON THE GOALS PANEL AND HOW ARE THEY CHOSEN?
Eight governors, four state legislators, four members of the U.S. Congress,
and two members appointed by the President serve on the Goals Panel. Members
are appointed by the leadership of the National Governors' Association, the
National Conference of State Legislatures, the U.S. Senate and House, and
the President. The number of Republicans and Democrats are made even by
appointing five governors from the party that does not control the White
House.
 
The current Panel Members are Governors Paul E. Patton, KY, (Chair, 1999);
John Engler, MI; Jim Geringer, WY; James B. Hunt, Jr., NC; Frank Keating,
OK; Frank O'Bannon, IN; Tommy G. Thompson, WI; Cecil H. Underwood, WV;
Secretary of Education Richard Riley; Michael Cohen, Assistant Secretary for
Elementary and Secondary Education; U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, NM; U.S.
Senator
Jim Jeffords, VT; U.S. Representative William F. Goodling, PA; U.S.
Representative Matthew G. Martinez, CA; Representative G. Spencer Coggs, WI;
Representative Mary Lou Cowlishaw, IL; Representative Douglas R. Jones, ID;
Senator Stephen Stoll, MO. 

The annual Goals Report and other publications of the Panel are available
without charge upon request from t he Goals Panel or at its web site
www.negp.gov. Requests can be made by mail, fax, e-mail, or Internet. 

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