69传媒

School & District Management

Clinton Turns Spotlight On Performance

By Joetta L. Sack 鈥 May 10, 2000 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

President Clinton has ordered federal education officials to help states and districts turn around low-performing schools and to release an annual report card on such efforts.

The president issued an executive order in Owensboro, Ky., last week as part of a two-day tour to highlight what he considers promising education reforms and promote his proposals for greater accountability for school performance. The document directs the Department of Education to compile data on low-performing schools and provide research and assistance to states and districts.

鈥淲e鈥檝e now had 20 years of serious effort at educational reform. ... We know what works,鈥 Mr. Clinton said May 3. 鈥淚 came to Kentucky to show America how a whole state can identify and turn around low-performing schools with high standards and accountability, parental involvement, and investments to help the schools and the students and the teachers meet the standards.鈥

Mr. Clinton also visited a charter school in St. Paul, Minn.; touted his school construction proposal in Davenport, Iowa; and promoted plans for better teacher training in Columbus, Ohio. In Minnesota, he called on the federal Education Department to issue guidelines to help businesses and religious groups, among other community members, become involved in charter schools.

His executive order directs the secretary of education to:

  • Provide technical assistance and research to help states鈥 and districts鈥 improvement efforts;
  • Make federal education programs more responsive to low-performing schools;
  • Submit an annual report that would include emerging trends and effective strategies from those schools, as well as look at the efforts being made to turn the schools around and the resources the schools are receiving; and
  • Send federal monitors into as many as 15 states each year to ensure that states are complying with accountability requirements.

The president鈥檚 plans for aiding failing schools dovetail with ideas put forward by Vice President Al Gore as part of his campaign to succeed Mr. Clinton. Mr. Gore recently proposed a $500 million accountability plan that would require states and districts to identify and fix failing schools and offer supplemental resources, such as after-school programs, for students in those schools.

Congressional Republicans saw more politics than substance in Mr. Clinton鈥檚 high-profile education tour. Rep. Bill Goodling of Pennsylvania, who chairs the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said that while Mr. Clinton鈥檚 efforts to praise schools that have shown remarkable achievements were laudable, last week鈥檚 appearances were motivated by the president鈥檚 desire to promote his favorite initiatives.

鈥淲e should be focusing on how to provide maximum leverage for local dollars,鈥 Mr. Goodling said in a written statement. Mr. Clinton, he said, 鈥渘eeds to put the needs of the nation ahead of political considerations.鈥

Amy Wilkins, a policy analyst for the Education Trust, a nonpartisan, Washington-based advocacy group for disadvantaged children, said she did not expect Mr. Clinton鈥檚 executive order to have much effect on overall efforts to raise standards for students in all schools.

鈥淚t鈥檚 good for what it is, but it鈥檚 only a small piece of what needs to be done,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he problem with the administration鈥檚 construction of accountability is that they have it in their head that accountability only means attention to those schools at the bottom.鈥

Religion, Charter 69传媒

Last Thursday, the second day of the tour, Mr. Clinton directed Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley to issue guidelines on charter schools so that religious groups and private employers might be more willing to make contributions to and help guide the development of the largely independent public schools. The role of religious groups in such schools has raised questions in some communities and is being played out in court cases. (鈥淏uildings in Hand, Church Leaders Float Charter Ideas,鈥 Feb. 10, 1999.)

鈥淲hile charter schools have to be nonsectarian, there is a role, a positive role, that faith-based groups can play,鈥 Mr. Clinton said. 鈥淢y goal is to get more money and more people involved in the charter school movement, to break down the walls of resistance among all the educators to it, and to get community people more aware of it.鈥

Jeanne Allen, the president of the Center for Education Reform, a Washington group that advocates charter schools and other forms of school choice, said she was happy to see the president bring attention to charters and point out that some state laws need strengthening. But she questioned the need for federal guidelines, given that charters are designed to be autonomous.

鈥淗ere was a perfect opportunity for a rhetorical, bully-pulpit speech supporting charter schools, but somehow the regulators got a hold of his remarks,鈥 Ms. Allen said. 鈥淔or the secretary to issue guidelines on something they are not directly involved in raises a red flag.鈥

Earlier this year, the department reissued a 1996 guide summing up existing laws on religion in charter schools.

President Clinton renewed calls for more charter schools and more federal funding while visiting City Academy in St. Paul, the nation鈥檚 first charter school, which opened in 1992. Several times during his speech there, he pointed out that City Academy was still the lone charter school when he took office in 1993, and that now there are nearly 1,700 across the country.

His longtime goal has been to have a total of 3,000 charter schools open by the time he leaves office next January.

A version of this article appeared in the May 10, 2000 edition of Education Week as Clinton Turns Spotlight On Performance

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69传媒
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

School & District Management Reports Strategic Resourcing for K-12 Education: A Work in Progress
This report highlights key findings from surveys of K-12 administrators and product/service providers to shed light on the alignment of purchasing with instructional goals.
School & District Management Download Shhhh!!! It's Underground Spirit Week, Don't Tell the 69传媒
Try this fun twist on the Spirit Week tradition.
Illustration of shushing emoji.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Opinion How My Experience With Linda McMahon Can Help You Navigate the Trump Ed. Agenda
I have a lesson for district leaders from my (limited) interactions with Trump鈥檚 pick for ed. secretary, writes a former superintendent.
Joshua P. Starr
4 min read
Vector illustration of people walking on upward arrows, symbolizing growth, progress, and teamwork towards success.
iStock/Getty Images
School & District Management Opinion How Social-Emotional Learning Can Unify Your School Community: 7 Timely Tips
It鈥檚 a stressful political season. These SEL best practices can help school leaders weather the unpredictable transitions.
Maurice J. Elias
4 min read
Modern digital collage of caring leader surrounded by positivity. Social Emotional learning leadership.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva