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Final 5/3/00 9:30a.m.
Glastris
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS ON TURNING AROUND FAILING
SCHOOLS
AUDUBON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
OWENSBORO, KENTUCKY
May 3, 2000
Acknowledgments: Gov. Patton; Former Sen. Wendell
Ford (born in Owensboro community of Yellow Creek); Lt.
Gov. Steve Henry (mother Wanda a 25-year veteran of
Daviess-pronounce Davis-- County school system)
It is a delight to be here today. I'm told that I am the
first sitting President to visit Owensboro since Harry
Truman. President Truman always did have good taste. I
know that a terrible tornado came through here in January.
We tried to do our part in Washington to help. But while
the physical scars are still evident, I can see that the spirit of
this community remains strong. Even your wonderful
Panthers bounced back, and almost won the championship
again this year.
1
Flying in today from Ft. Campbell by helicopter, over
the farms and wooded hills of this beautiful state, I got a
view of Kentucky that few Kentuckians have the privilege
of seeing-and if you do get the chance I highly
recommend it. On the ground here in Owensboro, I've
been given a view of school reform that few Americans
have ever seen. And so I am here today, on the first stop of
a two-day school reform tour, because I want the American
people to understand that there are places in this country
that have met one of our nation's most perplexing
challenges: how to bring educational excellence to public
schools, even in the most economically disadvantaged
communities. Now, it's time to bring the reforms we know
work to every low-performing school in America.
2
I'm here in Kentucky this morning to show how an
entire state can identify and turn around its low-performing
schools with high standards, accountability, and
investments to help schools meet those standards. Later
today, I'll be in Davenport, Iowa, to highlight the
importance of having modern school buildings for our
children. Tomorrow, I'll visit the nation's first charter
school in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the public schools are
thriving with more competition and accountability. I'll
finish up tomorrow in Columbus, Ohio, where the schools
are doing everything right, including raising teacher
quality--and getting good results in the classroom.
3
Ever since Sec. Riley and I were young governors 20
years ago, we've been wresting with the challenge of how
to improve education, especially in disadvantaged
communities. It's a challenge governors are still working
on. Just today, Gov. Carper of Delaware is signing
landmark school accountability legislation in his state. It's a
challenge Gov. Patton has been working on it ever since he
was a member of the Prichard Committee for Academic
Excellence in the 1980s. I remember talking to him about
Kentucky's education reform experiment in 1992 when he
was Lt. Governor and I was running for President. So I've
been keenly aware of Kentucky's efforts, and for those who
are less familiar, let me summarize them.
4
First, beginning in 1990, you set high standards for
what all Kentucky school children should know. Second,
you identified the schools where year after year students
failed to learn enough to meet those standards. Third, you
held these schools accountable for turning themselves
around, with real consequences for failure, from dismissing
principals and teachers to allowing parents to transfer their
children into higher-performing public schools. And
fourth, you provided the investment necessary to help these
schools turn around, from more teacher training to high-
quality preschool, afterschool and summer school for
students.
5
The results have been nothing short of extraordinary.
In 1996, Kentucky identified 175 schools needing
major improvement. Two years later, 159 of those schools
- 91 percent - had improved beyond the goals you set for
them. Audubon Elementary is a particularly dramatic
example. You went from 12 percent of you students
meeting or exceeding the state standard on writing tests to
57 percent meeting or exceeding the standard. From 5
percent meeting or exceeding the state reading standard to
70 percent; and from zero students meeting or exceeding
the state standards in science to 64 percent. Audubon is
now the 18th best-performing elementary school in the
state, despite the fact that two-thirds of your students
qualify for free and reduced-price school lunch.
6
In fact, throughout the state, 10 of the top 20 best-
performing elementary schools in science are schools where
half the students are eligible for free and reduced-price
school lunch.
You've proven, beyond a doubt, that poverty need not
be destiny-that all our children are capable of learning at
high standards in the public schools.
I believe that turning around failing schools should be
one of our great national missions of the 21st Century. The
moment is right. America is at a point of unparalleled
prosperity and national self-confidence.
7
We have the largest, most diverse group of students in our
public schools in history. We have an economy in which
education has become the indispensable key to success in
life. And after 20 years of intense experimentation with
school reform--on the local, state, and national level-we
now have overwhelming evidence about what works to turn
around low-performing schools. Setting high standards.
Demanding accountability. And providing the extra help
for children to meet those high standards. In short,
investing more in our schools, and demanding more of our
schools.
For seven years, Vice President Gore and I have
worked to give states like Kentucky the tools they need to
follow this strategy, while encouraging other states to do
the same.
8
We've turned record deficits into record surplus, yet, at the
same time, we've nearly nearly doubling investment in
education and training. We've required states to set
academic standards for what their students should know,
and also provided more resources to help states create and
implement higher standards.
We're reducing class sizes in the early grades with the
help of 100,000 new, highly-trained teachers--and I'm
delighted that Audubon has used some of that money to hire
a new teacher, Crystal Davidson. I'm especially delighted
that you refer to her as the "Clinton teacher."
9
We've gone from one charter school in America to
over 1,700 today, and we're well on our way to meeting our
goal of 3,000. With the help of Vice President Gore's E-rate
program, we now have nearly three-quarters of all
classrooms in America connected to the Internet, up from
only 3 percent in 1993.
Our strategy of investing more and demanding more is
producing real results. Math and reading scores are rising
across the country, with some of the greatest gains in some
of the most disadvantaged communities. Today, 67 percent
of all high school graduates now go on to college, up 10
percent since 1993. We've made that possible with the
largest expansion of college opportunity since the GI bill,
including the creation of our HOPE scholarship tax credits,
education IRAs, more-affordable student loans, and more
Pell Grants.
10
And scores on college entrance exams are rising, even as
more students from disadvantaged backgrounds are taking
the test.
We have proven that we know how to lift the
educational attainment of our most disadvantaged students.
Yet there are still thousands of schools that fail to give
children the education they need to enter the mainstream of
American prosperity. To turn those schools around, we
need what the Vice President has called a revolution in
education-a revolution governed by the strategy that has
brought us to this point-of investing more, and demanding
more.
11
That is why I have sent Congress an Education
Accountability Act, to fundamentally change the way the
federal government invests in our schools -- to support
more of what we know works, and to stop supporting what
we know does not work. It would require all states that
accept federal money to do what Kentucky has done.
Identifying low-performing schools, and investing in
turning them around. Ending social promotion, but
investing in afterschool, summer school, and reading tutors
for children who need it. Putting reasonable discipline
codes in every school, and qualified teachers in every
classroom. Empowering parents with report cards on the
performance of every school.
12
I have also asked Congress to double the investment
we made last fall in my Education Accountability Fund, to
turn around low-performing schools, or shut them down.
School districts can use this money to make the kind of
sweeping systematic changes that have been proven so
effective here in Kentucky.
But if, for whatever reason, a school doesn't turn
around, my Education Accountability Fund can be used to
allow parents to transfer their students out of these failing
schools and into better-performing public schools,
including charter schools.
13
To make this accountability strategy work
nationwide, we must have the courage to do what
Kentucky has done. We must identify those schools that
are failing their students. Only then can we help them
turn around. And so today, I am pleased to announce
that I am directing Secretary Riley to provide me with
an annual failing schools report. This report will tell us,
for the first time, how many of our nation's public
schools are failing, in which states they are located, and
what each state is doing to turn them around.
Second, even as we press Congress to strengthen
our accountability laws, we must ensure that states
fulfill their accountability obligations under existing
law.
14
Therefore, I am directing the Secretary to send teams to
states to make sure that the states are meeting their
responsibilities to turn around low-performing schools.
These teams will work with states to apply successful
reform strategies and identify federal resources, such as
afterschool grants, which they can use to turn these
schools around.
