    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [April 18, 1991]
    [Pages 399-403]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    White House Fact Sheet on the President's Education Strategy
    April 18, 1991

        The President today outlined his strategy to move the Nation toward
    achieving the national education goals and educational excellence for
    all Americans. The President believes we must restructure and revitalize
    America's education system by the year 2000. Emphasizing that this
    effort is a national challenge, the President asked all Americans to
    take part in ``the crusade that counts most--the crusade to prepare our
    children and ourselves for the exciting future that looms ahead.''
        America 2000 builds on four related themes:

        Creating better and more accountable schools for today's
                students,
        Creating a new generation of American schools for tomorrow's
                students,
        Transforming America into a nation of students, and
        Making our communities places where learning will happen.

    I. Creating Better and More Accountable Schools for Today's Students

        The President called on all Americans to help create better and more
    accountable schools based on world class standards and the principle of
    accountability. He encouraged all elements of our communities--families,
    businesses, unions, places of worship, neighborhood organizations, and
    other voluntary associations--to work together with our schools to help
    the Nation achieve educational excellence.

    A. World Class Standards in Five Core Subjects

        The President believes the time has come to establish world class
    standards for what our children should know and be able to do in five
    core subjects: English, mathematics, science, history, and geography.

        Through the National Education Goals Panel, and working with
                interested parties throughout the Nation, the President and
                the Governors will develop a timetable for establishing
                national standards in these five subjects, and in September
                1991, and each year thereafter, the panel will report to the
                Nation on progress toward the national education goals.
        The standards are intended to lift the entire education
                system and improve the learning achievement of all students.
                The President and the Governors oppose a national curriculum
                or

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                federalizing our education system.

    B. A System of Voluntary National Examinations

        Through the efforts of the National Education Goals Panel, a system
    of voluntary examinations will be developed and made available for all
    fourth, eighth, and twelfth grade students in the five core subjects.

        These American Achievement Tests will challenge all students
                to strive to meet the world class standards and ensure that,
                when they leave school, students are prepared for further
                study and the workforce. The tests will measure higher order
                skills (i.e., they will not be strictly multiple choice
                tests).
        The President, working with the Nation's Governors, will
                seek congressional authorization for State-level national
                assessment of educational progress assessments and for
                optional use of these assessments at district and school
                levels.
        Students who distinguish themselves on the American
                Achievement Tests will receive a Presidential Citation for
                Educational Excellence in recognition of their outstanding
                achievement.
        The President will seek authorization for Presidential
                Achievement Scholarships to reward academic excellence among
                low income students pursuing postsecondary education
                opportunities. These financial awards will be based on
                superior high school and college performance.

    C. Schools as the Site of Reform

        The administration will help strengthen the capacity of elementary
    and secondary schools to improve results and to innovate by increasing
    flexibility in decisionmaking at the State, district, and school levels
    and encouraging report cards on performance.
        In addition to an annual National Report Card, the President
                will encourage schools, school districts, and States to
                issue regular report cards on their education performance.
                These report cards will measure results and progress toward
                achieving the national education goals.
        As part of his America 2000 Excellence in Education Act of
                1991, the President will again seek legislation that will
                allow greater flexibility in the use of Federal resources
                for education in exchange for enhanced accountability for
                results.
        To stimulate reform in mathematics and science education,
                the America 2000 Excellence in Education Act of 1991 will
                include $40 million for new grants to school districts that
                show significant gains in student achievement. Awards will
                be used for continued improvements in these vital subjects.
        The America 2000 Excellence in Education Act of 1991 also
                will seek funds for a Merit Schools Program for States to
                award individual schools that demonstrate significant
                progress toward the national education goals. States may
                ``bank'' funds over several years to create even more
                incentives for successful schools.

    D. Providing and Promoting School Choice

        The President believes that educational choice for parents and
    students is critical to improving our schools.

        The President will promote State and local choice programs
                as part of his America 2000 Excellence in Education Act of
                1991.
        --A $200 million Education Certificate Program Support Fund will
            provide incentive grants to local school districts with
            qualified education certificate programs that enhance parental
            choice.
        --National school choice demonstration projects will be supported
            through a $30 million initiative.
        The administration also will seek ways to ensure that
                Federal education programs are more supportive of choice.

