Goals 2000

WASHINGTON -- Goals 2000 was born as a celebrated campaign to make American students the smartest in the world by 2000. States would get federal money to buy state-of-the-art resources, hire gifted teachers and ensure that schools are safe, drug-free places where knowledge would flourish.But since it took effect last year, conservatives have declared war on what was once a clearly bipartisan initiative. Goals 2000, they contend, encourages a politically correct curriculum, permissive sex-education classes, and a feel-good, student-centered environment that turns out poorly trained, undisciplined young adults.

It's a Wednesday morning at Aberdeen Middle School, and the silence is almost deafening. The halls are empty, and not a single phone rings in the Harford County school as everyone from pupils to staff participates in the "Drop Everything and Read" program. The weekly 20-minute reading sessions have become a huge hit at the school. "Even my secretaries read," says Aberdeen Middle School Principal Gladys Pace. "I think that the students seeing the administration reading sends the message that reading is important."

A year ago, President Clinton signed into law his administration's ambitious Goals 2000: Educate America Act. "Today will be remembered as the day the United States got serious about education," the Secretary of Education, Richard W. Riley said within hours of its passage.The high-minded ideals of Goals 2000 seem universal. Who could dispute the importance of sending children to school "ready to learn" or the need for schools "free of drugs and violence," -- two of the eight National Education Goals.

ONLY A MIRACLE will cause Maryland schools to reach the modest performance goals set early in the decade for 2000.And it's too late for a miracle to rescue Goals 2000, a set of targets established a decade ago by President George Bush and endorsed by all 50 U.S. governors.None of Maryland's 24 systems is likely to achieve the goal of scoring 70 percent on the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program tests by 2000. Similarly, none of the eight national standards of Goals 2000 has been met, and in the cases of teacher quality and school safety, the movement is in the wrong direction.

WASHINGTON -- Every school in America will be safe, disciplined and drug-free. U.S. students will be first in the world in science and math achievement. Every adult will be able to compete in a global economy.Who can argue with a vision like that?Under the Goals 2000 program signed into law by President Clinton last week, that is the government's grand hope forAmerica on the verge of the 21st century.The program, hailed as the federal government's first effort to create standards for what all students should know, emerged from the education summit that President George Bush held with governors in 1989.

WASHINGTON -- Goals 2000, a program that consumes about 1 percent of the Education Department budget, embodies a seemingly benign purpose: Get states to increase students' knowledge. But many conservatives find Goals 2000 anything but benign.Angered by what they call federal intrusion, groups like the Christian Coalition and the Family Research Council contend that Goals 2000 would produce, among other things, liberally biased curriculums and clinics that would issue contraceptives and refer students for abortions.

Baltimore City and Carroll County public schools are among six districts in Maryland that will receive $250,000 each from the federal Goals 2000 program.Baltimore will use its grant to train teachers to increase student performance in language arts, and Carroll will fund a project to improve reading scores of second- and third-graders on state and national tests. Other districts receiving Goals 2000 grants are Dorchester, Kent, Washington and Worcester counties.In addition, the Maryland State Department of Education will use a $150,000 grant to form a consortium of educators from the state's 24 school districts to work with colleges and universities to improve the preparation and evaluation of teachers and principals.

THE Clinton administration's "Goals 2000" education legislation has reached the Senate, and though the national standards to be promoted are said to be "voluntary," President ++ Clinton in his State of the Union address emphasized that there must be "one" standard for education in the U.S.In addition, the administration wants the codification of the already declared six national goals, the first of which is that by the year 2000, "all children in America will...

The last Congress' fleet of new federal legislation for education sneaked in under the cross fire over more controversial issues such as health care and what to do in Haiti."

WASHINGTON -- Sixth District Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett is the only member of the state congressional delegation who doesn't approve of the Clinton administration's $427 million education reform plan.The plan is awaiting Senate action after passing the House with strong support from seven of Maryland's eight representatives.Administration officials said that they are optimistic about passage of the Goals 2000 plan, which establishes voluntary national teaching standards."We've got great bipartisan support, with 57 Republicans voting for it in the House, and we expect the same in the Senate," said Camille Johnston, a Department of Education spokeswoman.