The actions I am taking today will help us to spread the
lesson we have learned during the last seven years to every
state and every school district in America: in education,
investment without accountability is a waste of money;
accountability without investment is a waste of effort.
Neither will work without the other. If we want our
students to learn more, we need both.
15
Ten years ago, when things looked pretty grim for our
public schools, Al Shanker, the late, great head of the
American Federation of Teachers, said something wise to
his fellow teachers. He said that we have to be willing to
tell the American people the bad news about our public
schools, so that when the schools begin to turn around and
we have good news to report, they'll believe us. Well,
today, here in Kentucky, and across America, there is good
news to report about our schools. I think the American
people will not only believe us, but they'll want us to keep
going forward with what works, until we reach what ought
to be our ultimate goal: a world-class education for every
child in America.
Thank You.
16
Joshua S. Gottheimer
05/03/2000 12:37:41 AM
Record Type:
Record
To:
See the distribution list at the bottom of this message
CC:
Subject: Final--School Construction, lowa. Comments to Gottheimer via Signal.
Final 05/03/00 12:15am
Josh Gottheimer
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS ON SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
DAVENPORT, IOWA
May 3, 2000
Ack: Sen. Harkin [not present - but has been a major force behind our effort to
modernize schools across the nation - and right here in Iowa]; Ed Sullivan, President of the
Building and Construction Trades; Barb Hess [has been teaching at Davenport for 38 years,
and graduated from school in 1956]
I'm so glad to be back in Davenport. I remember coming here during the final days of
my campaign for president back in 1992. And I remember talking with you about health care,
the economy, and, of course, the Riverbandits [local minor league baseball team]. When I
came back here in 1993, in the aftermath of the devastating floods, I recall how inspired I was
by the strength of your community, and your eagerness to help one another through a
particularly trying time.
Today, I am glad to report that the ground is dry, the sun is out, and the Mallards [
local minor league hockey team] are on their way to winning another Colonial Cup. And one
thing hasn't changed a bit: the strong will and enduring spirit of Davenport is as powerful as it
has ever been. The people are still willing to stand by one another always ready to face
the
next challenge.
As part of my school reform tour, I'm here today to speak with you about one of the
greatest challenges of the 21st Century: the importance of turning around low performing
schools, so that all our children get the education they need and deserve.
This school district has taken up that challenge: you've set standards for what all your
students should know and be able to do. You've put in place assessments to see if they're
meeting those standards. You're giving students help to meet them - from afterschool to
smaller classes. You've set a goal to help all students read at grade level. And to get there,
this summer, for the first time, second graders who don't pass reading tests, will go to
summer school to help them get back on track.
This strategy of investing more in our schools and demanding more from them works. I
saw it this morning in Kentucky, which has turned around many of the worst performing
schools through the same strategy of higher standards, real accountability, and investment in
what works. But I've come to this school to make a particular point: We cannot expect our
students to achieve high standards in school buildings that are substandard. I have a plan that
demands more accountability, but at the same time invests more in the tools of learning. And
a safe, modern school building is an essential tool.
The time is right to take on this challenge. As President Kennedy once said, the best
time to fix the roof, is when the sun is shining. And today the sun is shining on Davenport,
and on America. We are at a moment of unparalleled prosperity and national self-confidence,
with 21 million new jobs, the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years, and the lowest African
American and Hispanic unemployment rates on record. We have the largest, most diverse
group of students in our public schools in history. We have an economy in which education
has become the indispensable key to success.
We've worked hard over the last seven years to provide schools with the tools they
need. In an era of fiscal discipline, we've nearly doubled investment in education and
training, making key investments that help children meet high standards. We're reducing class
sizes in the early grades with our program to hire 100,000 new, highly-trained teachers. And
I'm delighted that the Davenport school district has received some of these resources to hire
nine additional teachers in the first, second and third grades. We've provided an army of
volunteer tutors and mentors through our Gear Up and America Reads programs. We've
expanded Head Start and improved its quality. We've dramatically increased federal
investment in afterschool and summer school, from $1 million a year in 1997 to nearly half a
billion dollars a year today -- and my new budget calls for us to double our funding and triple
the number of students with access to afterschool. Finally, with the help of Vice President
Gore's E-rate program, nearly three-quarters of all classrooms in America are now connected
to the Internet, up from only 3 percent in 1993.
The fundamental lesson of the last seven years is clear: in education, investment
without accountability is a waste of money; accountability without investment is a waste of
effort. Neither will work without the other. If we want our students to learn more, we need
both.
Today, the Department of Education, with the help of Vice President Gore, is
releasing a report, Schools as Centers of Communities, which suggests ways for educators,
parents, and community members to help design and plan better schools. First, it
highlights the importance of modernizing classrooms to enhance student-teacher
interaction. Second, it stresses the importance of a healthy, safe and secure learning
environment, with a focus on lighting and air quality. Lastly, it describes the substantial
benefits that we know come from the use of modern technology in the classroom.
But too many of our nation's schools are not only outdated and overcrowded - they're
falling apart.
Central High School is one of those schools. Dating back to 1907, when Theodore
Roosevelt was President, Central was called, "a high school for the future." And in 1907 it
was. Back then, the population of Davenport was around 39,000 - nearly a third of what it is
today. And Central High School had half the number of students that it does now walking
these
same
halls
filling these same classrooms.
Since then, your school has undergone several renovations. But much of its original
infrastructure remains the same. As I saw earlier this afternoon, many of the science labs have
the same furniture they did a century ago. Students still use the same wooden lockers that
were used when the school was built. And they still have to crack open the windows to
ventilate their classrooms. Today, Central's classrooms are cramped and crowded - with an
average of 24 students in classrooms that were built for 15. And the electrical system can't
handle the demands of the latest technology.
Like most schools, Central High has always wanted to do better by its students. But
when it comes to renovating the school, it simply hasn't had the resources to do so. A Life
Magazine story from 1953, the same time Barb Hess was a student here, described the
infrastructure of Central as "badly lighted, poorly ventilated, overcrowded, and always in need
of repairs." That was nearly fifty years ago.
But that's all going to change this summer, when Central High gets the repairs that it
has long deserved. Your classrooms are being modernized and expanded to handle rising
student enrollment, computers and other new equipment. The school's electrical system is
being upgraded, so that more students, in more rooms, can have access to the Internet. And a
new ventilation system will not only keep the school more comfortable in both the winter and
summer months, but fresh air will help keep students in better health.
Despite these improvements, there is still much more to be done. Even after this
summer's $7 million renovation, Central High School will still need an additional $7 million
of work. That's a big bill, and you simply shouldn't be left to handle it all on your own. No
city should.
The children of the Baby Boomers are breaking enrollment records for the fourth year
in a row. This academic year, 53.2 million students currently fill our elementary and
secondary schools. That's nearly half a million more than last year. And fully one-third of
our schools - 25,000 of them - need to be rebuilt or extensively repaired. Four years ago,
the GAO estimated that it will cost $112 billion just to renovate America's schools. A
new study released today by the National Education Association estimates that the total
cost of repairing old schools, building new ones, and wiring all schools for the latest
technology, will cost $322 billion - nearly triple the GAO's earlier figure. That is a
staggering number. It requires national attention.
I've proposed a major School Construction Initiative to help communities build or
modernize 6,000 schools all over America. I've also put forward a plan to give 5,000 schools
the grants and loans for emergency repairs they so desperately need. For three years now,
Republicans in Congress have stood in the way of progress, and stood in the way of better
schools. It's time they put the education of our children first, and pass this pressing initiative
without further delay. Americans should not tolerate outdated schools any longer.
