At the impetus of Maryland Governor Parris Glendening and State Schools Superintendent Nancy Grasmick, the State of Maryland formally endorsed and joined the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education and President Clinton's "Call to Action for American Education." By joining the Partnership, the state has committed to a variety of actions to improve education, including: modernizing school buildings; setting high standards in all core subjects and participating in the president's fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math testing initiative in 1999; helping every student to read well by the end of the third grade; and connecting every classroom and library to the Internet by the year 2000. In addition to the state's participation in the Partnership for Family Involvement, Governor Glendening and Superintendent Grasmick have announced a new collaborative effort of the Family Education Network, the State Education Department, and AT&T that will offer a network of school Web sites through which parents may access information about school activities, tips on completing homework, and details about financing a college education. The Web sites will provide e-mail services so that parents and teachers can communicate with one another. In addition, as part of a state partnership with federal agencies, the Social Security Administration expects to pledge the donation of 10,000 to 14,000 used computers to schools over the next three years.

Boston Mayor Tom Menino and Boston Schools Superintendent Tom Payzant have built a strong partnership between the City of Boston and the community's public schools. Over the past two years, the mayor entered into a ground-breaking agreement with the Boston Teachers Union, increased capital expenditures by 225 percent, and created new "pilot" schools. Menino established a "Blue Ribbon Commission for Community Learning Centers" and charged it with developing a master plan to renovate and construct state-of-the-art school buildings that are accessible to students, parents, and the entire community. The mayor, along with Superintendent Payzant and the Boston School Committee, have developed a comprehensive reform plan for the Boston public schools. In recognition of the high expectations that come with the city's new learning standards, the plan establishes a credible baseline in the effort to restructure and to improve teaching and learning. Menino and the School Committee also launched "Read Boston," an aggressive public/private partnership to ensure that all school children read at grade level by the end of the third grade. Read Boston, which serves as an AMERICA READS CHALLENGE/READ*WRITE*NOW! pilot site for the U.S. Department of Education, is a broad-based campaign to promote literacy throughout the community and to help families support the instructional experiences of their children.

Mayor Charles Box of Rockford, Illinois, in partnership with Rockford Public Schools Superintendent Ronald Epps and the city's public libraries, have launched a campaign to organize more than 1,000 volunteers and pair them with children to spend the summer reading. The City of Rockford and the Rockford Public Schools have signed on to President Clinton's "Call to Action for American Education." In particular, they plan to focus on the goal of helping all children read well by the end of the third grade. The Rockford effort, which is built around the AMERICA READS CHALLENGE and its summer component, READ*WRITE*NOW!, will match students in grades 1-3 who are not reading at their grade level with an adult tutor who will read with them for an hour, one day a week, at a specific school library or branch of the public library. Participating students also will be asked to read 30 minutes a day, five days a week, and obtain and use a library card.

During the summer of 1996, Florida State Representative Lois Frankel decided to hold an event to foster community involvement in her district's schools in conjunction with America Goes Back to School. Working with Palm Beach County School District officials and Principal Penelope Lopez, she convened a community meeting at H.L. Johnson Elementary School in Royal Palm Beach. Johnson Elementary was chosen because of its success in attracting community volunteers. During the meeting, Representative Frankel spoke to parents, educators, businesspeople, and community leaders about the importance of family and business involvement in schools. Representative Frankel says that the meeting provided an opportunity for school, business, and community officials to discuss the importance of partnerships.

In his State of the City Address last year, Fort Wayne Mayor Paul Helmke announced the creation of a literacy commission. The commission includes parents, teachers, education experts, pastors, directors of literacy programs, and business leaders. During its first meeting, the mayor charged the commission with drawing up a literacy plan or vision for the Fort Wayne community. He noted that the vision should include recommendations for preparing children to learn by the time they enter school. He pointed out that while the area offers many literacy programs and services, they often are not coordinated and do not reach individuals in need. The literacy commission developed a resource guide to all of the literacy programs available in the area. After examining the current programs, the commission determined where there were gaps in service and made recommendations about how to fill them. In addition, the commission examined barriers to literacy and ways the community could implement a coordinated plan to overcome the obstacles.