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A MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR CAROL H. RASCO

Happy Holidays! As we head into 1999, I hope that everyone is making New Year?s Resolutions that involve helping children with reading!

Another resolution worth making is to help children with their math skills, and the Clinton/Gore Administration is pleased to announce a new initiative to do just this. America Counts is a five-point challenge to improve mathematics achievement for all of the nation's school children.

Among the goals of America Counts:

• Provide help, personal attention and additional learning time for students who need extra assistance in mastering the fundamentals of mathematics in elementary and middle school.

• Equip teachers to teach challenging mathematics by ensuring that they enter the profession with a solid understanding of mathematics and the best ways to teach it and provide on-going opportunities for teachers to upgrade and expand their knowledge and skills.

• Provide a more challenging and engaging curriculum for all students based on rigorous standards that meet national and international benchmarks of excellence.

• Ensure that local, state and federal resources are coordinated in support of high-quality and coherent mathematics programs that hold high expectations for all students.

• Build public understanding of the mathematics our students must master to ensure their and our nation's prosperity and growth.

To facilitate this effort, Vice President Gore announced that the Department of Education has issued a new regulation, effective July 1, 1999, that waives the Federal Work-Study institutional match for FWS students employed as math tutors in middle schools (grades K-9). We have also expanded and renamed the existing America Reads*America Counts Steering Committee of University Presidents to help mobilize institutions of higher education to improve math achievement at the elementary and middle school level.

America Counts will build on the success of the America Reads Challenge. Ensuring that students master basic computational skills and the foundations of algebra and geometry by 8^th or 9^th grade is essential preparation for rigorous college-preparatory mathematics courses and the careers of the 21^st century.

A new guide, Yes, You Can, is available to help schools and organizations set up mentoring programs with a focus on math and science. The guide is available for free from the Education Department at 1-800-USA-LEARN. As the National Science Foundation and others develop materials to assist local programs, we intend to make them available to the national service network.

I hope you are as excited to learn about America Counts as I am to announce it. For more information, please call 1-800-USA-LEARN, or visit the website at http://www.ed.gov/americacounts/.

As you know, 61 reading partnerships received funding this fall from the U.S. Department of Education's Regional Educational Laboratories. These partnerships will each provide quality tutor training programs and materials based on a university-school-community collaborative model. I encourage you to contact partnerships in your area to see how you may get involved in their activities. A full listing of the partnerships and contact information can be found at http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/training.html .

21^st Century Community Learning Centers. This program is a key component of the Clinton Administration?s effort to keep children safe and help them learn after school. $200 million will fund about 1,600 Community Learning Centers within approximately 500-600 communities to establish or expand school-based after-school programs for children. These Centers will provide academic enrichment and support; recreational, artistic, sports, and cultural activities; opportunities for children to participate in service learning and community development projects; nutritional and health services; access to technology and telecommunications; and activities to promote parent involvement and lifelong learning. Applications for the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers are available and due on March 1, 1999. Applications and more information on the program can be obtained at www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/21stcclc or by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN.

GEAR UP. The Higher Education Amendments (HEA) of 1998 launched GEAR UP, a new national effort to encourage more young people to have high expectations, stay in school and study hard, and go to college. GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a new competitive grant program that supports early college awareness activities at both the local and state level. The $120 million in funding the program received for Fiscal Year 1999 will be split between partnership grants and state grants. Colleges and universities might be particularly interested in the partnership grants, which will award multi-year grants to locally-designed partnerships between colleges and high-poverty middle schools, plus at least two other partners -- such as community organizations, businesses, religious groups, state education agencies, parent groups, or non-profits -- to increase college-going rates among low-income youth. We anticipate that GEAR UP grant applications will be available in early 1999. For additional information, e-mail gearup@ed.gov or call 1-800-USA-LEARN.

Over the past month, four roundtable discussions on America Reads and Work-Study were held in Boston, Denver, New York, and Washington, DC. Facilitated by Marsha Adler of San Francisco State University, they were attended by representatives of the Department of Education, the Corporation for National Service, colleges and universities in the four areas, and national and community based organizations. The main topics of discussion included recruitment and retention, training, and evaluation. Many college and university representatives expressed interest in learning more about programs? evaluation methods. Plans are underway for additional roundtables in the upcoming months, and they will be advertised as early and widely as possible. All will be welcome to attend. For more information, please call Laura Wood at (202) 401-8888.