Baltimore City and Carroll County public schools are among six districts in Maryland that will receive $250,000 each from the federal Goals 2000 program.Baltimore will use its grant to train teachers to increase student performance in language arts, and Carroll will fund a project to improve reading scores of second- and third-graders on state and national tests. Other districts receiving Goals 2000 grants are Dorchester, Kent, Washington and Worcester counties.In addition, the Maryland State Department of Education will use a $150,000 grant to form a consortium of educators from the state's 24 school districts to work with colleges and universities to improve the preparation and evaluation of teachers and principals.

IN MARCH 1994 Congress enacted Goals 2000, the culmination of a bipartisan effort to raise academic standards in the nation's schools. The Bush administration began the ambitious process, awarding grants to national groups of teachers and scholars in science, history, English, and other fields to develop national voluntary standards.The Clinton administration carried it on. Goals 2000, which became the centerpiece of the administration's education agenda, featured a 19-member National Education Standards and Improvement Council (NESIC)

Community college salaries explainedYour editorial concerning the Baltimore County Community Colleges Board's funding request unfairly lumped together discretionary budget items with the issue of full-time faculty pay for the teaching of summer courses.The fact is that instructors are paid less than full-time pay to begin with, because we are considered 10-month employees. We are not paid for July or August, nor are we accountable to the colleges for these months. Administrators, counselors, librarians and most other personnel, on the other hand, receive an extra 20 percent adjustment to their salary scales because they are 12-month employees.

WASHINGTON -- Goals 2000, a program that consumes about 1 percent of the Education Department budget, embodies a seemingly benign purpose: Get states to increase students' knowledge. But many conservatives find Goals 2000 anything but benign.Angered by what they call federal intrusion, groups like the Christian Coalition and the Family Research Council contend that Goals 2000 would produce, among other things, liberally biased curriculums and clinics that would issue contraceptives and refer students for abortions.

Maryland students continue to improve their marks on the state's annual tests, but only four of 10 pupils are performing satisfactorily, according to the state Education Department's 1995 report card. Educational, political and business leaders -- including U.S. Education Secretary Richard W. Riley -- gathered yesterday at a news conference to praise the improved test scores as evidence that Maryland school reform is heading in the right direction. But they acknowledged that the state's schools have a long way to go. The Maryland School Performance Assessment Program tests -- given the past five years to all third- , fifth- and eighth-grade pupils -- are intended to assess students' thinking skills.

Washington -- WE KNOW we don't need some character in the Department of Education with sandals and beads telling us how to educate our children," presidential candidate Pat Buchanan tells audiences.All of Buchanan's Republican rivals for the White House would also do away with the U.S. Department of Education -- or, as they say around here, "zero it out" of the federal budget. But Buchanan, who honed his sound bites as a newspaper columnist and TV talkmeister, likes to twist the knife before thrusting it home.

Maryland schools have received $1.4 million to help them reach the voluntary goals stipulated in the federal "Goals 2000" legislation enacted in March.The grant, from the U.S. Department of Education, can be used for many school improvement efforts, including teacher training, raising academic standards and promoting parent involvement. But to receive the money, local districts must agree to enforce anti-gun measures and to suspend for at least a year any student violator.Maryland officials said the state's own school reform plan has standards that in some instances are tougher than the voluntary standards in the federal legislation.

Washington -- WE KNOW we don't need some character in the Department of Education with sandals and beads telling us how to educate our children," presidential candidate Pat Buchanan tells audiences.All of Buchanan's Republican rivals for the White House would also do away with the U.S. Department of Education -- or, as they say around here, "zero it out" of the federal budget. But Buchanan, who honed his sound bites as a newspaper columnist and TV talkmeister, likes to twist the knife before thrusting it home.

WASHINGTON -- Goals 2000 was born as a celebrated campaign to make American students the smartest in the world by 2000. States would get federal money to buy state-of-the-art resources, hire gifted teachers and ensure that schools are safe, drug-free places where knowledge would flourish.But since it took effect last year, conservatives have declared war on what was once a clearly bipartisan initiative. Goals 2000, they contend, encourages a politically correct curriculum, permissive sex-education classes, and a feel-good, student-centered environment that turns out poorly trained, undisciplined young adults.

A year ago, President Clinton signed into law his administration's ambitious Goals 2000: Educate America Act. "Today will be remembered as the day the United States got serious about education," the Secretary of Education, Richard W. Riley said within hours of its passage.The high-minded ideals of Goals 2000 seem universal. Who could dispute the importance of sending children to school "ready to learn" or the need for schools "free of drugs and violence," -- two of the eight National Education Goals.