In 1948, Harry Truman came through Davenport on Whistle Stop Tour, and berated
Congress for not doing enough to move the country forward. He later said, "The nation
cannot afford to waste human potential, as we are now, by failing to provide adequate
elementary and secondary education for millions of children." Today, Truman's message still
rings loud and clear: Everyone counts. Everyone deserves a chance. Everyone has a role to
play. And we all do better when we help each other. That's why we must invest more and
demand more in our schools. That's what we owe to our children. That's what we owe to
America's future. Thank you.
Message Sent To:
Bethany Little
05/02/2000 09:25:18 PM
Record Type:
Record
To:
Paul D. Glastris/WHO/EOP@EOP
CC:
Andy Rotherham/OPD/EOP@EOP Kendra L. Brooks/OPD/EOP@EOP, John B. Buxton/OPD/EOP@EOP
bcc:
Subject: Re: resend--draft of St. Paul remarks
Ditto from before. Thanks!!
Paul D. Glastris
Paul D. Glastris
05/01/2000 03:36:21 PM
Record Type:
Record
To:
See the distribution list at the bottom of this message
CC:
Subject: resend--draft of St. Paul remarks
Draft 5/1/00 3:30 p.m.
Glastris
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS ON CHARTER SCHOOLS
CITY ACADEMY
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA
Acknowledgments: City Academy Principal Milo Cutter;
Listening to Milo Cutter recount the struggles she has faced to get this school off the
ground and make it a success, it occurred to me that everybody in this audience who has
worked in or run a charter school probably has similar stories to tell. I know I have a few
stories myself, after 20 years of being involved in this endeavor to reform our schools. But all
you have to do is hear a young person like tk recount her story, to realize that the struggle has
been worth it.
Your native son Garrison Keiller likes to say that in his mythic Minnesota town, all the
children are above average. Well, having just seen the latest rise in test results for Minnesota
school children, I'd say your whole state is heading that way.
I've come here today, as part of my education reform tour, to talk about how charter
schools can help fulfill what I believe must be one of the great national missions of the 21st
Century: to turn around our worst-performing schools, so that all of our children receive the
education they need to make the most of their lives.
The time is right to take on this challenge. We are at a moment of unparalleled
prosperity and national self-confidence. We have the largest, most diverse group of students
in our public schools in history. We have an economy in which education has become the
indispensable key to their success in life. And after 20 years of intense experimentation with
school reform--on the local, state, and national level-we now have overwhelming evidence
about what works to turn around low-performing schools. Setting high standards. Demanding
accountability, including more choice and competition in public schools. And providing the
extra help for children to meet those high standards. In short, investing more in our schools,
and demanding more of our schools.
This is the strategy Vice President Gore and I have followed for seven years.
In 1993, we passed a new economic plan that cut hundreds of programs in order to
reduce the deficit and improve the economy, but that also boosted education spending. In fact,
over the last seven years, we've nearly doubled investment in education and training, even as
we turned record deficits into record surpluses.
In 1994, we overhauled the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, requiring states
to set academic standards for what their students should know. And we passed the Goals 2000
legislation, which provided states with more resources to create and implement higher
standards. Since then, we've gone from only a handful of states with standards to nearly every
state having them, and 48 states now have assessments in place to measure student progress in
meeting those standards.
We've made key investments in education that help children meet high standards.
Reducing class sizes in the early grades with the help of 100,000 new, highly-trained teachers.
Providing an army of volunteer tutors and mentors through our Gear Up and America Reads
programs. Expanding Head Start and Improving its FOCUS ON EARLY LITERACY
SKILLS. Dramatically increasing federal investment in afterschool and summer school, from
$1 million a year in 1997 to half a billion dollars a year today--and my new budget calls for
doubling that amount.
Finally, with the help of Vice President Gore's E-rate program, we now have nearly
three-quarters of all classrooms in America connected to the Internet, up from only 3 percent
in 1993. We'll probably reach 100 percent by the end of the year, with one major exception:
those schools that are literally too old and dilapidated to be wired for the Internet. And
yesterday in Davenport, Iowa I talked about the need to modernize our school building.
This strategy-investing more in our schools, and demanding more accountability from
our schools-has also guided our policy on charter schools. When I became President, there
was one charter school in the whole nation: City Academy. I wanted to see thousands more
created, but that wasn't going to happen without substantial investment from the federal
government, because STARTING A NEW SCHOOL IS AN EXPENSIVE UNDERTAKING.
So in 1994 we passed tk, and have since invested nearly half-a-billion dollars in new charter
schools. As a result, today there are over 1700 charter schools, and we are well on our way
to meeting our goal of 3000.
At the same time, we've taken the concept behind charter schools and applied it to our
dealings with all 50 states through our Ed-Flex law, offering states more flexibility in how
they spend federal dollars in exchange for greater accountability for results.
The strategy of more investment, and more accountability, is producing real,
measurable results. Math and reading scores are rising across the country, with some of the
greatest gains in some of the most disadvantaged communities. Sixty-seven percent of high
school graduates now go on to college, up 10 percent since 1993. We've made that possible
with the largest expansion of college opportunity since the GI bill, including the creation of
out HOPE scholarship tax credits, education IRAs, more-affordable student loans, and more
Pell Grants. And it's worth noting that scores on college entrance exams are rising even as
more students from disadvantaged backgrounds are taking the test.
We have proven that we know how to lift the educational attainment of our most
disadvantaged students. Yet there are still thousands of schools that fail to give children the
education they need to enter the mainstream of American prosperity. To turn those schools
around, we need what the Vice President has called a revolution in education-a revolution
governed by the strategy that has brought us to this point.
Charter schools have a crucial role to play in that revolution. Schools like City
Academy provide alternative paths to success for students who have fallen through the cracks.
At the same time, they often provide the kind of competitive energy that leads school districts
to strengthen accountability and improve learning in traditional schools. That's particularly
evident here in the St. Paul, under the inspired leadership of Superintendent Pat Harvey.
Studies show that charter schools are at least as racially and economically diverse as public
schools-in fact here in Minnesota they are even more diverse than average. And surveys
show the vast majority of parents with kids in charter schools think their children are doing
better academically in their charter schools than they were in their previous schools. It's no
wonder there are long waiting lists to get into most charter schools.
Not all charter schools are doing a good job. But unlike traditional public schools, or
even most private schools, charter schools can be held accountable if they fail to provide
quality education. DO WE REALLY WANT TO SAY THAT REGULAR PUBLIC
SCHOOLS CAN"T BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE SINCE WE CLAIM TO DO THAT IN
ESEA? So far, tk charter schools nationwide, and tk here in Minnesota, have been shut down
for failing to live up to the terms of their charters. Every state should have charter school
laws that encourage this kind of accountability. Currently, the charter laws in some states are
so restrictive that it's almost impossible to open a charter school, while in others the laws are
so loose that incompetent schools are allowed to remain open. Minnesota's charter law strikes
the right balance-encouraging the growth of charter schools but holding those schools
responsible for results.
We must built that level of accountability into the entire public school system. That is
why I have sent Congress an Education Accountability Act, to fundamentally change the way
the federal government invests in our schools -- to support more of what we know works, and
to stop supporting what we know does not work. States and school districts that accept federal
money would have to identify and turn around their lowest-performing schools; put quality
teachers in all classrooms; have fair and reasonable discipline codes; end social promotion but
also provide children with extra help to meet higher standards; and send every parent a report
card on the quality of their childrens' schools.
I have also asked Congress to double the investment we made last fall in my Education
Accountability Fund, to turn around low-performing schools, or shut them down. School
districts can use this money to make the kind of sweeping systematic changes that have been
proven effective in turning around low-performing schools in states like Kentucky, which I
talked about in my visit there yesterday.
But if, for whatever reason, a school doesn't turn around, my Education Accountability
Fund can be used to allow parents to transfer their students out of these failing schools and
into better-performing public schools, including charter schools.
