-
https://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/files/original/982413023f2f187982e6bb8fab75ab61.pdf
9e39e014823914d171642bc86ba109e7
PDF Text
Text
t
:t'j,j
'-l'i
FOIA Number: 2006-0462-F
FOIA
MAR~~~R
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin':
Speechwriting
Series/Staff Member:
Terry Edmonds
Subseries:
OA/ID Number:
10987
FolderiD:
. Folder Title:
Campaign for Universal Literacy 9/27/96 [2]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
s
0
0
0
0
�Withdrawal/Redaction Sheet
Clinton Library
DOCUMENT NO.
AND TYPE
SUBJECTffiTLE
DATE
RESTRICTION
001. list
Motorcade Lineup (I page)
08/23/96
b(7)(E)
002. note
Handwritten note (partial) (1 page)
nd
P6/b(6)
COLLECTION:
Clinton Presidential Records
Speechwriting
Terry Edmonds
OA/Box Number:
I 0987
FOLDER TITLE:
Campaign for Universal Literacy 9/27/96 [2]
2006-0462-F
r 665
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act- ]44 U.S.C. 2204(a)]
Freedom of Information Act -15 U.S.C. 552(b)l
I' I
1'2
1'3
P4
b(l) National secul"ity classified information [(b)(l) of the FOIAI
b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
an agency ](b)(2) of the FOIAI
b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIAI
b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
information ](b)(4) of the FOIA]
b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy ](b)(6) of the FOIAI
b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes ](b)(7) of the FOIA]
b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
financial institutions ](b)(8) of the FOIA]
b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
concerning wells ](b)(9) of the FOIA]
National Security Classilied Information ](a)(l) of the PRA]
Relating to the a1Jpointment to Federal oflice ](a)(2) of the I'RA]
Release would violate a Federal statute ](a)(J) of the I' RAJ
Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
linancial informution ](a)(4) of the I'RAl
PS Release would disclose conlidential udvice between the President
and his advisors, or between such advisors ]a)(S) of the I'RA]
1'6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy ](u)(6) of the PRA]
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed
of gift.
I'Ri\'1. Personal record misfile deli ned in acco•·dance with 44 U.S.C.
2201(3).
RR Document will be reviewed upon request.
·;fi; '- - • • ,
.
I
I
�AUG 23 '96
P.2/4
04:35PM OFFICE OF SECRETARY
Summary of Ameriea's Reading Challenge:
Campaign for Universal Reading Success Among Young Children
HELPING ALL CWLDREN READ INDEPENDENTLY AND WELL BY THE END OF
THE THIRD GRADE. President Clinton's new Reading Challenge calls to the entire nation to
meet the goal of helping all children read independently and well by tl1e end ofthird grade. The
centerpiece of this challenge is the President's call for individualized extra help after school and
during the.summer for young children in grades K-3 who fall behind in reading.
HELPING PARENTS TO BE THElR Cllll..D'S FIRST TEACHER
•
For the nation's children to be successful readers, every parent must take on the
responsibility of being their child's frrst teacher. This means reading together at least
30 minutes a day, getting a library card for their child and using it, limiting television
viewing and tuning in to educational programs, and getting the support they need to be
the best parents they can.
'
To give parents the helping hand they need to do right by their children, the President's
reading challenge would provide support for effective grassroots efforts that help
parents help their children become successful readers. All parents would be given
access to infonnation on effective things they can do to help their children read -reading· aloud to younger children, playing word games, sounding out words, having
books, newspapers and magazines in the home. In addition, some conununities would
·receive funding develop more intensive parent support efforts, such as parent drop-in
centers, Parents as Teachers and HIPPY programs that help parents l~am how to help
their pre-schoolers be ready to learn to read and their school-aged children learn to
read.
BUILDING A NATIONAL COMMITMENT TO UNIVERSAL LITERACY
•
While parents are their children's primary educators, helping every child become a
successful reader by the end of third grade is everybody's business. That's why the
President is challenging the entire nation to take action to meet this goal. The PTA, the
Girl Scouts, the Urban League, churches and synagogues, the nation's 16,000 libraries,
business, civic organizations all have an important role to play. Many have already
launched efforts to improve reading. [add Pizza Hut, RW'N coalition]. And, a grQwing
nwnber of states and communities are initiating their own initiatives to promote children's
reading success, including Texas, Maryland, California, Georgia, Boston, Baltimore and
New York City.
•
. Add paragraph on new specific challenges POTUS will make. Examples to choose from
are:challenging the technology community to develop/make available high-quality reading
software; a commionent national orianizations -- ie, Urban League, Boys & Girls Club,
br
AARP, PTA, civic associations - to organize 200,000 volunteer tutors to jump start the
�AUG 23 '96
P.3/4
04:35PM OFFICE OF SECRETARY
tutoring program~ weekly pages on tips for reading and op-eds by major newspapers; a
challenge to schools of education to make ongoing improvements in how they train their
students to teach reading. } (Question:: should someone try to contact some orgs about this
today to get people to stand up on Tuesday to say are doing some of this)
EXPANDING HEADSTART TO ONE Mll..LION TIIREE AND FOUR YEAR OLDS
ADD BULLET ON HEADSTART HERE
.
AFTER~SCHOOL & SUMMER HELP FOR ANY CHILD IN GRADES K-3 WHO WANTS
AND NEEDS IT:
•
This reading effort would mobilize 1 million volunteer tutors to provide extra reading
help- after school and during the summers -for the miUions of children in grades K-3
behind in reading. Federal support would be available for the trained reading specialists
and tutor coordinators to provide instruction, organize school and community-based
reading programs, and recruit and train volunteers. Schools whose students receive this
help would be challenged to enhance their regular reading programs.
•
Building on the· successes ofNational Service-- Americorps, RSVP and other service
progr:ams -- in developing and coordinating effective tutoring progtams, most of the tutor
coordinators and some reading specialists would be National Service participants assigned
to assist communities in their reading efforts. In addition, thousands of Foster
Grandparents, RSVP Senior Volunteers and national service college volunteers would
assist in coordinating tutoring programs or would provide individualized tutoring.
ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY FOR RESULTS
•
Every two years the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) will measure the
reading perfonnance of 4th graders, showing the nation's and each state's progress toward
meeting the challenge. The ultimate target is all 4th gra4ers reading at a basic level and
many more reading at a proficient leveL Proposed NAEP improvements would make
available bi-annual information on national and state-level reading performance.
•
Parents in every state will know how the reading performance of fourth graders in their
state compares to those in other states. States that fail to show improvement in reading
scores over time will be required to review and improve their reading programs, and,
ultimately, would loose funding if progress is not made.
$2.5 BU..LION FUNDING TO HELP REACH THE GOAL
•
States and communities must do their part by showing their commitment to enhancing their
reading programs during tho regular school day in support of' uni..,ersalliteracy_ Funds:
would be distributed to states that demonstrate this commitment based on number of
· children and need. States would th~ distribute funds to local communities based on need
as well as quality of propMal~.
�spend reading to them are some of the most precious moments we will ever know. So, take
time to spend time -- turn off the TV and read to your kids at least 30 minutes a day. And
make sure they get a library card. They will get more out of this gift than anything we will
ever give them.
While parents are their children's primary educators, helping every child become a
successful reader by the end of the third grade is everybody's business. That's why my plan
will support effective grassroots efforts that help parents help their children. I am challenging
the entire nation to take action to meet this goal. The PTA, the Girl Scouts, the Urban
League, religious institutions, the nation's 16,000 libraries, businesses and civic organizations
-- we all have a role to play. Many have already launched efforts, and a growing number of
states are rising to meet this challenge. But we need more grassroots involvement from every
sector of society.
This is the way America has always met its challenges --people working together in
their communities to protect our values and honor our commitments to each other.
If we take the actions I am proposing today, in the Year 2000, a diploma will mean
something: That every American child, educated anywhere in this country, has attained a
satisfactory level of knowledge and reading and math skills. A high school diploma will
proclaim to the world: this child has earned it.
For America to prosper and grow in the new century, it is imperative that every child
is able to read up to his or her highest level. This is more important than it has ever been in
our county's history because at this moment we are moving at a rapid rate toward a new
century. We are moving into an entirely different economy -- one that is more global and
more competitive. We are moving away from the Industrial Age into the Information and
Technology Age. And we are moving into an era where most people will be working with
their minds far more than their hands, and many of them will be working in businesses and
industries that have not even been invented yet.
In this environment, literacy is not a luxury -- it is basic to expanding opportunity for
all our citizens. If our children cannot read, they will not be able to apply or qualify for the
good jobs that await them. They will not be able to take advantage of the enormous
opportunities of this exciting new economy. We have got to meet this challenge -- and we
have got to do it together.
The future of our children and our nation depends on our success.
�DRAFT
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
CAMPAIGN FOR UNIVERSAL LITERACY
BACON MEMORIAL LIBRARY
WYANDOTTE, MICHIGAN
AUGUST 27, 1996
Acknowledgments: Congressman John Dingell, Senator Carl Levin ...
Today, we stand on the edge of a new century. A time of great challenge and change, but,
especially, a time of remarkable possibility for all our people. My fellow Americans, I am as
confident as I have ever been that the future ahead is bright, brighter than all the days of our
magnificent past.
In every city and town of our great land Americans are rising up and coming together to
meet the challenges of our times-- and conquer them. We are doing it in a way that honors our
legacy by protecting our values, but looks to the future by embracing new ideas. It is not a
Democratic approach or a Republican approach -- it is a truly American approach.
They're having a great time in Chicago right now. I can't wait to get there, and I'm glad
I'm going on this train trip, because I want all Americans to see what's happening all across our
country ... America is on the right track to the 21st century!
As we take this trip through the heartland, we are seeing Americans in all walks of life,
mastering our challenges with new solutions based on old values. My Administration set out to
give our people the tools to meet our challenges. [cops, schools, econ, enviro]
We are coming together around our common values: Opportunity for all Americans to
build a great future, and responsibility from all Americans to make the most of it. That's the basic
bargain of America. And it thrives when we come together as a community. These are the values
that guide millions of Americans across our country every day, and they must guide America into
the future.