One way communities are sharing ideas and keeping up-to-date with the latest information on education is through a unique service from the U.S. Department of Education: the Satellite Town Meeting. On the third Tuesday of each month during the school year, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley hosts the Satellite Town Meeting, a free, live, interactive teleconference about community efforts to improve teaching and learning.

On Tuesday, February 16, 1999, the Department is hosting a Meeting in Los Angeles entitled "Teaching Reading: Success Stories from School & Home," which will bring together experts and practitioners who have all made reading a top priority in their schools and communities. Please look for more detailed information in future UPDATES and on the enclosed flyer.

That same day, Secretary Riley will deliver his annual State of American Education speech in Los Angeles.

The President's Coalition for the America Reads Challenge is made up of organizations committed to fulfilling the goals of the America Reads Challenge to ensure that every child can read well and independently by the end of the third grade. Here is an example of how a Coalition member is helping meet the Challenge:

The Los Angeles Times recently announced a five-year initiative called "Reading by 9" that seeks to help children in the five-county area of Los Angeles achieve grade-level reading. The Times' commitment will involve virtually every division of the company and an investment of resources and cash equaling more than $5 million.

In addition to extensive editorial coverage focusing attention on the problem of child illiteracy and possible solutions, the Times will launch a new feature, "the Kids' Reading Room," Sundays through Fridays in the new Southern California Living section. This feature includes interactive educational activities for both parents and children.

For more information on the Times' Reading by 9 initiative, visit the Times website at www.latimes.com and go to the Read by 9 section.

While in Denver for the Improving America?s Schools Conference, Department of Education officials and staff and representatives from the Community College of Denver participated in Family Night at Greelee Elementary School. Welcomed by Principal Josephine Garcia, Work-Study students, AmeriCorps and Phi Theta Kappa members, Community College of Denver President Dr. Byron McClenney and others participated with Greenlee families in exercises designed to help build first graders? vocabulary.

LEARNS (Linking Education and America Reads through National Service) is a partnership of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Bank Street College of Education, and the Southern Regional Council. They provide training and technical assistance to America Reads and other Corporation for National Service projects focused on literacy and education. If you?re looking for help, consider calling the LEARNS partners at (800) 930-5664. You may take advantage of the following services:

• The LEARNS website (www.learns.org) contains downloadable resources, innovative practices, and links to other education and national service resources.

• LEARNS produces materials such as The Tutor (a newsletter sent out quarterly with this UPDATE). These materials are distributed by the National Service Resource Center (see below).

• LEARNS has also scheduled a limited number of training of trainer events designed for trainers and directors of America Reads and national service programs. Call (800) 930-5664 for more information about events near you. Participation is on a space available basis.

National Service-Learning Clearinghouse is a comprehensive information system that focuses on all dimensions of service-learning, covering kindergarten through higher education, school-based, as well as community-based initiatives. Check out the website for materials on literacy and service learning.

National Service Resource Center (NSRC) is a comprehensive information system that focuses on national service, including tutoring and mentoring. Tutoring materials are available on their website and in limited hard copy quantities.

The Corporation for National Service has developed colorful posters, brochures, banners, stickers and advertisements for use in recruiting volunteers for local America Reads programs. These materials feature the America Reads logo (seen below), and are available for purchase through the Corporation's distribution center, Mississippi Industries for the Blind. For more information or to request an order form, please call (601) 984-3200.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT AMERICA READS

The America Reads Listserv is a forum for interested parties to discuss questions and best practices regarding America Reads programs. To subscribe:

Address an e-mail to: majordomo@etr-associates.org

Type (in the text): subscribe americareads

The America Reads Website contains extensive information about the Challenge, including tutoring materials and the "Expanding FWS and Community Service Opportunities" Guide.

http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/

Carol H. Rasco, Director, America Reads Challenge
Laura Wood, Coordinator, FWS/ARC Program
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202
Ph: (202) 401-8888, Fax: (202) 401-0596, E-mail: Laura.Wood@ed.gov

Dr. Marsha Adler, Office of the President, San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132
Ph: (415) 338-6879, Fax: (415) 338-6885, E-mail mnadler@sfsu.edu

Jeff Gale, Corporation for National Service
1201 New York Avenue, N.W., 9^th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20525
Ph: (202) 606-5000 ext. 280, Fax: (202) 565-2789, E-mail: Jgale@cns.gov

Toll free number for comments or ordering publications:

1-800-USA-LEARN or TDD 1-800-437-0833