[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 34 (Monday, August 30, 1999)]
[Pages 1665-1666]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7218--America Goes Back to School, 1999

August 27, 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.

[[Page 1666]]

    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 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.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., August 30, 
1999]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
August 31.