    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 35 (Monday, September 4, 2000)]
    [Pages 1987-1988]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Proclamation 7336--America Goes Back to School, 2000

    August 31, 2000

    By the President of the United States

    of America

    A Proclamation

        For America's students, the new school year is a time for learning
    lessons, making friends, and setting goals. For America's parents, it is
    a time to focus on the role education plays in their children's lives
    and future. And for our Nation, it is a time to strengthen our efforts
    to improve the quality of education and to make America's schools safe,
    nurturing places where children can reach their full potential.
        This year a record 53 million young people will fill our schools--
    the highest enrollment in our Nation's history--and communities across
    the country are struggling to provide adequate classroom space and to
    hire qualified teachers to meet students' needs. To assist local school
    districts in meeting these critical challenges, my Administration's
    proposed education budget for fiscal 2001 includes tax credits and loans
    to help communities build and modernize 6,000 schools and to make
    emergency repairs to another 25,000. We have also requested an
    additional $1.75 billion to meet our goal of hiring 100,000 qualified
    teachers to reduce class size in the early grades and $1 billion in new

    [[Page 1988]]

    funds to recruit and train high-quality teachers for every grade level.
    And we have proposed dramatic increases in the Federal investment in
    after-school and summer school programs, safe and drug-free schools, and
    support to help States and districts to turn around failing schools.
    These critical investments, coupled with my Administration's ongoing
    commitment to high standards and accountability, will help children
    across the country reach their full potential.
        While the Federal Government has an important role to play in
    improving the quality of American education, it is the efforts of local
    school boards, families, and communities, working together, that make
    the crucial difference in preparing our children for the future. Parents
    who read with their children, monitor homework and out-of-school
    activities, demand high academic standards and challenging coursework,
    and encourage greater community support and investment in school
    activities have an enormous impact on their children's academic success.
    Similarly, businesses with family-friendly leave policies, community
    organizations that offer after-school programs, libraries that provide
    access to computers and educational software, volunteers who help
    children read or who serve as mentors--all of these people and programs
    help create supportive environments that enable students to make the
    most of their education.
        America Goes Back to School is a nationwide initiative, in
    partnership with the Department of Education, to encourage and support
    family and community involvement in improving children's learning. The
    initiative's theme, ``Challenge Our Students and They Will Soar,''
    reflects the importance of setting high expectations for America's young
    people and reminds us that we each have a role to play in providing our
    Nation's students with the schools, teachers, and standards they need to
    achieve their dreams and succeed in this new century.
        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 September
    4 through September 10, 2000, 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 thirty-first
    day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the
    Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
    fifth.
                                                William J. Clinton

    [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:50 a.m., September 1,
    2000]

    Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on
    September 5.