Now, there are those who say we should use vouchers to help students in failing
schools go to private schols. But I think the growth of charter schools renders the whole
debate over vouchers into something of a sideshow. Charter schools provide the choice and
competition that proponents of vouchers say they want. And charter schools, unlike private
schools, are OPEN TO ALL STUDENTS AND accountable to the public for results. I
believe we should be working to make all public schools more accountable, not diverting
energy and money away from public schools into unaccountable private schools.
For charter schools to fully play this crucial role, we must create more of them.
Today, I am taking action to do just that. I am directing the Secretary of Education to
develop guidelines for how faith-based and business institutions can be actively involved
in starting and supporting charter schools, in ways that are not commercially exploitative
and that respect the separation of church and state. Currently, the vast majority of
charter schools are sponsored by school districts, universities, and community groups.
But I believe there are thousands of business and faith-based organizations that would be
eager to get similarly involved in supporting charter schools, if they had reliable
information on how to do so IN AN APPROPRIATE way.
One school that is doing so is the Marvin Wynans Performing Arts Academy in
Detroit. It's a non-sectarian public charter school, open to all children, and run by an 11
year veteran of the Detroit public schools. But it was started by Pastor Marvin Wynan's
church, operated out of leased space in the church's basement, with church members
providing afterschool tutoring. Another example is the Skills for Tomorrow school in
Rockford, Minnesota, sponsored jointly by the Teamsters Union and the Business
Alliance. Union and corporate leaders not only helped develop the school, but provide
students with internships and take part in judging whether students have met their
academic graduation requirements-the better to ensure that they have the skills they
need to succeed.
I hope the guidelines I am calling for today will encourage more faith-based and
business groups to follow their lead.
We must also continue to make the investments in the capital that new charter
schools need to the get up and running--from purchasing buildings and books to
recruiting quality teachers. Today, I am pleased to announce over $145 million grants to
help support tk new charter schools in tk states
The fundamental lesson of the last seven years is clear: in education, investment
without accountability is a waste of money; accountability without investment is a waste of
effort. Neither will work without the other. If we want our students to learn more, we need
both.
Conclusion tk
Message Sent To:
Andy Rotherham/OPD/EOP@EOP
Kendra L. Brooks/OPD/EOP@EOP
Joshua S. Gottheimer/WHO/EOP@EOP
[email protected] @ inet
John B. Buxton/OPD/EOP@EOP
Anna Richter/OPD/EOP@EOP
Eric P. Liu/OPD/EOP@EOP
Cathy R. Mays/OPD/EOP@EOP
Bruce N. Reed/OPD/EOP@EOP
Bethany Little/OPD/EOP@EOP
Karin Kullman
05/02/2000 10:59:16 PM
Record Type:
Record
To:
See the distribution list at the bottom of this message
CC:
Subject: new city academy student
I would like to amend my previous recommendation for the student to introduce the President at City
Academy. Here is my new recommendation
Tomas (Tom) Gonzalez, 24, graduated from City Academy in 1994. He was born in Mexico City and
moved to South Minneapolis when he was 13 years old. During his early high school years his family
moved 3 times, and he attended 3 different, very large high schools. At each of those schools he felt as
though he had no one to turn to and no encouragement to push himself to work hard. He found out about
City Academy, and immediately went to talk to Milo Cutter, the principal, to find out if he could attend the
school. He attended the school for 2 years, and during that time was able to take college courses through
Concordia University. He feels that the biggest benefit to him was the personal attention he received
there and the encouragement/push to utilize his skills to reach his full potential. City Academy was able
to show him things he had never before seen, and pushed him to accomplish things he never would have
accomplished in the larger high schools he had attended previously. Since graduation, he has stayed
close to the school, and visits and volunteers there when he can. Tomas currently works for US Bank as
a project manager for the Fraud Prevention Unit. He has worked there for 5 years, and has been
promoted several times. He plans to begin college courses again in September to finish his degree, and
US Bank is paying for his schooling.
Message Sent To:
Draft 5/3/00 12:30 a.m.
Glastris
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS ON TURNING AROUND FAILING SCHOOLS
AUDUBON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
OWENSBORO, KENTUCKY
May 3, 2000
Acknowledgments: Gov. Patton; Former Sen. Wendell Ford (born in Owensboro community
of Yellow Creek); Lt. Gov. Steve Henry (mother Wanda a 25-year veteran of Daviess-
pronounce Davis-- County school system)
It is a delight to be here today. I'm told that I am the first sitting President to visit
Owensboro since Harry Truman. President Truman always did have good taste. I know you that
a terrible tornado came through here in January. We tried to do our part in Washington to help.
But while the physical scars are still evident, I can see that the spirit of this community remains
strong. Even your wonderful Panthers bounced back, and almost won the championship again
this year.
Flying in today from Louisville by helicopter, over the farms and wooded hills of this
beautiful state, I got a view of Kentucky that few Kentuckians have the privilege of seeing-and
if you do get the chance I highly recommend it. On the ground here in Owensboro, I've been
given a view of school reform that few Americans have ever seen. And so I am here today, on
the first stop of a two-day school reform tour, because I want the American people to understand
that there are places in this country that have met one of our nation's most perplexing challenges:
how to bring educational excellence to public schools, even in the most economically
disadvantaged communities. Now, it's time to bring the reforms we know work to every low-
performing school in America.
I'm here in Kentucky this morning to show how an entire state can identify and turn
around its low-performing schools with high standards, accountability, and investments to help
schools meet those standards. Later today, I'll be in Davenport, Iowa, to highlight the
importance of having modern school buildings for our children. Tomorrow, I'll visit the nation's
first charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the public schools are thriving with more
competition and accountability. I'll finish up tomorrow in Columbus, Ohio, where the schools
are doing everything right, including raising teacher quality--and getting good results in the
classroom.
Ever since Sec. Riley and I were young governors 20 years ago, we've been wresting
with the challenge of how to improve education, especially in disadvantaged communities. It's a
challenge governors are still working on. Just today, Gov. Carper of Delaware is signing
landmark school accountability legislation in his state. It's a challenge Gov. Patton has been
working on it ever since he was a member of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence
1
in the 1980s. I remember talking to him about Kentucky's education reform experiment in 1992
when he was Lt. Governor and I was running for President. So I've been keenly aware of
Kentucky's efforts, and for those who are less familiar, let me summarize them.
First, beginning in 1990, you set high standards for what all Kentucky school children
should know. Second, you identified the schools where year after year students failed to learn
enough to meet those standards. Third, you held these schools accountable for turning
themselves around, with real consequences for failure, from dismissing principals and teachers to
allowing parents to transfer their children into higher-performing public schools. And fourth,
you provided the investment necessary to help these schools turn around, from more teacher
training to high-quality preschool, afterschool and summer school for students.
The results have been nothing short of extraordinary. The vast majority of the dozens of
schools identified by the state as low-performing have improved-and some, like Audubon, have
improved dramatically. You went from 12 percent of you students meeting or exceeding the
state standard on writing tests 57 percent meeting or exceeding the standard. From 5 percent
meeting or exceeding the state reading standard to 70 percent; and from zero students meeting or
exceeding the state standards in science to 64 percent. Audubon is now the 18th best-performing
elementary school in the state, despite the fact that two-thirds of your students qualify for free
and reduced-price school lunch. In fact, throughout the state, 10 of the top 20 best-performing
elementary schools in science are schools where half the students are eligible for free and
reduced-price school lunch. You've proven, beyond a doubt, that poverty need not be destiny-
that all our children are capable of learning at high standards in the public schools.
