[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 24 (Tuesday, March 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                IMPROVING AMERICA'S SCHOOLS ACT OF 1994

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                               speech of

                        HON. BLANCHE M. LAMBERT

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 3, 1994

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 6) to extend 
     for 6 years the authorizations of appropriations for the 
     programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965, and for certain other purposes:

  Ms. LAMBERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of ensuring 
that parental involvement is a No. 1 priority in all areas of education 
reform. As we consider H.R. 6, Improving America's Schools Act of 1994, 
I urge each and every one of you to vote in favor of amendments that 
promote parental involvement in the education of their children.
  Education is the building block for continued success in our Nation. 
And that education begins at home. With the support, encouragement, 
discipline, and love of involved parents, children will easily reach 
the first national education goal of the administration's Goals 2000 
Act, that ``all children in America will start school ready to learn.''
  Today, Congressman Alan Wheat is offering an amendment that would 
give local education agencies the option to use funds, from the 1 
percent set-aside of title 1 funds for parental involvement, for the 
Parents as Teachers Program. In my own First District of Arkansas, we 
have three parents as teachers programs which, through the 
instructional materials, group meetings, and home visits provided by 
this program, have made a great difference in these children's lives. A 
national 1985 independent evaluation of Parents as Teachers found that 
participating children were significantly more advanced than other 3-
year-olds in language and social development, problem-solving and other 
intellectual skills. A 1989 follow-up study of these same children 
found that they were still ahead in first grade, as measured by teacher 
reports and standardized tests.
  Programs such as Parents as Teachers are based on the belief that 
parents are children's first and most important teachers. Because we 
must ensure that our children are ready to learn when they enter 
school, I urge my colleagues to support truly worthwhile programs such 
as this one which promote the importance of parental involvement in 
their children's education.

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