[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 168 (Tuesday, August 31, 1999)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 47337-47338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22777]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 168 / Tuesday, August 31, 1999 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 47337]]

                Proclamation 7218 of August 27, 1999

                
America Goes Back to School, 1999

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Education has always been at the heart of opportunity 
                in America. It opens doors for our young people, gives 
                them the tools they need to succeed, and instills in 
                them a sense of responsibility as they strive to make 
                the most of their lives. However, while the importance 
                of education is unchanging, the challenges facing 
                America's schools and students are not. There are now 
                more children, from more diverse backgrounds, in our 
                public schools than at any time in our country's 
                history. We must ensure that their education gives them 
                the knowledge and skills they need to help our Nation 
                thrive in the new century.

                America's current prosperity offers us an unprecedented 
                opportunity to invest in our children's education. I am 
                proud that we have begun that task by opening the doors 
                of college to all our young people with tax credits and 
                more affordable student loans, more Pell grants and 
                work-study jobs, education IRAs, and the new HOPE 
                Scholarship tax cut that more than 5 million Americans 
                will have received by the end of this year. I have also 
                announced $43 million in grants to help States and 
                communities to recruit talented people into teaching 
                jobs and improve the quality of teaching nationwide.

                These are important accomplishments, but we must build 
                on them. The goal of the America Goes Back to School 
                initiative is to support family and community 
                involvement in childhood learning and to build strong 
                community support for our schools, teachers, and 
                students.

                This year's theme--``Challenge Our Students and They 
                Will Soar''--reflects our faith in America's youth and 
                our commitment to providing them with the tools they 
                need to succeed in our rapidly changing world. We must 
                turn around failing schools, hold States and school 
                districts accountable for helping all children reach 
                high academic standards, support charter schools and 
                other forms of public school choice, expand after-
                school and summer programs, develop pathways to college 
                and careers, and provide safe, drug-free schools for 
                all our children. We must ensure that all our students 
                have access to computers and that every classroom and 
                library is connected to the Internet. If we want our 
                children to compete at a world-class level, they must 
                have modern, world-class schools. I am therefore 
                challenging the Congress to enact my proposals to build 
                and modernize 6,000 public schools; and I am also 
                asking the Congress to continue funding to hire 100,000 
                well-prepared teachers to reduce class size in the 
                early grades, the years that we know--intuitively and 
                through research--are critical to the development of 
                children's learning and thinking skills.

                My Administration is working hard to improve our 
                Nation's education system, but no government effort can 
                replace the vision, encouragement, and dedication of 
                our families and communities. As America's students go 
                back to school this year, let us pledge to provide 
                every child with a safe and supportive environment in 
                which to learn and grow, and let us ensure that every 
                segment of our society is involved in the effort. Let 
                us also resolve that our young people will return to 
                schools that are genuine places

[[Page 47338]]

                of learning, where they receive the care, attention, 
                and education they need to reach their full potential.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim August 29 through September 
                11, 1999, as a time when America Goes Back to School. I 
                encourage parents, schools, community and State 
                leaders, businesses, civic and religious organizations, 
                and the people of the United States to observe this 
                period with appropriate ceremonies and activities 
                expressing support for high academic standards and 
                promoting family and community involvement in providing 
                a quality education for every child.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-seventh day of August, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-fourth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 99-22777
Filed 8-30-99; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P