I believe that turning around failing schools should be one of our great national missions
of the 21st Century. The moment is right. America is at a point unparalleled prosperity and
national self-confidence. We have the largest, most diverse group of students in our public
schools in history. We have an economy in which education has become the indispensable key
to success in life. And after 20 years of intense experimentation with school reform--on the
local, state, and national level-we now have overwhelming evidence about what works to turn
around low-performing schools. Setting high standards. Demanding accountability. And
providing the extra help for children to meet those high standards. In short, investing more in
our schools, and demanding more of our schools.
This is the strategy Vice President Gore and I have followed for seven years.
Since 1993, we've cut hundreds of federal programs in order to reduce the deficit and
improve the economy. Yet we've also nearly doubled investment in education and training.
We've required states to set academic standards for what their students should know, and also
provided more resources to help states create and implement higher standards. We're reducing
class sizes in the early grades with the help of 100,000 new, highly-trained teachers--and I'm
delighted that Audubon has used some of that money to hire a new teacher, Crystal Davidson.
I'm especially delighted that you refer to her as the "Clinton teacher."
When I became President, there was only one independent public charter school in the
whole nation: City Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota, which I'll be visiting tomorrow. Today,
2
with the help of federal investment, there are over 1700 charter schools, and we are well on our
way to meeting our goal of 3000.
With the help of Vice President Gore's E-rate program, we now have nearly three-
quarters of all classrooms in America connected to the Internet, up from only 3 percent in 1993.
We'll probably reach 100 percent by the end of the year, with one major exception: those schools
that are literally too old and dilapidated to be wired for the Internet. Later today in Davenport,
Iowa I'll be talking about the need to modernize our school building.
Our strategy of investing more and demanding more is producing real results. Math and
reading scores are rising across the country, with some of the greatest gains in some of the most
disadvantaged communities. Last year, for the first time in history, the high school graduation
rate for African American students was the same as the graduation rate for white students.
Today, 67 percent of all high school graduates now go on to college, up 10 percent since 1993.
We've made that possible with the largest expansion of college opportunity since the GI bill,
including the creation of out HOPE scholarship tax credits, education IRAs, more-affordable
student loans, and more Pell Grants. And it's worth noting that scores on college entrance exams
are rising even as more students from disadvantaged backgrounds are taking the test.
We have proven that we know how to lift the educational attainment of our most
disadvantaged students. Yet there are still thousands of schools that fail to give children the
education they need to enter the mainstream of American prosperity. To turn those schools
around, we need what the Vice President has called a revolution in education-a revolution
governed by the strategy that has brought us to this point-of investing more, and demanding
more.
That is why I have sent Congress an Education Accountability Act, to fundamentally
change the way the federal government invests in our schools -- to support more of what we
know works, and to stop supporting what we know does not work. It would require all states that
accept federal money to do what Kentucky has done. Identifying low-performing schools, and
investing in turning them around. Ending social promotion, but investesting in afterschool,
summer school, and reading tutors for children who need it. Putting reasonable discipline codes
in every school, and a qualified teachers in every classroom. Empowering parents with report
cards on the performance of every school.
I have also asked Congress to double the investment we made last fall in my Education
Accountability Fund, to turn around low-performing schools, or shut them down. School districts
can use this money to make the kind of sweeping systematic changes that have been proven so
effective here in Kentucky.
But if, for whatever reason, a school doesn't turn around, my Education Accountability
Fund can be used to allow parents to transfer their students out of these failing schools and into
better-performing public schools, including charter schools.
To make this accountability strategy work nationwide, we must have the courage to
do what Kentucky has done. We must identify those schools that are failing their students.
3
Only then can we help them turn around. And SO today, I am pleased to announce that I
am directing Secretary Riley to provide me with an annual failing schools report. This
report will tell us, for the first time, how many of our nation's public schools are failing, in
which states they are located, and what each state is doing to turn them around.
Second, even as we press Congress to strengthen our accountability laws, we must
ensure that states fulfill their accountability obligations under existing law. Therefore, I
am directing the Secretary to send teams to states to make sure that the states are meeting
their responsibilities to turn around low-performing schools. These teams will work with
states to apply successful reform strategies and identify federal resources, such as
afterschool grants, which they can use to turn these schools around.
The actions I am taking today will help us to spread the lesson we have learned during
the last seven years to every state and every school district in America: in education, investment
without accountability is a waste of money; accountability without investment is a waste of
effort. Neither will work without the other. If we want our students to learn more, we need both.
Ten years ago, when things looked pretty grim for our public schools, Al Shanker, the
late, great head of the American Federation of Teachers, said something wise to his fellow
teachers. He said that we have to be willing to tell the American people the bad news about our
public schools, so that when the schools begin to turn around and we have good news to report,
they'll believe us. Well, today, here in Kentucky, and across America, there is good news to
report about our schools. I think the American people will not only believe us, but they'l Il want
us to keep going forward with what works, until we reach what ought to be our ultimate goal: a
world-class education for every child in America.
Thank You.
4
Draft 5/3/00 12:30 a.m.
Glastris
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS ON CHARTER SCHOOLS
CITY ACADEMY
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA
May 3, 2000
Acknowledgments: Gov. Ventura; Rep. Bruce Vento; Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles
Belton; City Academy Principal Milo Cutter; State Sen. Ember Reichgott Junge (reich-got
young) and former State Rep. Becky Kelso (original co-sponsors of charter legislation); Charter
Friends National Network Director Jon Schroeder (drafted original federal charter law); Center
for School Change Director Joe Nathan (leading charter advocate); Progressive Policy Institute
President Will Marshall; City Academy graduate Tomas (Tom) Gonzalez
Listening to Milo Cutter recount the struggles she has faced to get this school off the
ground and make it a success, it occurred to me that everybody in this audience who has worked
in or run a charter school probably has similar stories to tell. I know I have a few stories myself,
after 20 years of being involved in school reform. But all you have to do is hear a young person
like Tom Gonzalez recount his story, to realize that the struggle has been worth it.
One of America's greatest storytellers likes to say that in his mythic Minnesota town,
Lake Woebegone, all the children are above average. Well, having just seen the latest rise in test
results for Minnesota school children, I'd say your whole state is heading that way. The schools
here in St. Paul are especially impressive. Under superintendent Pat Harvey, you've put in place
virtually all of the accountability measures I'd like to see in all of our nation's schools--from
ending social promotion to providing afterschool to embracing public school choice.
I've come here today, as part of my school reform tour, to talk about how charter schools
can help fulfill what I believe must be one of the great national missions of the 21st Century: to
turn around our worst-performing schools, so that all of our children receive the education they
need to make the most of their lives.
The time is right to take on this challenge. We are at a moment of unparalleled prosperity
and national self-confidence. We have the largest, most diverse group of students in our public
schools in history. We have an economy in which education has become the indispensable key
to their success in life. And after 20 years of intense experimentation with school reform--on the
local, state, and national level-we now have overwhelming evidence about what works to turn
around low-performing schools. Setting high standards. Demanding accountability, including
more choice and competition in public schools. And providing the extra help for children to
meet those high standards. In short, investing more in our schools, and demanding more of our
schools.
This is the strategy Vice President Gore and I have followed for seven years.
Beginning in 1993, we cut hundreds of federal programs in order to reduce the deficit and
improve the economy. Yet we also nearly doubled investment in education and training. We
required states to set academic standards for what their students should know, and also provided
more resources to help states create and implement higher standards. We're reducing class sizes
in the early grades with the help of 100,000 new, highly-trained teachers--and I'm delighted that
the St. Paul district has used these resources to hire 23 new teachers, bringing the average class
size in your early grades to 18. We've dramatically increased federal investment in afterschool
and summer school. And with the help of Vice President Gore's E-rate program, we now have
nearly three-quarters of all classrooms in America connected to the Internet, up from only 3
percent in 1993. We'll probably reach 100 percent by the end of the year, with one major
exception: those schools that are literally too old and dilapidated to be wired for the Internet.