When I took office, our economy wasn't creating enough opportunity. Unemployment
was nearly eight percent; the deficit was out of control; new jobs were scarce. We put a
comprehensive economic plan in place to get the American economy back on track: cutting the
deficit, shrinking government, expanding exports, and investing in our people.
Look at the results: America is selling more cars than Japan for the first time in a decade.
The combined rate of inflation, unemployment, and mortgages is the lowest in 30 years. We have
cut the deficit by 60 percent. America has created more than 10 million new jobs. In [state
unemployment.] We cut taxes for 15 million working families, including more than ... And real
1
/.
�-- - - - - - - ---- ----
--------~-~-----------~~
hourly wages are starting to rise for the first time in a decade.
We have seen recently just how much we can do when we put aside partisan politics and
use common-sense. In the last five days, I signed bipartisan legislation to reform health care so
families will never again be denied health insurance because a family member is sick; to end
welfare as we know it; and to give 10 million Americans a raise, by increasing the minimum wage.
Now we must press forward.
Let us extend this season of progress by balancing the budget and meeting one of the
most important challenges we face-- improving the education of our children.
Education has always been one of the crowning values of America. We are a country
that says to its young people -- if you get a good education and work hard, there is nothing
you can not achieve. And as America takes its place in the new global economy, it is clear
that education is more important than ever before. Education is literally the fault line that
separates those who will prosper from those who cannot in the 21st century. That is why over
the last four years, my Administration has spared no effort to improve the quality of American
education and expand the opportunity for all Americans to get the education they need to
succeed.
We strengthened and expanded Head Start. We helped schools raise standards for basic
and advanced skills. We introduced School-to-Work that prepares young people for careers in
college. We created safe, drug-free and disciplined schools. We have proposed putting
computers, and software and teachers who know how to use them in every classroom in
America -- and hooking every school to the Internet by the dawn of the new century ..
Proposed $5 billion to help communities repair broken down schools and build new ones.
Direct loans that make it cheaper and easier for students to borrow the money they need to go
to college.
I believe that the best tax cut is one that is targeted to education. That's why I have
proposed A $10,000 tax deduction for families to help pay for education after high school.
And we must make 14 years of education the standard for every American. That is why I
have proposed a $1,500 tax cut for Americans, modeled after Georgia's successful HOPE
scholarships, to guarantee the first year of tuition at a typical community college, and the
second year if individuals earn it by maintaining a B average. These efforts are beginning to
pay off. National math and science scores are up. SAT scores are up -- the SAT scores in
math are now at a 24-year high. ACT scores have gone up three times in the last four years.
Half of all four-year -olds now attend preschool. And 88 percent of all our young people are
completing high school.
But, in the next four years, we must do even more to make sure America has the best
public schools on earth. Why? Because this fall more children will fill our schools than ever
2
�before [51.7 million] and we will see record enrollments for the next 10 years. We must start
by setting high standards and high expectations for teachers and students. America's students
can be the best in the world, if we give them the right standards, the right support and the
right environment. This is so important. All the economic opportunity in the world will not
matter unless we have students who can read and write and think at world-class levels.
The first step our children must make up the ladder of opportunity is to master the
basics. We spent the last decade working hard to improve our national math and science
scores -- and those scores are up. But reading scores for young children have stayed flat.
Now we must make reading a national priority. Reading is the most basic of basics. A child
who never learns to read, will grow into an adult who never has a chance. We know that kids
who learn to read well early get the solid foundation they need to graduate from high school.
They are less likely to drop out, and more likely to become productive citizens. Kids who
learn to read well by the third grade will be the ones who will more likely participate in the
high tech world of the 21st century. Let's remember, you can't surf the Internet if you don't
know how to read.
We have to help our children take this essential first step. I believe that every
American child should be able to read independently by the third grade. Today, 40 percent of
our children are not learning the basics of reading by 3rd grade. Some learn late; some never
really learn at all. And surprisingly, some of these kids are the children of college graduates.
We can do better-- but only if we all work together in a spirit of community that recognizes
that every child is precious and every child deserves a chance to succeed.
That is why today, I am challenging Americans from all walks of life to make sure that
all our children can read independently by the third grade. I am proposing a national literacy
campaign that must involve every sector of our society -- businesses, religious institutions,
colleges and universities, civic organizations, the media, the nation's 16,000 libraries, and
individuals, including our senior citizens. We want to mobilize parents and 1 million
volunteer tutors to provide extra reading help, after school and during the summer, for the
millions of children in grades K-3 who are behind in their reading. Our goal is to give every
young person who needs it up to 100 extra hours of good tutoring.
The first step in fulfilling this goal is to encourage every parent and every grandparent
in America to be a tutor. Parents are the first teachers our children know. And moments we
spend reading to them are some of the most precious moments we will ever know. So, take
time to spend time-- tum off the TV and read to your kids at least 30 minutes a day. And
make sure they get a library card. They will get more out of this gift than anything we will
ever give them.
While parents are their children's primary educators, helping every child become a
successful reader by the end of the third grade is everybody's business. That's why my plan
will support effective grassroots efforts that help parents help their children. I am urging every
3
�community to respond to this challenge. We know that there is no problem in America that
has not been solved somewhere -- including poor reading among our young people.
During the 1995 school year, 25 AmeriCorps members tutored 128 second graders in
reading in Simpson County, Kentucky. With their help, students made almost 3 years of
progress in reading comprehension in one school year. This is a remarkable achievement-and we need to help communities all over the country achieve those same results.
The hard work has to be done at the grassroots level. But communities cannot do this
alone. That's why my proposal calls for $2.15 billion that will go to states to help
communities recruit and train volunteer tutors. As they did in Simpson County, the National
Service Corps will play a leading role in helping to recruit and coordinate these tutors. This is
happening with other groups all over America -- and many states are making childhood
literacy a major priority. But reading must be everyone's business.
I want to challenge employers to allow their employees to take time off so they can
volunteer as tutors in schools. I challenge television broadcasters to devote some of the three
hours each week they have already pledged to use for children's programming to shows
designed to help young children learn to read. And I challenge technology corporations to
develop and make available to libraries, schools and families, high-quality reading software for
young children.
This is the way America has always met its challenges -- people working together in
their communities to protect our values and honor our commitments to each other.
Helping our children to read is more important than it has ever been in our country's
history because at this moment we are moving at a rapid rate toward a new century. We are
moving into an entirely different economy -- one that is more global and more competitive.
We are moving away from the Industrial Age into the Information and Technology Age. And
we are moving into an era where most people will be working with their minds far more than
their hands, and many of them will be working in businesses and industries that have not even
been invented yet.
In this environment, literacy is not a luxury -- it is basic to expanding opportunity for
all our citizens-- especially immigrant children who need this essential tool of citizenship. If
our children cannot read, they will not be able to apply for or qualify for the good jobs that
await them. They will not be able to take advantage of the enormous opportunities of this
exciting new economy. We have got to meet this challenge-- and we have got to do it
together. The future of our children and our nation depends on our success.
I want you all to think about what kind of future you want for your children, about what
kind of country you want America to be in the 21st century. That's what this election is all about.
Are we going to meet our challenges and protect our values to make the 21st century the future
4
�we want for our children? All across America, people are coming together and saying, "Yes."
New solutions for new challenges-- guided by values as old as America. We've got more
to do, and we are going to do it. I look to the future and I am filled with confidence. I want this
train trip to show all Americans what you see every day in Wyandotte -- America is on the right
track to the 21st century!
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
5
�-------------------------
----
--
-
-----------------
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
CAMPAIGN FOR UNIVERSAL LITERACY
BACON MEMORIAL LIBRARY
WYANDOTTE, MICHIGAN
AUGUST 27, 1996
Acknowledgments: Congressman John Dingell, Senator Carl Levin ...
Today, we stand on the edge of a new century. A time of great challenge and change,
but, especially, a time of remarkable possibility for all our people. My fellow Americans, I am
as confident as I have ever been that the future ahead is bright, brighter than all the days of our
magnificent past.
In every city and town of our great land Americans are rising up and coming together to
meet the challenges of our times-- and conquer them. We are doing it in a way that honors our
legacy by protecting our values, but looks to the future by embracing new ideas. It is not a
Democratic approach or a Republican approach -- it is a truly American approach.
They're having a great time in Chicago right now. I can't wait to get there, and I'm glad
I'm going on this train trip, because I want all Americans to see what's happening all across our
country ... America is on the right track to the 21st century!
As we take this trip through the heartland, we are seeing Americans in all walks of life,
mastering our challenges with new solutions based on old values. My Administration set out to
give our people the tools to meet our challenges. [cops, schools, econ, enviro]
We are coming together around our common values: Opportunity for all Americans to
build a great future, and responsibility from all Americans to make the most of it. That's the
basic bargain of America. And it thrives when we come together as a community. These are the
values that guide millions of Americans across our country every day, and they must guide
America into the future.
When I took office, our economy wasn't creating enough opportunity. Unemployment
was nearly eight percent; the deficit was out of control; new jobs were scarce. We put a
comprehensive economic plan in place to get the American economy back on track: cutting the
deficit, shrinking government, expanding exports, and investing in our people.
Look at the results: America is selling more cars than Japan for the first time in a decade.
The combined rate of inflation, unemployment, and mortgages is the lowest in 30 years. We have
cut the deficit by 60 percent. America has created more than 10 million new jobs. In [state
unemployment.] We cut taxes for 15 million working families, including more than ... And real
1
�Pf;j:::J}
and we need to help communities all over the coun
results.
~
~·
~
. The hard work has to be done at
sroots lev . ut communities cannot do this
alone. That's why my proposal calls fo~billi
hat will go to states to help
~'-:;
communities recruit and train volunteer tutors
s they did in Simpson County, the National
<:!,. . IJ
Service Corps will play a leading role in helping to recruit and coordinate these tutors. This is ~%
happening with other groups all over America -- and many states are making childhood
.
~
literacy a major priority. But reading must be everyone's business..
This is the way America has always met its challenges --people working together in
their communities to protect our values and honor our commitments to each other.
