[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.