And yesterday in Davenport, Iowa I talked about the need to modernize our school building.
This strategy-investing more in our schools, and demanding more accountability from
our schools-has also guided our policy on charter schools. When I became President, this
school, City Academy, was the only charter school in the country. I wanted to see thousands
more created, but that wasn't going to happen without substantial investment from the federal
government, because charter schools require significant start-up costs. So we have invested
nearly half-a-billion dollars since 1994 in new charter schools. As a result, today there are over
1700 charter schools, and we are well on our way to meeting our goal of 3000. Everyone here
today ought to be proud of that. And I'm proud to be with you on national charter schools week.
The strategy of more investment, and more accountability, is producing real results. Math
and reading scores are rising across the country, with some of the greatest gains in some of the
most disadvantaged communities. Last year, for the first time in history, the high school
graduation rate for African American students was the same as the graduation rate for white
students. Today, 67 percent of all high school graduates now go on to college, up 10 percent
since 1993. We've made that possible with the largest expansion of college opportunity since
the GI bill, including the creation of out HOPE scholarship tax credits, education IRAs, more-
affordable student loans, and more Pell Grants. And it's worth noting that scores on college
entrance exams are rising even as more students from disadvantaged backgrounds are taking the
test.
We have proven that we know how to lift the educational attainment of our most
disadvantaged students. Yet there are still thousands of schools that fail to give children the
education they need to enter the mainstream of American prosperity. To turn those schools
around, we need what the Vice President has called a revolution in education-a revolution
governed by the strategy that has brought us to this point.
Charter schools have a crucial role to play in that revolution. Schools like City Academy
provide alternative paths to success for students who have fallen through the cracks. At the same
time, they often provide the kind of competitive energy that leads school districts to strengthen
accountability and improve learning in traditional schools. Studies show that charter schools are
at least as racially and economically diverse as public schools-in fact here in Minnesota they
are even more diverse than average. And surveys show the vast majority of parents with kids in
charter schools think their children are doing better academically in their charter schools than
they were in their previous schools. It's no wonder there are long waiting lists to get into most
charter schools.
Not all charter schools are doing a good job. But unlike traditional public schools, or
even most private schools, charter schools can be held accountable if they fail to provide quality
education. Every state should have charter school laws that encourage this kind of
accountability. Unfortunately, some states have laws that are so loose that failing charter schools
are allowed to remain open. Others have laws that are so restrictive that it's almost impossible to
open a charter school. Minnesota's charter law strikes the right balance-encouraging the
growth of charter schools but holding those schools responsible for results.
We must built that level of accountability into the entire public school system. That is
why I have sent Congress an Education Accountability Act, to fundamentally change the way the
federal government invests in our schools -- to support more of what we know works, and to stop
supporting what we know does not work. I have also asked Congress to double the investment
we made last fall in my Education Accountability Fund, to turn around low-performing schools,
or shut them down. School districts can use this money to make the kind of sweeping systematic
changes that have been proven effective in turning around low-performing schools in states like
Kentucky, which I talked about in my visit there yesterday.
But if, for whatever reason, a school doesn't turn around, my Education Accountability
Fund can be used to allow parents to transfer their students out of these failing schools and into
better-performing public schools, including charter schools.
Now, there are those who say we should use vouchers to help students in failing schools
go to private schools. But charter schools provide the choice and competition that proponents of
vouchers say they want. And charter schools, unlike private schools, are accountable to the
public for results. I believe we should be working to make all public schools more accountable,
not diverting energy and money away from public schools into unaccountable private schools.
And for those who say charter schools drain money from public schools, I say: charter
schools are public schools. And charter schools can help save public schools.
For charter schools to fulfill that role, we must create more of them. Today, I am
taking action to do just that. First, I am pleased to announce over $137 million in grants to
help support new and existing charter schools in 31 states, plus the District of Columbia
and Puerto Rico.
Second, I am directing the Secretary of Education to develop guidelines for how
employers and faith-based groups can be actively involved in starting and supporting
charter schools. While charter schools must be nonsectarian in their admissions and
practices, faith-based groups can play a positive role. And employers can provide much-
needed space and other resources to help charter schools get started.
In nearby Rockford, Minnesota, for instance, there is the Skills for Tomorrow
school, sponsored jointly by the Teamsters Union and the Business Alliance. Union and
corporate leaders not only helped develop the school, but provide students with internships
and take part in judging whether students have met their academic graduation
requirements-the better to ensure that they have the skills they need to succeed.
I hope the guidelines I am calling for today will encourage more faith-based and
business groups to get involved.
The actions I am taking today are guided by the fundamental lesson we have learned
during the last seven years: in education, investment without accountability is a waste of money;
accountability without investment is a waste of effort. Neither will work without the other. If
we want our students to learn more, we need both.
Ten years ago, when things looked pretty grim for our public schools, Al Shanker, the
late, great head of the American Federation of Teachers, said something wise to his fellow
teachers. He said that we have to be willing to tell the American people the bad news about our
public schools, so that when the schools begin to turn around and we have good news to report,
they'll believe us. Well, today, here in St. Paul, and across America, there is good news to report
about our schools. I think the American people will not only believe us, but they'll want us to
keep going forward with what works, until we reach what ought to be our ultimate goal: a world-
class education for every child in America.
Thank you.
Joshua S. Gottheimer
05/02/2000 11:27:21 PM
Record Type:
Record
To:
Paul D. Glastris/WHO/EOP@EOP, Andy Rotherham/OPD/EOP@EOP, Bruce N. Reed/OPD/EOP@EOP
CC:
Subject: revised draft
Draft 05/02/00 11:30pm
Josh Gottheimer
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS ON SCHOOL REFORM
EASTGATE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
COLUMBUS, OHIO
May 4, 2000
Ack: TK
For the past two days, I have been touring the country, highlighting once failing
schools that have begun to turn themselves around. These schools are prime examples of what
we can accomplish when we invest more in our schools and demand more from them in
return.
Yesterday morning I was in Owensboro, Kentucky, where we visited a public high
school that has turned things around in one our most economically disadvantaged communities.
We then flew to Davenport, Iowa where a school building that's nearly a century old is finally
get the repairs it has long needed. This morning, I toured City Academy in St. Paul,
Minnesota, the first charter school in America, which opened in 1992. There, I held a "
Webside Chat," and talked live on the Internet with students about the challenges they are
facing.
It is fitting that I wrap up my School Reform Tour here at Eastgate Elementary,
because not far from here the city of Columbus opened the nation's first junior high school
back in 1909. As you know, the journey since then hasn't always been easy. But today you'
re back on track, returning to that early innovative spirit and a strong sense of community.
You've set tough academic standards for what all your students should know. You've
put in place assessments to see if they're meeting those standards. And you've given students
help to meet them - from afterschool programs to smaller classes. Your strategy of investing
more and demanding more is working.
In the last three years, your test scores have skyrocketed in subjects across the board.
The math, reading and science proficiency scores of fourth graders are all up more than 200%.
And this year alone, the reading and math proficiency scores of your kindergartners have more
than doubled.
Not only are your students improving, so are your teachers. More than a third of them
have their master's degree and over ten years in the classroom. Your Peer Assistance and
Review program has both veteran and new teachers becoming better educators by learning
from each other's experience. And it's working: Before the program began, Columbus
schools lost nearly 25 percent of their first year teachers. Today, you've reduced that number
to 15 percent.
You've proven, beyond a doubt, that with the right tools, all our children are capable
of learning at high standards in public schools. You are a model for other schools to follow.
And your success is an example of what my Administration has been working to foster across
this country more than seven years now.
Since 1993, we've nearly doubled investment in education and training. We've
required states to set academic standards for what their students should know, and also
provided more resources to help states create and implement higher standards. We've reduced
class size in the early grades with the help of 100,000 new, highly trained teachers - 55 of
whom are in Columbus 2 right here at Eastgate.