Helping our children to read is more important than it has ever been in our country Is
history. because at this moment we are moving at a rapid rate toward a new century. We are
vmg into an entirely different economy -- one that is more global and more co ·etitive.
We are moving away from the Industrial Age into the Information and Technol y Age. And
we are moving into an era where most people will be working with their min far more than
their ?ands, and many of them will be working in businesses and in~s t .ateave no~n
been1~~~tJb ,jl-
---~·
~
.
·
·
~~d'
~
I want you all to think about what kind of future you want for your children, about what
kind of country you want America to be in the 21st century. That's what this election is all
about. Are we going to meet our challenges and protect our values to make the 21st century the
future we want for our children? All across America, people are coming together and saying,
"Yes."
New solutions for new challenges-- guided by values as old as America. We've got more
to do, and we are going to do it. I look to the future and I am filled with confidence. I want this
train trip to show all Americans what you see every day in Wyandotte -- America is on the right
track to the 21st century!
4
~
~
~
'~
~;fq
~
1
~
~
~ if;4t10
· ·
. not a 1uxury -- 1t
..1s bastc
. to expan mg opportumty 10r
. envn:omnent,
.
1teracy IS
In th IS
ll our citizens,.......lf our children cannot read, they will not be able to apply for or qualify for
the good jobs that await them. They will not be able to take advantage of the enormous
opportunities of this exciting new economy. We have got to meet this challenge -- and we
have got to do it together. The future of our children and our nation depends on our success.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
;g
---r,-
I'
�MAKING· MICHIGAN A BETTER
PLACE TO LIVE AND WORK
America Is Moving In the Right Direction Under President Clinton
•
Stronger Economy. The combined rate of unemployment and inflation is at its lowest level since 1968.
•
10.2 Million New Jobs. The economy has created more than 10.2 million new jobs under President
Clinton. Private sector job growth rate nearly 8 times greater than during previous Administration.
•
Renewed Growth in Key Industries. After a decade of enormous job losses in construction,
manufacturing, and autos, these industries have made a remarkable recovery -- more than one million new
jobs combined under President Clinton.
•
Deficit Cut in Half. The President's economic plan will cut the deficit for four years in a row for the first
time since Harry Truman was President -- the largest reduction in 'history.
·
•
Keeping Guns Away from Criminals. More than 60,000 fugitives and felons blocked from buying
handguns because President Clinton fought to pass the Brady Bill.
•
Safer Communities. The crime rate is down: violent crime fell 4 percent in 1995 -- the largest decline in
more than a decade, and the number of murders decreased 8 percent -- one of the largest drops in three
decades.
•
Stronger Families. Teen pregnancy is falling, the poverty rate is decreasing, and the number of people on
welfare is declining.
Michigan Is Moving In The Right Direction Under President Clinton
•
Unemployment Rate in Michigan Has Declined from 7.4% to 4.5%.
•
361,500 New Jobs in 41 Months -- Over 4 Times More Than the Entire Previous Administration.
•
Consumer Confidence Is Up 82%, After Dropping During the Prior Four Years.
•
Crime is Down. In Detroit, the number of reported robberies fell 21% in 1995. In Flint, the number of
reported murders dropped 29%.
•
$15,000 of Reduced Federal Debt for Every Family of Four in Michigan. The President's economic
plan is reducing the federal debt for each family of four by about $15,000.
•
392,321 Working Families Receive a Tax Cut. The President's expanded Earned Income Tax Credit is
helping 392,321 working families make ends meet.
•
1,121 New Police Officers in Michigan. The President's Crime Bill puts 1,121 new police officers on the
street, strengthens drug courts helping keep adult and juvenile offenders from cycling through the legal
system, and helps protect women and children from domestic violence and sexual offenders.
•
1,502,000 Workers Protected by Family and Medical Leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act allows
workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth of a child or to care for a sick family member.
This law covers about 1,502,000 workers in Michigan.
August 5, 1996
�Author: Judy Wurtzel at WDCTOl
Date;
8/24/96 11:23 AM
·
Priority: Normal
TO: Kevin Sullivan at WDCBOl
Subject: challenges
Message Contents ----------------------------The Presdient challenges:
-- 1 million Americans from all walks of life to volunteer to tutor
young children in reading;
-- employers to develop policies that enable their employees to get
involved in learning and volun~eer in schools;
-- television broadcasters to devote some of the three hours each week
they have already agreed to use for children's programming to shows
designed to help young children learn to read;
-- technology corporations to develop andmake available to libraries,
schools and families high-quality reading software for young children;
�AUG 24 '96
P.Z/4
11:57AM OFFICE OF SECRETARY
· ·r···.'
:S~mp
e. Ji··ex. t·\;i.G'
. . ra·d-~·:4·~·;.,.:
. . _,.: . . .·:··:::.:- ................:~··: ··:.......,. ;<.
= ...: ·:·· ·:,.. ·:· ....... ,.••
! --...• ,;
.. ··.:·,
·····.
HUNGRY SPIDER .AND THE TURTLE
by Harold Courlander and George Herzog
Spider was a hungry one, he always wanted to eat. Everybody in Ash anti knew about his
appetite. He was greedy, too, and always wanted more than his share of things. So people
~red clear of Spider.
,
But one day a stranger came to Spjder's habitation out in the back country. His name was
Turtle. Turtle was a long way from his home. He had been walking all day in the hot sun, and
he was tired and hungry. So Spider had to invite Turtle into his house and otTer him something
·~
to eat. He hated to do it, but if he didn't extend hospitality to a tired traveler it would get
u~ound the .countryside and people would soon be talking about Spider behind his b~ck.
So he sa1d to Turtle:
· ·
·
''There is water at the spring for you to wash your feet in. Follow the trail and you'll get
there. I;ll get the dinner rc;;ady."
·
Tunle mrned and waddled down to the spring with a gourd bowl as fast as he could. He
dipped some water from the s-pring and carefully w;~shed his feet in it. Then he waddled back
up rhe trail to the house. But the trai~ was dusty. By the time Turlle got back to the house his
feet were covered with din again.
Spider had the food all set out. It wa~> steaming, and the smell of it made Turtle's mouth
water. He h::t.dn'r eaten since sunrise. Spider looked disapprovingly at Turtle's feer.
·'Your feel are awfully diny," he said. ''Don't you think you ought to ~·ash them before
you start to eat?"
Tun~e looked at his feet. He was ashamed, they were so dirty. So he turned around and
waddled as fast as he could down to the spring again. He dipped some water out of the spring
with the gourd bowl and carefully washed himself. Then he scurried as fast as he could back
to the house. But it takes a turtle a while ro get anywhere. When he came into the house ·Spider
was already eating.
"Excellent meal, isn't it?-' Spider said. He looked at Turtle's feet with disapproval. ''Hm.
aren't you going to wash yourself?"
Turtle looked down at his feet. In his hurry to get back he had stirred up a lot of du~t, and
his feet were covered with it again.·
"I washed them," he said. ~·1 washed them twice. It's your dusty trail that doe:s it."
"Oh,'' Spider said, "so you are abusing my house now!" He took a big mouthful of food
I
and chewed it up, looking very hurt.
·~No:· Turtle said, sniffing the food, "I was just explaining."
"Well, run along and wash up so we can get on with the eating,'' Spider said.
Turtle looked. The food was already half gone and Spider was earing as fast as he could.
I o
r~
I
l
\'
1
.
.'·
,,.
,''I, to
''
.
'I·' ,,1 ~
I
1
\1 11
l
i
�RUG 24 '96
11=57RM OFFICE OF SECRETRRY
P.3/4
Turtle spun around ~md hurried down to the spring. He dipped up some water in the gourd
bowl and splashed it over his feet. Then he scrambled back to the house. This time he didn'[
go on the traiL though. but on the grass and through the bushes. It took him a little longer,
but he didn't get dusr all over his feet. When he go~ ro the house he found Spider licking his
lips.
''Ah, what a fine meal we had!" Spider said.
Turtle looked in the dish. Everything was gone. Even the smell was gone: Turtle was very
hungry. But he said nothing. He smiled.
·•Yes, it was very good,"' he said. ··You al'ecertainly good to travelers in your village. if you
are ever in my country you may be assured of a welcome."
"'lr's nothing," Spider s:iid. "Nothing at all.''
Turtle went away. He didn't tell other people :1bout the affair at Spider's house. He was
very quiet about his experience there.
But one day many months lat¢r Spider ,·va.s a !ong distance from home and he found
himself in Turrle's country. He found Tmtle on the shore or the lake getting a sunbath.
·•Ah, friend Spider. you .;u•: [:J.r frorn ynur ·;ill:..:.gl!. ·· Turtk said. ·'Will you have something
to eat with me?"
"Yes. that is the way it is when a per'lon i:; f::lr from home-generosity merits generosity,"
. Spider said hungrily.
··wait here on the shore and I'll go below and prepare the rood;' Turtle said. He slipped
into the water and went down to the bottom of the lake. When he got there he. set our the food
1.0 eat. Then he came to the top of the water and said to Spider, who was sitting impatiently
on the shore, "'All right, everything is ready. Let's go down and eat.., He put his head under
'
.
warer and swam down.
·'
Spider was famished. He jumped into the water ro follow Turtle. But Spider was very light.
He floated. He splashed and splashed, kicked and kicked, but he stayed righ£ there on top of
the water. For a long time he tried to get down where Turtle was .::aring, but nothing
happened.
After. a while Turtle came up, lickjng his lips.
·'What's the matter, aren't you hungry?" he said. "'The food is very good. Bener hurry:·
And he went down again.
Spider made one more desperate try, but he just floated. Then he had an idea. He went
back to the shore, picked up pebbles and put them in the pockets of his jacket. He put so many
pebbles in his pockets that he becarp.e very heavy. He was so heavy he could hardly walk. Then
he jumped into the water again, and this time he sank to the bottom, where Turtle was eating.
The food. was half gone. Spider was very hungry. He was just reaching for the food when
Tunle said politely:
'
' I
~
I
I
I
I
I.
