After-school learning, summer learning, and family involvement in learning are major predictors of children's development, educational achievement, and school success. The United States will not achieve its national goals of equal educational opportunity without addressing the importance of and inequities in out-of-school learning opportunities.…

The history of American early education is one of changing roles and goals. As federal engagement in early childhood has shifted in response to social, political, and economic needs, few policy efforts have focused on long-term planning or coordination. The authors identify the appropriate roles of federal, state, and local governments and make 13…

American education must prepare students for a world where the opportunities for success require the ability to compete and cooperate on a global scale. The federal government has played a critical role in fostering foreign language and area studies expertise at the post-secondary level. Now is the time for the federal government to engage in a…

The author of this article states that, for more than 20 years, public educators have developed a professional inferiority complex and a strong sense of hopelessness. After all, he claims, the dominant message over those years, including from some within the profession, has been that educators have caused the declining quality in public schools.…

Current Secretary of Education, appointed by President Bush in 2001, describes reasons for his appointment; congressional and administration efforts to pass Leave No Child Behind Act of 2001, a major federal legislative effort to reform American schools; and key provisions of the act. (PKP)

A summer reading list for teachers and policymakers including such books as "The View from Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg and "It Could Always Be Worse: A Yiddish Folktale" by Margot Zemach. (PKP)

Briefly describes the history and current status of the U.S. Department of Education. (Contains 30 references.) (PKP)

Secretary of Education from 1979-81 under the Carter Administration describes formation and early years of the U.S. Department of Education; discusses current and future challenges facing public education; and offers some ideas to help meet these challenges, such as building new K-12 schools with day-care centers. (PKP)

Explains how it is that the fruits of educational research and analysis, so insistently sought by Washington policy-makers, are so inefficiently used. Change will not occur in the manner originally envisioned: where a clear research result will quickly convert a set of coolly rational policy-makers. (Author/IRT)

Calls for increased Federal spending on health, education, and welfare as an alternative to present defense spending. (LR)

Terrel H. Bell, Albert Shanker, Terry Herndon, Thomas A. Shannon, and J. W. Peltason offer advice to the first secretary of the Department of Education. The department's organizational structure is briefly outlined. (IRT)

The speaker addresses some aspects of the concept "excellence" and outlines some actions that the federal government can take to promote excellence. (IRT)

Recommends changes in school governance and finance. (Author)