    E. Teachers and Principals

        America's teachers and principals are on the front lines of
    transforming our schools. As part of his America 2000 Excellence in
    Education Act of 1991, the President will propose several initiatives to
    promote outstanding leadership in our schools.

        Presidential Awards for Excellence in

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                Education will recognize and reward outstanding teachers
                across America.
        The President will encourage States and communities to
                provide alternative routes of certification through one-time
                grants to States to support implementation of alternative
                certification.
        In order to improve the training of school principals and
                other school leaders, the President will propose
                establishing Governors' academies in every State with
                Federal seed money to enhance principal training through
                instructional and mentoring programs.
        The President will seek to establish Governors' academies
                for America's teachers with Federal seed money to offer
                advanced instruction focusing on the five core academic
                disciplines.

        The President also encouraged States to consider differential pay
    and financial and other awards for those who excel in teaching, teach
    core subjects, teach in challenging settings, and serve as mentors for
    new teachers.

    II. Creating a New Generation of American Schools for Tomorrow's
    Students

        The President today challenged the best minds in America to design--
    and help communities create--the best schools in the world.

    A. Research and Development

        A series of research and development teams, funded by contributions
    from the business community, will help design a new generation of
    American schools.

        America's business leaders will establish and mobilize
                private resources for the New American Schools Development
                Corporation, a new non-profit organization that will award
                contracts in 1992 to between three and seven research and
                development teams. These teams may consist of corporations,
                universities, think tanks, school innovators, and others.
                The teams' products will be available to the American
                people.
        The mission of these teams is to help communities create
                schools that will reach the national education goals,
                including world class standards in the five core subjects
                for all students, as monitored by the American Achievement
                Tests and similar measures.
        The President will ask his Education Policy Advisory
                Committee, as well as the Department of Education, to
                examine the work of these research and development teams and
                to report on their progress.

    B. New American Schools

        The President will ask Congress to provide $550 million in one-time
    start-up funds to create at least 535 New American Schools that ``break
    the mold'' of existing school designs.

        These funds will provide up to $1 million for each New
                American School to underwrite special staff training,
                instructional materials, or other support the school needs.
                The goal is to have at least one New American School
                operating in each congressional district by September 1996.
        Once the schools are launched, the operating costs of the
                New American Schools will be no more than those of
                conventional schools.
        The President also will ask Congress for start-up funds to
                help design state-of-the-art technology appropriate for New
                American Schools.
        A New American School does not necessarily mean new bricks-
                and-mortar. Nor does a New American School have to rely on
                technology; the quality of learning is what matters.

    C. America 2000 Communities

        The President called on every community in the country to do four
    things:

        Adopt the six national education goals,
        Establish a community-wide strategy for achieving the goals,
        Develop a report card for measuring its progress, and
        Demonstrate its readiness to create and support a New
                American School.

        Communities that accept this challenge will be designated, by the
    Governors of their States, as ``America 2000 Communities.''

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        Governors, in conjunction with the Secretary of Education,
                will review community-developed plans with the assistance of
                a distinguished advisory panel and will determine which
                America 2000 communities in each State will receive Federal
                financial support in starting New American Schools.
        The Governors and the Secretary will ensure that many such
                schools serve communities with high concentrations of
                children at risk.

    D. Leadership at All Levels

        Transforming American education and creating a new generation of
    American schools will require the commitment of America's leaders at all
    levels.

        The President welcomes the commitment by American business
                to contribute $150-$200 million to support the research and
                development effort.
        The President asked the Nation's Governors to lead the New
                American Schools effort in their States.
        The President challenged State legislatures to: support the
                creation and operation of New American Schools; embrace the
                world class standards and adopt the American Achievement
                Tests; and work toward school, district, and State-level
                report cards.
        The President encouraged civic leaders to help organize
                community plans all across the country to seek designation
                as an America 2000 community, and to help plan and operate
                New American Schools. Business can encourage local schools
                to use the world class standards and American Achievement
                Tests, and encourage schools to issue report cards on their
                performance.
        The President called on educators to accept new roles and to
                take risks. Teachers, principals, and other educators are
                asked to work to develop a consensus on the world class
                standards and to determine what it would take to create a
                New American School in each community.