\
•···:• 'I
'\'
,•'
I,
I' '·llv\,
•
,,,
�AUG 24 '96
P.4/4
11:58AM OFFICE OF SECRETARY
"Ex.cuse me, my friend. In f!lY country we never eat with our jackets on. Take off your
jacket so that we can get down to. business."
Turtle took a great mouthful of food and stan~d chewing. In a few minutes there ~ouldn't
be anything left. Spider was aching all over with hunger. Tunle took another mouthfuL So
Spider wriggled our of his coat nnd grabbed at the iood. But without the pebbles he was so
\ight again that he popped right up to the top ot' the water.
People always say that one good meal deserves anothe('.
Harold Courlander: '"Hungry Spider and the Turtle"",
from Tire Co•,,. Tail SwiJCh & Orller Wesr African Stories.
Copyright© 1987 by Henry Holt and Company, Inc.
Reprinted by permission of 1he publisher.
o/
""'
\
1 ,,1,
I
II."
{
1
I,
0 ...
'~
I
ol
I
•.. ,•:t.. •
,'1
·~-·.
' ·'
,•'
�....
DRAFT
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
CAMPAIGN FOR UNIVERSAL LITERACY
BACON MEMORIAL LffiRARY
WYANDOTTE, MICHIGAN
AUGUST 27, 1996
Acknowledgments: Congressman John Dingell, Senator Carl Levin ...
Today, we stand on the edge of a new century. A time of great challenge and change, but,
especially, a time of remarkable possibility for all our people. My fellow Americans, I am as
confident as I have ever been that the future ahead is bright, brighter than all the days of our
magnificent past.
In every city and town of our great land Americans are rising up and coming together to
meet the challenges of our times-- and conquer them. We are doing it in a way that honors our
legacy by protecting our values, but looks to the future by embracing new ideas. It is not a
Democratic approach or a Republican approach -- it is a truly American approach.
They're having a great time in Chicago right now. I can't wait to get there, and I'm glad
I'm going on this train trip, because I want all Americans to see what's happening all across our
country ... America is on the right track to the 21st century!
As we take this trip through the heartland, we are seeing Americans in all walks of life,
mastering our challenges with new solutions based on old values. My Administration set out to
give our people the tools to meet our challenges. [cops, schools, econ, enviro]
We are coming together around our common values: Opportunity for all Americans to
build a great future, and responsibility from all Americans to make the most of it. That's the basic
bargain of America. And it thrives when we come together as a community. These are the values
that guide millions of Americans across our country every day, and they must guide America into
the future.
When I took office, our economy wasn't creating enough opportunity. Unemployment
was nearly eight percent; the deficit was out of control; new jobs were scarce. We put a
comprehensive economic plan in place to get the American economy back on track: cutting the
deficit, shrinking government, expanding exports, and investing in our people.
Look at the results: Am~rica is selling more cars than Japan for the first time in a decade.
The combined rate of inflation, unemployment, and mortgages is the lowest in 30 years. We have
cu!)h€~deftci by 60 percent. America has created more than 10 million new job~'__-.
Uilemployment.] ·-e cut taxes for 15 million working families, including more than ...~1
1
�,_;
hourly wages are starting to rise for the first time in a decade.
We have seen recently just how much we can do when we put aside partisan politics and
use common-sense. In the last five days, I signed bipartisan legislation to reform health care so
families will never again be denied health insurance because a family member is sick; to end
welfare as we know it; and to give 10 million Americans a raise, by increasing the minimum wage.
Now we must press forward.
Let us extend this season of progress by balancing the budget and meeting one of the
most important challenges we face-- improving the education of our children.
Education has always been one of the crowning values of America. We are a country
that says to its young people-- if you get a good education and work hard, there is nothing
you can not achieve. And as America takes its place in the new global economy, it is clear
that education is more important than ever before. Education is literally the fault line that
separates those who will prosper from those who cannot in the 21st century. That is why over
the last four years, my Administration has spared no effort to improve the quality of American
education and expand the opportunity for all Americans to get the education they need to
succeed.
We strengthened and expanded Head Start. We helped schools raise standards for basic
and advanced skills. We introduced School-to-Work that prepares young people for careers in
college. We created safe, drug-free and disciplined schools. We have proposed putting
computers, and software and teachers who know how to use them in every classroom in
America -- and hooking every school to the Internet by the dawn of the new century ..
Proposed $5 billion to help communities repair broken down schools and build new ones.
Direct loans that make it cheaper and easier for students to borrow the money they need to go
to college.
I believe that the best tax cut is one that is targeted to education. That's why I have
proposed A $10,000 tax deduction for families to help pay for education after high school.
And we must make 14 years of education the standard for every American. That is why I
have proposed a $1,500 tax cut for Americans, modeled after Georgia's successful HOPE
scholarships, to guarantee the first year of tuition at a typical community college, and the
second year if individuals earn it by maintaining a B average. These efforts are beginning to
pay off. National math and science scores are up. SAT scores are up -- the SAT scores in
math are now at a 24-year high. ACT scores have gone up three times in the last four years.
Half of all four-year -olds now attend preschool. And 88 percent of all our young people are
completing high school.
But, in the next four years, we must do even more to make sure America has the best
public schools on earth. Why? Because this fall more children will fill our schools than ever
2
�before [51. 7 million] and we will see record enrollments for the next 10 years. We must start
by setting high standards and high expectations for teachers and students. America's students
can be the best in the world, if we give them the right standards, the right support and the
right environment. This is so important. All the economic opportunity in the world will not
matter unless we have students who can read and write and think at world-class levels.
The first step our children must make up the ladder of opportunity is to master the
basics. We spent the last decade working hard to improve our national math and science
scores -- and those scores are up. But reading scores for young children have stayed flat.
Now we must make reading a national priority. Reading is the most basic of basics. A child
who never learns to read, will grow into an adult who never has a chance. We know that kids
who learn to read well early get the solid foundation they need to graduate from high school.
They are less likely to drop out, and more likely to become productive citizens. Kids who
learn to read well by the third grade will be the ones who will more likely participate in the
high tech world of the 21st century. Let's remember, you can't surf the Internet if you don't
know how to read.
We have to help our children take this essential first step. I believe that every
American child should be able to read independently by the third grade. Today, 40 percent of
our children are not learning the basics of reading by 3rd grade. Some learn late; some never
really learn at all. And surprisingly, some of these kids are the children of college graduates.
We can do better-- but only if we all work together in a spirit of community that recognizes
that every child is precious and every child deserves a chance to succeed.
That is why today, I am challenging Americans from all walks of life to make sure that
all our children can read independently by the third grade. I am proposing a national literacy
campaign that must involve every sector of our society -- businesses, religious institutions,
colleges and universities, civic organizations, the media, the nation's 16,000 libraries, and
individuals, including our senior citizens. We want to mobilize parents and 1 million
volunteer tutors to provide extra reading help, after school and during the summer, for the
millions of children in grades K-3 who are behind in their reading. Our goal is to give every
young person who needs it up to 100 extra hours of good tutoring.
The first step in fulfilling this goal is to encourage every parent and every grandparent
in America to be a tutor. Parents are the first teachers our children know. And moments we
spend reading to them are some of the most precious moments we will ever know. So, take
time to spend time -- turn off the TV and read to your kids at least 30 minutes a day. And
make sure they get a library card. They will get more out of this gift than anything we will
ever give them.
While parents are their children's primary educators, helping every child become a
successful reader by the end of the third grade is everybody's business. That's why my plan
will support effective grassroots efforts that help parents help their children. I am urging every
3
�~~~--------
.. .,,
'
------
•...:-
community to respond to this challenge. We know that there is no problem in America that
has not been solved somewhere -- including poor reading among our young people.
During the 1995 school year, 25 AmeriCorps members tutored 128 second graders in
reading in Simpson County, Kentucky. With their help, students made almost 3 years of
progress in reading comprehension in one school year. This is a remarkable achievement-and we need to help communities all over the country achieve those same results.
The hard work has to be done at the grassroots level. But communities cannot do this
alone. That's why my proposal calls for $2.15 billion that will go to states to help
communities recruit and train volunteer tutors. As they did in Simpson County, the National
Service Corps will play a leading role in helping to recruit and coordinate these tutors. This is
happening with other groups all over America-- and many states are making childhood
literacy a major priority. But reading must be everyone's business.
I want to challenge employers to allow their employees to take time off so they can
volunteer as tutors in schools. I challenge television broadcasters to devote some of the three
hours each week they have already pledged to use for children's programming to shows
designed to help young children learn to read. And I challenge technology corporations to
develop and make available to libraries, schools and families, high-quality reading software for
young children.
This is the way America has always met its challenges -- people working together in
their communities to protect our values and honor our commitments to each other.
Helping our children to read is more important than it has ever been in our country's
history because at this moment we are moving at a rapid rate toward a new century. We are
moving into an entirely different economy -- one that is more global and more competitive.
We are moving away from the Industrial Age into the Information and Technology Age. And
we are moving into an era where most people will be working with their minds far more than
their hands, and many of them will be working in businesses and industries that have not even
been invented yet.
In this environment, literacy is not a luxury -- it is basic to expanding opportunity for
all our citizens -- especially immigrant children who need this essential tool of citizenship. If
our children cannot read, they will not be able to apply for or qualify for the good jobs that
await them. They will not be able to take advantage of the enormous opportunities of this
exciting new economy. We have got to meet this challenge-- and we have got to do it
together. The future of our children and our nation depends on our success.
I want you all to think about what kind of future you want for your children, about what
kind of country you want America to be in the 21st century. That's what this election is all about.
Are we going to meet our challenges and protect our values to make the 21st century the future
4
�we want for our children? All across America, people are coming together and saying, "Yes."
New solutions for new challenges-- guided by values as old as America. We've got more
to do, and we are going to do it. I look to the future and I am filled with confidence. I want this
train trip to show all Americans what you see every day in Wyandotte -- America is on the right
track to the 21st century!
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
5
�(o'Vl ~"'-k
~
\cwY'j
I
'•.
