Archival Collections Related to Education Reform
Digitized Collections:
2009-0886-F: In 2016, the William J. Clinton Presidential Library released a Freedom of Information Act collection regarding education reform during the Clinton Administration. The collection focuses on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Goals 2000, the Improving America’s Schools Act (IASA), national standards, and test initiatives. The over 16,000 pages of archival material in this FOIA collection primarily consists of correspondence and background material. Correspondence regarding these educational reforms is primarily between President Clinton, the Domestic Policy Council, the Department of Education (including Secretary Riley), Congress, state government, local school boards, and grassroots organizations in favor or in opposition to these reforms. Topics in such correspondence concern budget allocation, implementation, legislative strategy, and proposals for education reform. View Education Reform Collection
2011-0103-S: Within the Domestic Policy Council, Andrew “Andy" Rotherham was Special Assistant to the President for Education Policy from 1999-2000. Before working for the Domestic Policy Council, Rotherham was Director of the 21st Century Schools Project for the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI). This series of Education highlights topics relating to class size reduction, test preparation, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, charter schools, the digital divide, distance learning, youth violence in schools, teacher salaries, social promotion, Hispanic education, standardized testing, and after-school programs. The records include reports, draft legislation, memoranda, correspondence to and from organizations and community leaders that focus on education issues, articles, publications, email, and fact sheets relating to the Administration’s progress on education. View Andrew Rotherham – Education Series Collection
2012-0160-S: Michael Cohen held the position of Special Assistant to the President for Education Policy within the Domestic Policy Council from 1996 to 1999. Cohen assisted with administration efforts to enact and implement Goals 2000. View the Michael Cohen Collection
2010-1110-S: Within the Domestic Policy Council, Caroline Chang was Associate Director for Domestic Policy working primarily with education issues. Caroline Chang’s records relate to teacher recruitment, class sizes, educational progress during the Clinton Administration, Hispanics in U.S. schools, internet filtering, and education appropriations. The records include memoranda, reports, publications, articles, emails, and legislative drafts. View Caroline Chang Collection
2013-0371-S: Within the Domestic Policy Council, Bethany Little served as an education adviser to President Clinton and Vice-President Gore. The collection highlights topics relating to education and Clinton Administration educational initiatives, literacy, teachers, religion in schools, affirmative action, Title IX, school desegregation, the State of the Union, jobs, universal preschool, immigration, and workforce development. The records include memos, printed emails, correspondence, press papers, press clips, articles, meeting notes, talking points, and papers. View Bethany Little Collection
The Kendra Brooks Collection is divided into three series: Correspondence Series, Printed Materials Series, and Subject Series. Kendra Brooks served on the Domestic Policy Council as Assistant Director of Domestic Policy for Education from October 25, 1999 until the end of the administration. Initially she served as a detailee from the Department of Education. She separated from that agency and transitioned into a White House employee on August 1, 2000. She worked on a variety of policy issues, including charter schools, school safety, higher education, Blue Ribbon Schools, the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), and the White House Initiative on Education Excellence for Hispanic Americans. The records include memoranda, reports, publications, articles, and email. View Kendra Brooks - Correspondence Series, View Kendra Brooks - Printed Materials Series, View Kendra Brooks - Subject Series.
Bruce Reed –Education Series: The files include material pertaining to national standards and testing; the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the 1999 efforts to reauthorize the Act; 100,000 teachers and class size; charter schools and vouchers; education events and forums; social promotion; Goals 2000; HOPE Scholarships; Pell Grants; the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999 (Ed-flex); education funding and budgets; and various school and teacher issues. The files contain correspondence, reports and articles, memos, polls, handwritten notes, email, schedules, printed material, and memos to the President. View Education Reform Collection
2006-0506-F: The U.S. Department of Education recognizes excellence in public and private elementary, middle, and high schools through the National Blue Ribbons Schools program. This collection consists of files relating to the Blue Ribbon Schools Ceremony on October 28, 1999. The records contain speech drafts, notes, memoranda, email, talking points, lists, schedules, and background information. View Blue Ribbon Schools Collection
2008-1269-F: President Clinton signed the School-to-Work Opportunties Act on May 04, 1994, which authorized the distribution of $300 million through the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Labor for fiscal year 1995 and other like sums in the subsequent years 1996 through 1999 in the form of development grants to states for school-to-work programs. The records consist of memoranda, correspondence, press releases, newspaper clippings, reports, draft legislation, and publications relating to the conception, introduction, and transition of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994. View School-to-Work Opportunities Act Collection
2011-0556-S: Within the Domestic Policy Council, Jonathan “Jon” Schnur served as the Associate Director for Education Policy from 1998-1999. In particular, Schnur worked in the Office of the Vice President with education issues relating to conferences, awards, and events. The records include conference agendas, articles, press releases, correspondence, memoranda, reports, publications, vice presidential speech transcripts, and emails. View Jonathan "Jon" Schnur Collection
2011-0581-S: Within the Domestic Policy Council, David Lussier was a White House Fellow in 2000. Lussier worked with education issues relating to school violence, Hispanic education, after-school programs, teacher quality, and the fiscal year 2001 budget. The records include fact sheets, press releases, articles, memoranda, reports, publications, emails, draft legislation, speech transcripts, and speech drafts. View David Lussier Collection
2011-0894-S: Within the Domestic Policy Council, Joshua Beck was a staffer who dealt primarily with issues relating to education. This collection highlights topics relating to education, literacy programs, Hispanic education, economic accomplishments of the Clinton administration, charter schools, school performance, and standardized testing. There are a significant number of items relating to news reports about Clinton administration education initiatives, as well as a significant number of education-related publications. The records include reports, draft reports, publications, memoranda, pamphlets, brochures, phone message slips, articles, notes, telephone directories, research papers, and news clippings. View Joshua Beck Collection
2011-0255-S: Within the Domestic Policy Council, Gaynor McCown was a White House Fellow from 1993-1994 and Senior Policy Analyst from 1995-1996. During her time as a White House Fellow, McCown was Special Assistant to the Secretary of Education and spent much of her time planning meetings and conferences between federal agencies, community leaders, and education organizations as well as attending education conferences and traveling to events to assist Secretary Richard Riley. As a Senior Policy Analyst for the Domestic Policy Council, McCown worked primarily with Education issues and assisted Carol Rasco as an education speech writer and event coordinator. McCown continued her work in Education advocacy after leaving the White House and served as the founding executive director of the Teaching Commission until her death in 2005. View Gaynor McGowan Collection
2017-1076-F: This collection consists of material related to the 1998 Higher Education Act Reauthorization. It was originally enacted as part of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society domestic program in 1965. It contains correspondence, memoranda, newspaper articles, handwritten notes, charts, reports, lists, press releases, agendas, and emails. Topics of these documents include student loan proposals, Pell Grants, loan forgiveness, schools as lenders, and the role of community service in student loan deferment. View 1998 Higher Education Act Reauthorization Collection
2023-0644-S: This collection highlights Jacqueline "Jackie" Lain’s work on Clinton administration education issues including strategies to improve Hispanic student achievement, organizing materials used for education briefings, White House education tours, and her work on the White House Conference on Hispanic Education. The collection contains correspondence from state agencies, school boards, and education advocates, emails, fact sheets, press releases, faxes, memoranda, news articles, handwritten notes, briefing materials, talking points, reports, and invitation lists.