    E. Families and Children Devoted to Learning

        The President called on parents to urge use of world class
    standards, American Achievement Tests, and report cards by local
    schools. Parents must play a key role in creating New American Schools
    in their own communities and must work with children in the home to
    improve children's performance in school.

    III. Transforming America into ``A Nation of Students''

        The President believes that learning is a life-long challenge.
    Approximately 85 percent of America's workers for the year 2000 are
    already in the workforce. Improving schools for today's and tomorrow's
    students is not sufficient to ensure a competitive America in the year
    2000. The President called on Americans to move from ``A Nation at
    Risk'' to ``A Nation of Students'' by continuing to enhance the
    knowledge and skills of all Americans.

    A. Strengthening the Nation's Education Effort for Yesterday's Students,
    Today's Workers

        To advance the goal of improving literacy for all Americans:

        The President will push for greater accountability and
                choice in the Adult Education Act and will advance these
                twin principles in new adult literacy activities proposed
                under the new American 2000 Excellence in Education Act of
                1991.
        The Department of Education will provide regular, timely,
                and reliable information by expanding the national adult
                literacy survey and collecting information about literacy
                efforts on a regular basis.

    B. Establishing Standards for Job Skills and Knowledge

        The President urged business and labor cooperatively to develop--and
    then to use--world class standards and core proficiencies for each
    industry. Federal resources will be sought to provide start-up

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    assistance for this effort.

    C. Creating Business and Community Skill Clinics

        Today's workers will be assisted through skill clinics--one-stop
    service centers located in businesses and communities across America
    where adults can get job skill diagnosis and referral services.

        The administration will urge businesses to make skill
                clinics available to their employees and encourage America
                2000 communities to establish community skill clinics.
        Federal departments and agencies will be encouraged to
                establish such skill clinics and, working with the Office of
                Personnel Management, will be encouraged to undertake
                activities to upgrade their employees' skills.

    D. Enhancing Job Training Opportunities

        The Domestic Policy Council Job Training 2000 Working Group will
    review current Federal job training efforts and identify successful ways
    of motivating and enabling individuals to receive the comprehensive
    services, education, and skills necessary to achieve economic
    independence.

    E. Mobilizing ``A Nation of Students''

        The President will work to transform ``A Nation at Risk'' into ``A
    Nation of Students.''

        The President called on the Secretary of Education and the
                Secretary of Labor to convene business and labor leaders,
                education and training experts, and Federal, State, and
                local government officials at a national conference on the
                education of adult Americans to launch a national effort to
                transform adult America into a ``Nation of Students.''

    IV. Making our Communities Places Where Learning Will Happen

        The President called on communities to adopt the six national
    education goals as their own, set a community strategy to meet them,
    produce a report card to measure results, and agree to create and
    support a New American School.
        The President believes that it is essential to reaffirm such
    enduring values as personal responsibility, individual action, and other
    core principles that must underpin life in a democratic society. The aim
    of the America 2000 community campaign is to make our communities places
    where learning will happen.

    A. Greater Parental Involvement

        The President urged parents to become more involved in their
    children's education and in the work of the New American Schools.

        Parents and teachers should encourage children to study
                more, learn more, and strive to meet higher academic
                standards.
        The President encouraged parents to read aloud daily to
                their children, especially their younger children.

    B. Enhanced Program Effectiveness for Children and Communities

        The President is committed to making government work better to
    improve programs for America's children and communities.

        Working through the Domestic Policy Council Economic
                Empowerment Task Force and with the Nation's Governors and
                other officials, the administration will undertake better
                coordination of existing Federal programs with corresponding
                State and local activities.
        As part of this effort, existing program eligibility
                requirements will be reviewed in order to streamline them
                and reduce Federal red tape. Wherever possible, States will
                be afforded maximum flexibility to design and implement
                integrated State, local, and Federal programming.