~··
'
G-A wccr.AJS,
�PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
LABOR DAY RALLY
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN
SEPTEMBER 2, 1996
Acknowledgments: Senator Herb Kohl; Senator Russ Feingold; Jerry McAtee,
President of AFSCME.
It is great to be here with so many wonderful families to celebrate the end of a glorious
summer and the beginning of a new season. Labor Day has become one of America's most
treasured annual traditions. A time when families and communities, like yours, come together
to renew our commitments to each other and to get ready for the coming harvest. I have spent
the last few weeks harvesting the spirit of America, by visiting with working families all
across this country. My train and bus trips took me through the heartland where I saw the
face of America. And I touched the hands that will build our bridge to the 21st century.
The 21st century is just 4 years away. This is a time of great challenge and .
opportunity. We want to build a bridge to the future, not the past. And we need that bridge
to be wide enough and strong enough so that all Americans can crossover. This bridge can
only be built by strong families and strong communities, rolling up their sleeves and working
together.
Building strong families is what the Family and Medical Leave Act is all about. We
need to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act to allow parents to take time off to take
��~-
~
~~
~~b~~~l_.·-~
14o
their kids to the doctor or attend parent-teacher conferences. We should clean up two-thirds of
toxic waste sites. Our children should grow up next to parks, not poison. We should extend ~
health care to those who become unemployed. And we should balance the budget and do it ~
without undercutting Medicare, Medicaid, education and the environment.
~
But, as our children prepare to go back to school, I want to talk with you about the
most important thing we can do to prepare them to cross the bridge into the 21st century. We
must give our children the best education in the world.
We have had a comprehensive strategy to renew and reform education. We expanded
Head Start for preschoolers . . . shrunk class size and improved teacher training . . . expanded
<)"I (\ ·
anti-drug education and prevention programs ... imposed a "zero tolerance" policy for
guns." We have thrown open the doors of college, wider than ever. We created the direct ~
student loan program, which has cut costs and paperwork for millions of students ... we
~ LO. M
expanded Pell Grants for deserving students ... we created AmeriCorps, which has given
~
50,000 young people the chance to earn their way through college through community service.........w~
have more to do.
I want to build a bridge to the 21st century where computers are as much a part of the
classroom as blackboards, where highly trained teachers demand peak performance from our
students, where every eight-year-old can PC?int to a book and say, "I can read it myself."
By the year 2000, the single most critical thing we can do is to give every single
American who wants it the chance to go to college. We must make two years of college just
as universal as a high school education is today. We can do it -- and we should cut taxes to do
it.
I propose a $1500 a year tuition tax credit for Americans, a Hope Scholarship for the
first two years of college to make the typical community college education available to every
American. I believe every working family also ought to be able to deduct up to $10,000 in
college tuition costs per year for education after that. I believe that the families of this country
ought to be able to save money for college in a tax-free IRA. And they ought to be able to
withdraw it for college without penalty.
But we must demand excellence at every level of education, both for students and
teachers. We should reward teachers that are doing a good job, and remove those who don't
measure up. But, none of us would be here if it were not for our teachers. We shouldn't bash
teachers, we should lift them up.
We must insist that our students learn the old basics that we learned and the new
2
�basics they have to know for the next century. Did you know that 40% of our 8-year-olds
cannot read as well as they should? We cannot allow this to go on. That is why, last week, I
challenged America to set a national goal: All Children should be able to read on their own by
the third grade. I want to send 30,000 reading specialists and national service corps members
to mobilize a voluntary army of one million tutors to teach our children to read. Will you
work with us to build that bridge?
And we should commit that every classroom and library will be connected to the
information superhighway by the Year 2000. Computers will allow children in the poorest
and most isolated communities to reap the world's knowledge. We have already worked with ·
volunteers in California to wire 1/5 of that state's schools in one day. Will you work with us
to build that bridge?
_~ t ... 1
z, "}
.e.- . L/ .. ~ -
..;
,_ ..,) ~
But in today's world, we know that education no longer stops on graduation day. That
is why I have proposed a G.l. Bill for American workers-- a $2600 grant for unemployed and
underemployed Americans so they can get the training and skills they need to go back to work
at better paying jobs. That is how we build a bridge to the 21st century that everyone can
cross.
Now, let me say that these tax cuts and initiatives are all fully paid for in my balanced
budget plan, line by line and dime by dime.
Finally, let me say that we can only build our bridge to the 21st century if we build it
together. Education is one way to do that. But living up to our promise as a land of
opportunity for all is just as important. America is home to people from every ethnic and
religious background in the world. But in America, diversity equals strength, not division.
We still have too many Americans who give in to their fears of those who are different from
them. We have seen the terrible price we pay when we fall into that trap. But we have we
have also seen us grow stronger as we have steadily let more of our hatreds and fears go.
That is why the flame of our Statute of Liberty, like the Olympic flame carried all
across America by thousands of citizen heroes, will always burn brighter than the fires that
burn our churches, our synagogues, our mosques.
~_.;
So, on this Labor Day, let us rededicate ourselves to building bridges of unity and
community. If we work together, as one America, we can build a strong and prosperous
bridge to the 21st century. Will you do it?
Thank you and God bless America.
3
�PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
CAMPAIGN FOR UNIVERSAL LITERACY
BACON MEMORIAL LIBRARY
WYANDOTTE, MICHIGAN
AUGUST 27, 1996
Acknowledgments: Congressman John Dingell, Senator Carl Levin ...
Today, we stand at the dawn of a new century. A time of great challenge and change,
but especially, a time of remarkable possibility for all our people. My fellow Americans, I am
as confident as I have ever been that the future ahead is bright, brighter than all the days of
our magnificent past.
They are having a great time in Chicago right now. I can hardly wait to get there.
And I can think of no better way to get there than to travel through our heartland, making
stops along the way in towns like Wyandotte to see what is happening all across our country.
America is on the right track to the 21st century.
In every city and town of our great land, Americans are coming together to meet the
challenges of our times. We are doing it in a way that protects our time-tested values, but
looks to the future by embracing new ideas. Opportunity for all Americas -- responsibility
from all Americas. That is the basic bargain of America. And it thrives when we come
together as a community.
On this journey, I have seen citizens taking responsibility to make their streets. safer by
working with the community police officers we're putting on the beat. Small business(owners
and big corporations, creating more opportunity through new jobs made possible by increased
exports to mar~ets we have opened. Teachers, parents and principals, joining us as p~itners to
set the highest standards in our schools. And everywhere we go, we see living proof ~hat
when America is united, nothing can stop us.
·
\
Just think about the enormous progress we have made together over the last four years.
The economy is stronger, the deficit is lower, and government is smaller. We began this
journey by putting a comprehensive economic plan in place to get the American economy back
on track. We were determined to make sure all Americans have the opportunity to share in
the benefits of today's economy: cutting the deficit, shrinking government, expanding exports,
and investing in our people.
We have also seen recently just how much we can do when we put aside the rancor of
partisan politics and use the common-sense approach of the American people. Last week, I
signed bipartisan legislation to reform health care so that workers won't lose coverage when
they move to a better job; to end welfare as we know it, and to reward work by raising the
m1mmum wage.
1
�- - - - - - -
prosper from those who cannot in the 21st century. That is why over the last four years, my
Administration has spared no effort to improve the quality of American education and expand
the opportunity for all Americans to get the education they need to succeed.
We prevented budget cuts that would have crippled our efforts to double the size of
Head Start, to increase remedial reading and math and to double the number of anti-drug
counseling programs in our schools. We are committed to putting computers and software and~
techoo-legicaHy-dt.'ained-teaehers in every classroom by the Year 2000. Our efforts )lare paid
~t..IJ ~t~
off. National math and science scores are up. SAT scores are up. Half of all four~fear -olds
-~
now attend preschool. And 86 percent of all our young people are completing hig~ school.
14~
.~~~~
.
But, m the next four years, we must do even more to make sure Amenca has the best ~~
public schools on earth. That begins with setting high standards and high expectations for
~
teachers and students. America's students can be the best in the world, if we give them the
T~~
.right standards, the right support and the right environment. This is so important. All the
economi~ opportunity in the world will not matter unless we have students who can read and
write and think at world-class levels.
The first step our children must make up the ladder of opportunity is to master the
basic skills of reading and writing. In the year 2000, I see an America where every third
grader can read and write. Today, 40 percent of our children cannot read or write by the 3rd
grade. Some learn late; some never really learn at all. We must set our children free.
The train trip that we are taking to Chicago reminds me of the childhood classic, "The
Little Engine That Could." It is the story about a tiny engine that beat the odds by telling
willing itself with the words, "I think I can, I think I can" to climbing a steep mountain to
deliver Christmas toys for children. It is a story about courage and tenacity and exceeding
your limits. It is a tragedy that many of our young people today are not able to capture the
wonder and wisdom of that story simply because they have not learned how to read.
We can change this, if we all work together in a spirit of community that recognizes
that every child is precious and every child deserves a chance to succeed.
I am proposing a bold literacy program: To hire 50,000 reading specialist for our
schools where too many students read below grade level. Theywill recruit and train volunteers
to create and education army of 1 million people to teach our ~hildren to read.
We will provide the funds to keep schools open from early in the morning until early at
night, so young people can stay off the street and develop the skills to live good lives.
This is the way America has always met its challenges -- people working together in
their communities to protect our values and honor our commitments to each other.
If we take the actions I am proposing today, in the Year 2000, a diploma will mean
something: That every American child, educated anywhere in this country, has attained a
�.
'
Aug-23~96
01:12P DINGELL FOR CONGRESS
313 291
9717
P.01
FORD-BACON HOME
WYANDOITE, MICHIGAN
�Aug-23-96 01:12P DINGELL
FOR CONGRESS
313 291
9717
P.02
....
~·
I
The Wyandotte Herald of December 31, 1897, accu-
.,
rately predicted that Edward Ford's new residence on
the corner of Biddle Avenue and Vine Street ''will be
nor only a source of enjoyment to its occupants, but a
credit and pride to the entire city. • After all these years
the Ford-Bacon Home remains an architectural showplace and a
"credit and pride" to the people of Wyandotte.