We've also dramatically increased federal investment in afterschool and summer school
programs, from $1 million a year in 1997 to half a billion dollars a year today. And I'm
delighted to hear that 30 fourth graders from Eastgate participate in these programs. We've
also expanded Head Start and improved its quality - and we're working to build and
modernize 6,000 schools. With the help of Vice President Gore's E-rate program, we now
have nearly three-quarters of all classrooms in America connected to the Internet, up from
only 3 percent in 1993.
Our strategy of investing more and demanding more is reaping results. Math and
reading scores are rising across the country, with some of the greatest gains in some of the
most disadvantaged communities. Last year, for the first time in history, the high school
graduation rate for African American students was the same as the graduation rate for white
students. We have proven that we know how to lift the educational attainment of our most
disadvantaged students.
Yet there are still thousands of schools that fail to give children the education they need
to graduate ready to succeed in this dynamic new economy. That is why I have sent Congress
an Education Accountability Act, to fundamentally change the way the federal government
invests in our schools - to support more of what we know works, and to stop what we know
does not. Identifying low-performing schools, and investing in turning them around. Ending
social promotion, but investing in afterschool, summer school, and reading tutors for children
who need it.
President Kennedy once said, "Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our
progress in education.' From Eastgate Elementary
to Central High School
to City
Academy, we are making the right kind of progress, by investing more and demanding more,
so that all our children get the education they need and deserve. And, with strongest economy
in history, there's no better time than now.
I'm really here today to learn more about what you're doing here at Eastgate.
[open to questions]
May 2, 2000
EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY EVENT
DATE:
May 3, 2000
LOCATION:
Audubon Elementary School
Owensboro, KY
EVENT TIME:
11:00am - 12:40pm
FROM:
Bruce Reed
I.
PURPOSE
To kick off your School Reform Tour and highlight Audubon Elementary School to
illustrate how an agenda of high standards, real accountability, and proven investments
can raise student achievement and turn around failing schools across the country. You
will also call on Congress to enact your Educational Accountability Fund, which requires
states to help turn around failing schools or shut them down.
II.
BACKGROUND
Audubon Elementary School is an award-winning school in the Daviess County School
District. Although two-thirds of its students are in poverty, Audubon ranks 18th in the
state in student achievement. In a speech to Kentucky students, educators, and
policymakers, you will remind Americans that demographics need not be destiny when it
comes to meaningful school reform. You will highlight:
AN EXECUTIVE ORDER TO TURN AROUND FAILING SCHOOLS. You will
announce that you are signing an executive memorandum that directs the Department of
Education to compile and publish key data on low-performing schools across the country,
and to help states fix those schools. The directive asks Secretary of Education Richard
Riley to: 1) help states and districts turn around low-performing schools, by providing
technical assistance and disseminating research; 2) make federal education programs
more responsive to low-performing schools; 3) submit an annual education accountability
report that identifies trends in low-performing schools, the resources they are receiving to
turn themselves around, and what strategies are most effective; and 4) send teams of
monitors into up to 15 states each year to make sure states are complying with
accountability requirements and help them get results.
KENTUCKY'S ACCOUNTABILITY STRATEGY AND REFORM RESULTS.
Speaking ten years after Kentucky's landmark education reform legislation was passed,
you will praise the state for its leadership in standards-based reform and accountability.
Kentucky has successfully intervened to improve many of its low-performing schools, by
providing critical resources to offer extended learning, teacher training, expanded
technology and literacy initiatives. After having been identified as performing below
expectations on state assessments, Audubon Elementary today ranks 18th statewide in
student performance among elementary schools. Since 1994, even with two-thirds of its
students in poverty, Audubon has boosted the percentage of students scoring at a level of
"proficient" and "distinguished" on state assessments from 12 percent to 57 percent in
writing (second in the state); 5 percent to 70 percent in reading; and 0 percent to 64
percent in science. All across Kentucky, some of the highest performing schools are
former low-performing and high-poverty schools.
STANDARDS, ACCOUNTABILITY AND INVESTMENT. Since taking office, you
and the Vice President have made accountability and investment in proven strategies the
heart of your education reform agenda. You made standards a core part of federal
education policy, through Goals 2000 and the ESEA. Since 1992, the federal investment
in elementary and secondary education has nearly doubled. Last year, you also proposed
and Congress enacted a $134 million Accountability Fund, which provides funds to states
and school districts to turn around failing schools and gives students in a failing school
the right to choose a higher-performing public school. Today, you will call on Congress
to send you a true reform bill that includes the education accountability measures you
have proposed - require states and school districts to turn around failing schools or shut
them down, make sure teachers know the subject they're teaching, end social promotion
by giving students the help they need to meet high standards, adopt sound, fair discipline
codes, and give parents school report cards. You will also call on Congress to pass an
education budget that invests in reducing class size, strengthening teacher quality,
expanding after school and summer school, repairing and modernizing schools and other
key priorities. Only by investing more and demanding more, you will point out, can we
make school reform work for all our students.
III.
PARTICIPANTS
Classroom Visit Participants:
YOU
Crystal Davidson, Teacher, Audubon Elementary School
Crystal Davidson teaches a multi-grade class of 3rd and 4th grade students. Ms.
Davidson was hired with federal class size reduction funds, and her class is known
locally as the "Clinton Classroom".
Twenty-one 3rd and 4th grade students
Program Participants:
YOU
Secretary Richard Riley
Governor Paul Patton
Diane Embry, Principal, Audubon Elementary School
Karen Cecil, Parent, Audubon Elementary School
Karen Cecil is the mother of three daughters, all of whom attended Audubon
Elementary School. Her youngest daughter, Emily, is currently a fourth grade
student at Audubon. Ms. Cecil is actively involved in the school as a member of
the school site council, and can speak to the changes and improvements at
Audubon Elementary School.
IV.
PRESS PLAN
Classroom Visit -- Pool Press.
Remarks -- Open Press.
V.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
-
YOU will be greeted by local elected officials upon arrival via Marine One to
Audubon Elementary School.
-
YOU will proceed to Ms. Davidson's classroom, and will participate in a reading
lesson with the students.
-
YOU will proceed to the gymnasium.
-
YOU will be announced onto the stage, accompanied by Secretary Richard Riley,
Governor Paul Patton, Diane Embry, and Karen Cecil.
-
Diane Embry, Principal, Audubon Elementary School, will make brief remarks and
introduce Governor Paul Patton.
-
Governor Paul Patton will make brief remarks and introduce Secretary Richard Riley.
-
Secretary Richard Riley will make brief remarks and introduce Karen Cecil, Parent,
Audubon Elementary School.
-
Karen Cecil, Parent, will make brief remarks and introduce YOU.
-
YOU will make remarks, work a ropeline, and depart the gymnasium.
-
YOU will proceed outside and greet the students of Audubon Elementary School.
-
YOU will depart Audubon Elementary School.
VI.
REMARKS
To be provided by Speechwriting.
May 2, 2000
SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION EVENT
DATE:
May 3, 2000
LOCATION:
Central High School
Davenport, IA
EVENT TIME:
5:30pm - 7:05pm
FROM:
Bruce Reed
I.
PURPOSE
To highlight your commitment to help states and localities build and modernize 6,000
schools nationwide and conduct emergency repairs on 5,000 schools annually, and to
release a new Education Department guide for communities facing school construction
challenges.
II.