.~
I
The Ford-Bacon Home sits on four city lots which were originally
part of a 2,100 acre tract of land owned by War of 1812 veteran Major
John Biddle. In 1854 Biddle sold his estate to Eber Ward, the founder
of the Eureka Iron Company and the Village of Wyandotte. The four
lots then passed through a series of owners before Edward Ford and
.•.
his wife Carrie purchased them from Wyandotte pioneer Wiliam H.
'
.
lacy in April 1897. Construction on the house began immediately,
and the Fords were able to move into their new home in early 1898.
Edward Ford, son of Capt. J. B. Ford and president of his father's
Michigan Alkali Company (an early predecessor of BASF Corporation), remained in Wyandorte for only a short time. Only recently
retired as president of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Edward
Ford moved toToledo to found the Edward Ford Plate Glass Company
(now part of the libbey-Owens-Ford Company).
Following his
departure in 1900, Edward's son John B. Ford lived in the house with
his family for a brief period until 1902.
The principal residents of the Ford-Bacon Home were lawyer and
politician Mark Reeves Bacon and his wife Mary ford Bacon, the
daughter of Edward Ford. The Biddle Avenue mansion was their yearround address until 1927 when they began to spend their winters in
Pasadena, California. In 1942, a year after her husband'sdeath, Mary
Ford Bacon deeded the home and property to the Wyandone Board
of Education for use as a public library.
The Ford-Bacon Home was designed by the Detroit architectural
firm of Malcom:<>on and Higginbotham. (This firm also designed the
Ford-MacNichol Home directly across Biddle Avenue). Their final
design called for a spacious 62' x 95' building which included 27
rooms and 1 1 fireplaces.
The Queen Anne style house was to
~r
•'
�A~g-23~96 01~13P DINGELL FOR CONGRESS
313 291
9717
P.03
..
r..
f
.··~
8
FIRST
II.
FLOOR PLAN
r•"
ORIGINAL BUILDING
.
•
o.
''·
'·
.ln ~1
SECOND FLOOR PLAN
'·~
MALL
ORIGINAL
BUILDING
�ALlg-23--96
01: 13P
DINGELL
FOR
CONGRESS
313
291
9717
P.04
•
\.
1.
'f
l
incorporate the most modern conveniences and the finest construction materials available.
The exterior of the horne features buff-eolored St. Louis hydraulic
pressed brick with red sandstone trim. A wide, mosaic tile porch
extends along the west and north sides of the house, and on the east
side, an observation tower provides an impressive view of the river.
An arched brick carriage port, similiar in design to the tower, was
....
'
''·,
originally attached at the north side of the building. The house was
topped by a black slate roof which has since been replaced.
Upon entering the oak-paneled VESTIBULE (l) and opening a
heavy, oak door flanked by leaded glass panels, one stood in the
entrance hall between the RECEPTION ROOM (2) and the PARLOR
(3). The reception room was in the oriental style, and features lhe
home's largest fireplace and mantel. The parlor was decorated in
green and gold with brocaded satin walls. The ceiling contained oil
..,
·~
I
·,
paintings displaying cupids surrounded by garlands of roses.
The DINING ROOM (4) held the most lavish appointments. Although golden oak was used in most of the house, mahogany with
silver trim was used in the dining room. Large columns at opposite
ends of the room and a beamed ceiling are striking features of the
room. Blue tapestries covered the walls, with matching plush curtains
over the row of small windows running along the south wall. On the
end walls were murals of fall and winter scenes, flanked by smaller
pieces representing the chase and its trophies.
The LIBRARY (5) was ac:ross from the dining room. The walls ofthe
library were of silk velour, and the ceiling was decorated with four
emblematic designs representing Art, Commerce, Architecture, and
Science. Built-in bookcases with leaded glass doors run along two
walls, and there is an ornately carved fireplace mantel.
The BILLIARD ROOM (6) featured oak paneling and window seats
along two sides of the room. The cues were placed in special niches
on the east wall. The hallway running between the library and the
billiard room led to the carriage entrance.
The KITCHEN (7) area was roomy, yet practical. One of the special
features of the kitchen was the built-in refrigerator which received icc
\
.\
�..----~~~~~~-
-------------
Aug-23~96
~~~~----------------~-~~~--~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~---
01:13P DINGELL FOR CONGRESS
313 291 9717
directly from the outside of the building. The refrigerator walls were
of white glazed tile as was the kitchen's wainscoting. To the sides of
the kitchen were the SERVANT'S DINING ROOM (8) and a STORAGE-PREPARATION AREA (9) which was connected to the BUTLER'S
PANTRY (1 0) by a passthrough.
The second floor contained the sleeping chambers used by the
family and their guests. Of the bedrooms used by the family, one was
decorated in old rose with bed and window draped in matching silk.
A second bedroom was oriental in style, while another one was in
apple green with decorations of apple blossoms. A fourth family
bedroom was in lavender and green, with decorations of lilacs and
wisteria. Of the two rooms intended for guests, one was finished in
colonial style and contained Ford family heirlooms. The other guest
chamber was in blue with garlands of roses as decorations.
Between each two sleeping chambes was a bathroom, the decorations of each conforming with those of adjoining rooms. All had white
glazed tile floors and wainscotings. The walls above the tile had
paintings representing marine life, e.g., a school of fishes, marsh grass,
etc. The appointments included marble washbasins and gold·plated
fixtures.
The second floor also contained a walk-in liNEN CLOSET {11) and
a STUDIO or sun room (12) which was off the large rear bedroom.
Access to the second floor was by two stairways, a steep, narrow
BACK STAIRCASE (13) and the beautiful, oak-carved FRONT STAIRCASE {14). The front staircase features a stained glass design facing
· the landing.
The third floor of the home was largely unfinished. This floor did
contain two bedrooms for servants as well as a room bui It entirely out
of cedar which was used for storing out of season clothing. (There
were additional apartments for servants on the second floor of the
carriage house-garage located across from the house on Vine Slreet).
The third floor also provided access to the observation tower.
The Ford-Bacon Home was built with a number of conveniences
throughout. The house contained light fixtures which were fined for
both gas and electricity; the gas for these fixtures was manufactured
P.OS
.,
f
,....
'
:!·
·-'
f.
:,,
r.,_.
I
.
I
�Aug-23~96
01:13P DINGELL
FOR CONGRESS
313 291
9717
P.06
.·
on the premises. The home was steam heated and featured a steam
laundry in the basement complete with an early clothes dryer. There
was also a filter through which every drap of water used in the house
first passed.
In 1962 the Mark Reeves and Mary Ford Bacon Memorial Room
was added to the rear of the ford-Bacon Home and serves today as
the main library facility. Since 1962 the Ford-Bacon Home has been
used for meeting rooms, storage, office space, and special collections,
such as the local History and Max Schwartz Collections. Self-guided
tours may be taken daily 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Guided tours are offered the
first Saturday of each month at 10 a.m. from October through May.
Arrangementc; for lours at other times may be made for interested
groups.
..
'
'•
.•
·'
t
~·l
BACON MEMORIAL DISTRICT LIBRARY
45 Vinewood
Wyandotte, Michigan 48192
(313) 246-835 7
�"';,;-.
..- • ••
~
I
I
I
Withdrawal/Redaction Marl(er
Clinton Library
DOCUMENT NO.
ANDTYJ>E
001. Jist
DATE
SUBJECT/TITLE
Motorcade Lineup (I page)
. 08/23/96
RESTRICTION
b(7)(E)
COLLECTION:
Clinton Presidential Records
Speechwriting
Terry Edmonds
OA/Box Number: I 0987
FOLDER TITLE:
Campaign for Universal Literacy 9/27/96 [2]
2006-0462-F
r 665
RESTRICTION CODES
!'residential Records Act - 144 U.S.C. 2204(a)l
Freedom of Information Act- (5 U.S.C. 552(b)l
I' I
P2
1'3
1'4
b(t) National security classified information ((b)(t) of the FOIAJ
b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
an agency ((b)(2) of the FOIAI
b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute ((b)(3) of the FOIAI
b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
information [(b)(4) of the FOIAI
'b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy ((b)(6) of the FOIA[
b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes J(b)(7) of the FOIA(
b(S) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
( financial institutions ((b)(S) of the FOIA[
b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
concerning wells J(b)(9) of the FOIA[
N:1tional Security Classified Information l(a)(t) of the I'RAI
Relating to the appointment to Federal office J(a)(2) of the I' RAJ
Release would violate a Federal statute l(a)(3) of the I'RAI
Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
linancial information J(a)(4) of the I'RAI
1'5 Rl'ieasc would disclose confidential advice between the President
and his adviso•·s, or between such advisors Ja)(S) of the I' RAJ
1'6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
pcrsonai1Jrivacy ((a)(6) of the PRAI
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed
of gift.
I'RM. Personal record mislile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C.
2201(3).
RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
, ......... ,...
h:!'l.
.,
1
\;
�PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
CAMPAIGN FOR UNIVERSAL LITERACY
AUGUST 27, 1996
d~~()-r1-
Today, we stand o~ge of a new century. A time of great challenge and change,
but especially, a time of remarkab_lSEossiblity for all our people. My fellow Americans, I am
as confident as I have ever been t~he future ahead is bright, brighter than all the days of our
&vk J.
_0/}n ~d
But as mu~~
magnificent past.
/
They are going to have a great time in Chicago over the next few days.
I'd like to be there, I wanted to take this train trip more, because I want all Americans ,!_o see~ ~,
what is happening all across our countr~. America is on the right track to the 21st century.
~(
s ,, -+Y~-~~~
-----
In every ·ty and town of our great land, Americans are r~ing w~ aA€1-coming together
to meet the challe es of our times -~El SBR~Jer theJP. We are doing it in a way that )lemrrs
Udi legacy ey prote ·
our values, but l~s to the future by embracing ne~deas. It is not
a Democratic aw
or a Republican~~- My a trait Am~ric n a~~~gt.@@. in
4
m.0fiean values :ttid hispiteu by a vision of temmrruw.
71- ;,
'
·tt\lW"'
-.
(l
pi6!11~
~ .AA/~-r~
~
~
#"{~
~
~~
~~~J
~:er-tht:fm~~r:rdays ~e-lre goi
i.e
will~-rican m ll wal
0 li_fe, r" in up _to the hallenges w~ fac~ at the dawn of the ,
21 st ce
, an mast mg em Ith new utions
endur
values. ~~ ("'----- )_
·~min s~!--:-:ec~.mt· , .e-eu. eop ~~e t o "S:.ttfin'"
~e~chaUen~es-,-amf~eople ~~~
to see hb.w.==thel:f.::Ileighbm::s-are-·ustl}g-tl10se-teel
-:-'-"Citlznes takmg responsibility to
make their streets safer by worKing with the community police officers we're putting on the
d~
beat. Small business owners and big corporations, creating more opportunity through new
jobs made possible by increased exports to markets we have opened. Teachers, parents and
+1'P~ ..
principals, joining us as partners to set the highest standards in our schools. And everywhere
we go, we ~see living proof that when America is united, nothing can stop us.
~
1
~
Just think about the enormous progress we have made together over the last four years.
The rconomy is stronger, the deficit is lower, and government is smaller. We began this
~ t1
journey by putting a comprehensive economic plan in place to get the American economy back ~~
on track. We were.determinedj to make sure all Americans have the opportunity to share in
/AA.cJte_
the benefits of today's economy: cutting the deficit, shrinking government, expanding exports, ~
and investing in our people.
~
__._,.. -A-vJ aJ..<... .. ,.c ~
.
)/
Look at the results: Detroit is selling niore cars than Japan for the rst time in a
~
decade. 4,4 million more Americans own their own home. Exports h e surged to record
/U-,._,
levels on the strength of over 200 trade agr~
We have cut t federal government by -f';~
almost 240,000 people, making it the smal'lest in 30 y rs. We
e cut the deficit by 60
y_:q~
percent-- it is now th4 smallest sineethe year Ronald eaga ook office. America has created
~O..mil~s~
0
•
(.!,./We have also seen recently just how much we can do when we put aside the rancor of
�24
�AUG 23 '96
.-~-1I
P.l/4
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
'•
I
04:34PM OFFICE OF SECRETARY
OfFlCE OF HIE SECRETARY
..
FAX TRANSMI'ITAL
TO=-----~~=-r-~~VY1~\J~Yl~[J.::::::.:~~---.:_
ORGANIZATION:_ _ _~~~~~::!....!.....!._!,___~=---
PHONE NUMBER: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
FAX NUMBER:._ _---=-C(_J{;----=;.__~_--_)_0......,9~·----
~::....--~_V·_,\'V)_ _S_-.J_\_)1_\J_Q_V\_:__._____
FROM:. _ _
PHONE NUMBER:_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
MESSAGE: ______________~----------------
CQNFIIJEN1JAI,ITX NOTICE
THlS TRANSIIJSSION IS INTENDED FOR AND RESnUCIED TO THE
NAMED ADDRI'SSEE ONLY. IT MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL AND/OR
PRIVILEGED INFORMATION. IF YOU RECEIVE TBlS TRANSMISSION IN
ERROR. YOU ARE NUIU'IED THAT YOU ARE PROHIBITED FROM
READING, COPYING, OR DISSEMINATING THE TRANSMISSION.
PLEASE CALL 202-401·3000 TO ARRANGE FOR RE'nJBN OP ANY
TRANSMISSION SET IN ERROR. THANK YOU.
3
400
f6\ql{$} TO FOLLOW
M.Aa~D /4.~ ..
~----~----------------~--
S.W. ,._,ASHDCGTOlf. I>.C.
20~oz
�(:j)~J,f= I DC:NTJ/\
·
.
.
J
DETE~MINED TO BE AN
L---ADMINISTRATIVE MAf~KING
INITIALS:~ DATE: l lj 14/-Di
CAMPAIGN FOR UNIVERSAL ITERACY AMONG YOUNG CHILDREN
Executive Summary
The President could call for a nationwide literacy campaign to help all children read
independently and well by the end of third grade.
This campaign would focus national attention on the importance of universal literacy and
mobilize individuals and organizations in communities and states nationwide to become
meaningfully involved in helping all children to read. A centerpiece of the campaign would be
for 1 million volunteer tutors to provide extra reading help -- after school and during the summer
--for all children in grades K-3 who want and need it-- with federal support available for over
50,000 trained reading specialists/tutor coordinators to provide instruction, organize school and
community-based reading programs, and recruit and train the volunteers. This would amount to
approximately one reading specialist/coordinator for every elementary school that needs one.
The campaign also would include nationwide efforts to raise public awareness and commitment
to achieve the goal of universal literacy, as well as targeted strategies to support family literacy,
enable teachers to teach reading effectively to all children, and promote enriched preschool
expenences.
Thi:> initiative builds off continuing efforts by the President and Secretary Riley to improve
American education with a strong locus on basic literacy. Last Febru:1ry, in his mmual ·State 01
Education" speech, Secretary Riley defined improving "literacy" as his hi!Shest priority.
President Clinton has spoken to this issue 0'1 three nccasi0ns (the Ed·ucati0n Sumn-~it, :he Blue
Ribbon Awards, and the Father's Day R..adio Address) and spec:fically endorsed the goal that all
children reaJ independently by the end of third grade in his remarks at the Blue Ribbon School
Awards Ceremony last May. A growing number of states and school districts are placing a new
emphasis on chilclren's lii.eracy, including Colorado, Califmnia, Georgia, Boston and New York.
City.
Highlights of Campaign
•
Calling for After-School and Summer School Help for Any Child in Grafjes K-3 Who
Wants and Needs It:
The President would call for funding for after-school and summer reading help for all
children behind in reading-- including training and widespread recruitment of volunteers.
support for tutors. and reading specialists, and appropriate reading software and materials.
This initiative would make possible the effective mobilization of 1 million volunteers to
provide extra reading help for millions of children across the c0untry.
�•
Strengthening Parental Involvement, Otlter Community Institutions and Programs to
Help Young Children Read:
The campaign could support targeted efforts to expand parent training and family
literacy; strengthen library literacy programs, educational TV programming, and learning
software; enrich preschool; and sharpen the focus of federal programs on reading.
•
Building National Commitment to Universal Literacy: Public Information and
Outreaclt:
Activities include: building a widespread coalition of organizations committed to helping
all children read; launching a public awareness campaign (through the bully pulpit, print
and electronic materials, and a new reading web site); increasing parents' and others'
understanding of basic and more advanced reading text: and calling for better preparation
of teachers to teach reading.
•
Assessment and Accountability for Results:
Assessment and accountability \Viii be based on the National Assessment of Education
Progress (NAEP) with the goal of helping all children read at the basic level and many
more children read proficiently.
Budget Estimates:
Section III of this proposal presents two budget options. The first option-- which would
enable the initimive to go to full-scale immediately. It would provide approximately $1.6
billion per year beginning in F'{98, the vast bt~:k of which-- $1.3 billion-- would be
available for the after-school an'-l summer ~1rograms. $300 million would be provided lO
strengthenmg parental involvem·::nt and other comJnur,ity i11Stitutions, $1 (J lc1r buildmg a
natior.al commit1rd.::nt to universal literacy, and ~: 11 million for NAEP impro\'ements.
Under Opiion #2, funding would be phased in over 4 years, reaching $1.6 billion a year
by 2000-0 I ($400 million in F'r"98. $800 million in FY99 and S 1.2 billion in FY2000 for
a total of$4 billion over 4 years).
/.
�CAMPAIGN FOR UNIVERSAL LITERACY AMONG YOUNG CHILDREN
I. Why a campaign for universal literacy among young children
•
In 1994, 40% of 4th grade students failed to attain the basic level of reading on the
National Assessment of Educational Progress. 70% did not attain the proficient level.
(see Attachment 2 for a description ofNAEP reading levels).
•
Although reading problems are particularly severe for disadvantaged students, they are
not limited to this population. 32% of fourth-graders whose parents graduated from
college are reading at or below the basic level. Students who have difficulty reading
represent a cross-section of American children.
•
Almost 3/4 of the 2.1 million children with learning disabilities have reading difficulties.
•
Over 60% ofparents and almost 70% of teachers believe that reading is the most
important skill for students to Jearn.
•
Greater parental support for their child's literacy success makes a significant difference.
A new study, Reading Literacy in the United States, demonstrates this: fourth-grade
average reading scores \Vere 46 points below the national average where principals
judged parental involvement to be low, but 28 points above the national average where
parental involvement was high-- a difference of 74 points. Even when other factors such
as parents' education were taken into account, the phenomenon remained.
•
lmprcving liteJ"acy among young cnitdren would:
Increase the academic performance of students and :.ml~1ck ti1eir potential to leam
throughout their school years.
Reduce the number of children who need to be retained in their grade.
Reduce the ncmber of students identified and treated as learning disabled, thereby
also reducing special education costs.
•
Improving reading also can improve significantly discipline in classrooms and schools.
Evidence suggests that many discipline problems result from students doing badly in
school which is a consequence of their inability to read.
•
A reading initiative would provide another access point for reaching the 2.8 millicm
children with limited English proficiency-- many of whom are immigrants-- who r.eed
to Jearn English. 73% of all LEP students are Spanish speaking.
1
�'!'
t·
...
II. Major Components of a Literacy Campaign
The goal of this campaign would be straightforward: to help all children read independently and
well by the end of third grade. The campaign's m~jor strategies for achieving this goal include:
A. After-School and Summer School Help for Any Child in Grades K-3 Who Wants
and Needs It
The programmatic centerpiece of a national literacy campaign would be voluntary afterschool and summer school help for all students in grades K-3 falling behind in reading.
•
After-school and summer programs would provide approximately 6.4 million
students in grades K-3 the extra help they need to develop their literacy skills and
reach the basic level of reading performance. Any child in kindergarten or
behind in reading in 1st through 3rd grade could choose to participate.