BACKGROUND
Built in 1907, Central High is one of several schools that the Davenport School District plans
to renovate to accommodate new technology, upgrade facilities, and ensure a good learning
environment for students. You will point out that the tough accountability measures you
have called for cannot have force unless we also invest in our students and schools to help
them reach high standards. You will call on Congress to pass a budget that includes your
school construction proposals and helps communities like Davenport address the
infrastructure crisis created by rising enrollment and aging buildings. You will highlight:
A NEW COMMUNITY RESOURCE GUIDE ON SCHOOL DESIGN. You will release
a new report from the U.S. Department of Education, "Schools as Centers of Community: A
Citizen's Guide For Planning and Design." The report serves as a resource for educators,
planners and community members to meet the challenge of providing effective educational
facilities. It highlights methods of providing safe, up-to-date learning environments. The
report includes a planning guide for local communities and examples of innovative school
designs around the country. You will also note that replacing, repairing and updating school
facilities is an ongoing need that requires commitment from government at all levels.
THE NEED FOR SCHOOL RENOVATION AND CONSTRUCTION IS A
NATIONAL PRIORITY. A report last year by the National Center for Education Statistics
pointed out that school buildings begin rapid deterioration after 40 years - and that the
average public school in America is 42 years old. Moreover, rising student enrollment means
that communities around the country have to build an additional 2,400 schools by 2003. A
1996 report by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) estimated the cost of bringing
America's schools into overall good condition to be at least $112 billion. Today, the
National Education Association will release a report that puts that cost at $322 billion, more
than double the GAO figure from just four years ago. Clearly, you will note, school
modernization is a national priority that demands a national response.
AMERICA MUST HONOR ITS COMMITMENT TO OUR SCHOOLS. You sent
a plan to Congress to that would provide $24.8 billion in tax credits to states and local
districts to build and modernize 6,000 schools nationwide. And your budget includes an
emergency school construction initiative that would provide $1.3 billion to states and
school districts for emergency repairs on 5,000 schools a year. Today, you will call again
on Congress to enact this plan and give America's schoolchildren the resources and
facilities they need to meet high standards.
III.
PARTICIPANTS
Greeters:
Jim Blanche, Superintendent, Davenport School District
Henry Caudle, Principal, Central High School
Ricky Harris, Senior Class President
Kelly Witt, Student Body President
Walking Tour Participants:
YOU
Henry Caudle, Principal, Central High School
Barb Hess, Social Studies Teacher, Central High School
Ricky Harris, Senior Class President (will lead tour)
Program Participants:
YOU
Governor Tom Vilsack (D-IA)
Henry Caudle, Principal, Central High School
Barb Hess, Social Studies Teacher, Central High School
Barb Hess has taught at Central High School for 38 years, and is currently the
Social Studies department head. She also was a student at Central High School,
and graduated from the school in 1956. Ms. Hess can speak to the need for
renovation of the science class rooms (which have not been renovated since she
was a student there), expansion of the classroom size, updating of the ventilation
system, and other modernizations necessary at the school.
IV.
PRESS PLAN
Walking Tour - Pre-positioned Pool Press.
Remarks - Open Press.
2
V.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
-
YOU will be greeted by Jim Blanche, Henry Caudle, and student TBD upon arrival at
Central High School.
-
YOU will take a walking tour of Central High School.
-
YOU will proceed to the auditorium.
-
YOU will be announced onto the stage, accompanied by Governor Tom Vilsack,
Henry Caudle, and Barb Hess.
-
Henry Caudle, Principal, will make welcoming remarks and introduce Governor Tom
Vilsack.
-
Governor Tom Vilsack will make brief remarks and introduce Barb Hess, teacher.
-
Barb Hess, teacher, will make brief remarks and introduce YOU.
-
YOU will make remarks, work a ropeline, and depart.
-
YOU will greet AmeriCorps volunteers prior to departure.
VI.
REMARKS
To be provided by Speechwriting.
3
May 2, 2000
REMARKS TO CITY ACADEMY AND CHANNEL ONE
NETWORK "WEBSIDE" CHAT
DATE:
May 4, 2000
LOCATION:
City Academy
St. Paul, MN
EVENT TIME:
8:50am - 10:30am
FROM:
Bruce Reed
I.
PURPOSE
To highlight the success of the charter school movement, announce further steps to help
public charter schools, and challenge communities around the country to create more high
quality public charter schools to increase choice and competition in public education.
II.
BACKGROUND
This week is National Charter Schools Week and City Academy is the nation's first
charter school. This charter school was also the only one in operation when you were
elected in 1992. Today you will meet with students from City Academy, release an
Executive Memorandum asking the Secretary of Education to develop guidelines to help
faith-based organizations understand how they can play a role in the public charter school
movement, announce new grants for charter schools, and participate in an online chat
with students from around the country.
BUSINESS AND FAITH-BASED GROUPS AND CHARTER SCHOOLS. The
Executive Memorandum that you will release today asks the Secretary of Education to
develop and release guidelines explaining how faith-based organizations and businesses
can more effectively be involved with charter schools. These guidelines would augment
the existing guidelines for public charter schools and the guidelines for religious
expression in public schools that you released in December. The private sector can play a
positive role with regard to charter schools and you will emphasize the ways that local
businesses can be involved in the charter school movement.
GROWTH OF CHARTER SCHOOLS. When you were first elected, there was only
one public charter school open in the United States. Now, there are 1,700, more than half
way to your goal of 3000 charter schools. And thirty-six states, Puerto Rico and the
District of Columbia now have laws on the books that enable the creation of charter
schools. Your national leadership and assistance have played a key role in this rapid
growth by supporting the development of individual charter schools and helping to
disseminate effective practices and strategies among schools. Your budget includes a $30
million increase in funding for the program, bringing total funding to $175 million
annually. Today, you will announce the release of $16 million in new grants to charter
schools and $121 million in continuation grants.
ONLINE CHAT WITH STUDENTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY. While at
City Academy, you will participate in a live Webside Chat," hosted by
ChannelOne.com with middle school and high school students from across the country.
Following on the tradition of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fireside Chats," you
will utilize the latest technology to communicate directly with the American people. You
will hear directly from students about their concerns and views on education and answer
questions on topics, including: creating good learning environments; making schools an
important part of communities; expanding college opportunity; promoting the role of
technology in the classroom and improving America's schools.
III.
PARTICIPANTS
Greeters:
Representative Bruce Vento
Governor Jesse Ventura (T)
Mayor Norm Coleman (T)
Milo Cutter, Principal, City Academy
Program Participants:
YOU
Representative Bruce Vento
Governor Jesse Ventura (Tentative)
Milo Cutter, Director, City Academy
Student TBD
Webside Chat Participants:
YOU
Tracy Smith, Senior Correspondent/Anchor, Channel One Network
IV.
PRESS PLAN
Remarks - Open Press.
Webside Chat - Open Press.
V.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
-
YOU will be greeted by Representative Bruce Vento, Governor Jesse Ventura (T),
Mayor Norm Coleman (T), and Milo Cutter upon arrival to City Academy.
-
YOU will be announced onto the stage, accompanied by Representative Bruce Vento,
Governor Jesse Ventura (T), Milo Cutter, and City Academy student.
-
Milo Cutter, Principal, will make brief welcoming remarks and introduce
Representative Bruce Vento.
-
Representative Bruce Vento will make brief remarks and introduce Governor Jesse
Ventura (T).
-
Governor Jesse Ventura (T) will make brief remarks and introduce student.
-
Student will make brief remarks and introduce YOU.
-
YOU will make remarks.
-
YOU will proceed to a stool to begin the "webside" chat.
-
Tracy Smith will make opening remarks and introduce YOU.
-
YOU will make opening remarks.
-
Tracy Smith will begin the "webside" chat, and you will participate in a question and
answer session.
-
Upon conclusion of the question and answer session, YOU will make brief
concluding remarks.
-
Tracy Smith will conclude the "webside" chat.
-
YOU will exit the stage, work a ropeline, and depart.
VI.
REMARKS
To be provided by Speechwriting.