•
Volunteer tutors and reading specialists, with parental involvement, would form
the heart of these after-school and summer school programs. The President could
call for 1 million volunteers (ie., senior citizens, church and civic groups,
professionals, college students etc ... ) to tutor in these programs. There also would
be over 50,000 reading specialists. tutoring coordinators and aides-- amounting to
approximately one reading specialist/tutoring coordinator for each of the
elementary schools (K-3) that needs one. (There are approximately 50,000
elementary schools providing K-3 education.)
Federal support for tutors. reading specialists and other stctff who mobilize, lrain
a11cl coordinate volunteers wo11ld Lie availa~1k to schvols and communities that
ckmonstrate their serio'Js commitment to enhance their reaJing programs during
th~ rewlar school davin support ofuniversalliteracv. Funded prog1ams also
shouJJ:
help parents of participating children work with their children to increase
ti1eir liLera~y and, wh~re needeJ, pro·;iJe 1'cl.mily litc~·acy training.
link with the preschools of participating students and with reading
instruction in the primary grades and beyond.
emphasize adequate training for the volunteer tutors.
engage interested primary school teachers in hands-on, experienti2l
professional development. Involvement in these programs would allow
teachers to renew their teaching strategies in reading and language
development and talk among themselves as a profession. (Currently there
2
�'/
are approximately 800,000 K-3 teachers many of whom are free during the
summer and may participate in these programs).
promote connections with parents, between schools and libraries, between
community based organizations and schools, along with others. Local
groups can leverage funds and, by sharing resources, can lower costs of
providing services.
•
The advantage of summer and after-school programs are: they extend, not replace,
learning time in schools; leverage efforts to promote full day, full year community
schools for students and their families; address the problem of the lack of
adequate day care, child care and positive experiences for young children after the
end ofthe school day; and provide children with additional "safe havens."
•
How these after-school and summer programs are implemented will vary widely.
Some communities will develop programs that rely extensively on computer
technology. Other communities may run programs through the public libraries or
public housing projects, develop programs using senior citizens as literacy
mentors, or enlist church groups to tutor. States, districts and schools may also
have the 1lexibility to use additional funds for in-school reading programs (ie.,
Success for All) or other options, such as full-day kindergarten or expanded
professional development, to teach reading in more effective ways.
Cost Estimate:
I~J\
~
~ \-- ~ y--- \/
.
cJ-5
\?·dA~o
\Ve estimate that this extra support would run approximately S 1.3 billion a ye::Jr
(Section Ill presents two budget options-- one of which wouid i'ully 1'und 1h1s
amount during the first year of the initiative; the other wo~lid phase-in the ~'unding
over a four-year period).
$1.3 biili0n would provide up to I 00 hours of tutoring a year for each of the
approximately 6.4 million children in grades K-3 who need ~xtra reading help (40
percent of s~udents curr~ntly scores b.31Gw the basic :cvel oa th~ NAEP).
•
We estimate that with $1.3 billion, the campaign could fund 30,000 half-time
reading specialists (at a full-time salary of $40,000) and 22,000 full-lime
volunteer coordinators and other reading aides ($20,000 full-time salary). This
leaves 20% of the $1.3 billion for mate:-ials development, softwa!'e, professional
development, and other nonsalary expenditures.
•
Costs would c:wer training of volunteer tutors by experie!1ced reaciing specialists,
soliciting and coordinating volunteer tut0rs, stipends for co! lege students, costs
for paraprofessionals, and other costs of instruction. Schools and other tutoring
3
�- - - - - - - - - - - - -
----
sites would provide facilities, transportation, and other logistical support.
•
In addition, the President's proposed increases in work study and his continued
strong support for National Service could play an important role in leveraging the
expansion of the pool of tutors and volunteer coordinators.
For example, raising the total number of students iiwolved in work study
from 700,000 to over one million, as the President proposes, coupled with
the current 5% community service requirement, would enable 15,000 more
college students to serve as reading tutors. Investing an additional $8.5
million of federal work study funds targeted to these programs would
enable 10,000 more students to be reading tutors (at $860 per student).
The same size investment in Americorps could support app:-oximately
1500 Americorps volunteers who could play an economical role in
organizing and training volunteers ($6000 per Americorps slot).
See Attachment 1 for additional funding details.
Fundinu ivlechanism:
There are a number of funding vehicles that would build on existing programs.
One option v-muld be to distribute funds based on the number of students
receiviJ1g Free and Reduced Price Lunch in the state (and encourage programs to
prov~Je after school snacks and summer meals to students in need). Funds could
also be an addendum lO the consolidated education plans recently ceveloped by 49
states. distributeu in the same proponiun as tne overali amuum of feJera: doliars
each ~~tate rece!vcs for the programs that c<:<n be included in the r:onsol!dated plan.
Options for how states could distribute functs include giving funds to one or more
broad-based coalitions of organizations that are currently, or interested in,
providing after-school or summer reading help or sending down 70% of the funds
to disi.ricts and schools and 30% ~o community orga.nizations
B. Strengthening Parents, Other Community Institutions and Programs to Help
Yo:mg Children Read:
In addition to ~hese major activities, there are additional targeted activities that will prove
integral to effective 1:ationwide reading. The literacy campaign could embrace and
support 011c or more of these critical activities--- albeit on a smaller scale.
•
parent training andfamily literacy: Recognizing the critical role played by.
4
�parents in ensuring the reading success of their children, the after-school and
summer programs outlined above will emphasize the importance of parents: The
campaign also could support other initiatives-- such as Parents as Teachers, other
family literacy programs and parent training centers -- to help parents to build
their infants' literacy, as well as their own. The Department ofEducation could
more widely publicize and expand the national Partnership for Family
Involvement in Education as well.
•
expanded library literacy efforts for young children. Examples might be story
hours, other reading programs, loan-a-book, and teacher-librarian partnerships.
•
educational television programming and software: Television programming
focused on children's literacy could have the greatest benefit on at-risk children
who watch far more TV than their peers and whose television watching is
·increasing. Building on the commitment of networks to provide more educational
programming, the President could bring together the leading software producers
and secure their commitment to make available new learning games to help
children read by the end of3rd grade.
•
enriched preschool experiences: Evidence has demonstrated the importance of a
rich verbal environment even before a child enters school for the first time. This
has been corroborated by recent research on brain development and learning -suggesting not only that there are crucial periods in very young children's lives
when stimulation -- through touch, speech and images -- has the greatest and most
lasting inJluence on a young child's language and reading ability, bm <1lso that
these periods may be far earlier in an inf~mts life tl~an has been previously
recognizeJ. That is why complementary activities could locus un improvmg the
number and effectiveness of preschools, including worki~1g with Head Start, Even
Start, IDEA presclto:::Jl programs, and other p~tblic and private preschool p;·'JviJer~
to build language-rich environments for young children.
•
a sharper focus olothcrfederal programs, including disnetionary grants and
technical assisi.ance, t0 suppor~ reading. r OCliSing EC' s fY98 discretioi-1ary
competitions on reading, for example, would provide greater fuuding and
visibility to a literacy campaign.
Estimated Cost: $300 million (See budget options, Section III for additional information)
C. Building a National Commitment to Universal Literacy: Public Information and
Outreach:
A successful campaign in support of universal literacy for young children will require
5
�nothing short of a sea-change in national attitudes and priorities. Every person and every
organization across the country will have to embrace the goal ofuniversal·literacy,
understand ways to create literacy-rich environm~nts, and become involved in reaching
this goal. Building this national commitment could begin with:
•
building a widespread coalition oforganizations to support children's reading: A
change in norms of this magnitude will depend on building a far-reaching
coalition of organizations committed to improving literacy. This coalition should
involve not only teachers, parents, their children and elementary schools, but also
preschools, libraries, religious and community organizations (YMCAs, YWCAs,
Boys and Girls Clubs, Urban League, 4-H, etc), national organizations (such as
the Council of La Raza, and the International Reading Association), public
housing authorities, businesses, AARP, labor organizations, military, and others.
Already, a reading coalition has been launched through Secretary Riley's
Read*Writc*Now Campaign but it can be strengthened, greatly expanded, and
made far more visible.
•
launching a public awareness campaign: Among the powerful ways to increase
awareness of and expectations for literacy are: extensively using the national
bully-pulpit; producing and widely disseminating printed and electronic materials
including pamphlets, guides, posters, short videos, TV programs, PSAs and other
printed and electronic information; and establishing national and regional reading
sites on the world wide web to disseminate information and to create networks
among communities and individuals involved in the campaign. (Critical areas of
focus include: what is literacy, why it is important, how children ca11 become
more literate, what communities have done/can do to improve the litera-:y of all
: oung children. including bilingual chiidren <mu those with iea1 ning disabilities.
teacher training strategies and other proven prac.tices for prvmoting literacy.)
increasing parents' and others· unders!anding of basic and more advanced
reading text. For example, "samples" of what students should be abie to reao by
4th grade could be sent to communities and schools, included on posters, and
highlighted oy the Secretary and others during publi.: evtnis. This will hel.iJ
parents and the public recognize ti1at the reading skills needed in the future will be
far more challenging than what was considered literacy in the past.
•
expanding research and development efforts on effective reading instruction,
including through a new reading research center. ($2-5 million).
•
galvanizing higher education institutions to better train teachers to help all
children learn how to read better. The Secretary could sponsor
conferences/meetings with school of education deans, as well as other teacher
training experts, and call on teacher preparation programs to commit to ongoing
6
�improvements in how they train their students to teach reading.
Estimate Cost: $1 0 million per year.
D. Assessment and Accountability for Results
.The national campaign to improve the reading of America's children must focus on
achieving results. Useful and timely measures to assess progress towards these results
provides essential feedback. Good assessment can also serve as an incentive to improve.
•
The goal is for all 4th grade students to read at a basic level and far more numbers
of children to reach the proficient level than currently. This means moving
significantly greater percentages of children to reading at the basic and proficient
level on the NAEP each year. (In 1994, 60% of 4th graders were reading at the
basic level, 30% at the proficient level and 7% at the advanced level.)
•
Scores of 4th graders on the National Assessment of Educational Progress
provide benchmarks for comparison and targets for gains. They also could be
used in awarding additional funds to states and school systems that show the most
progress in raising children's reading scores.
•
Under current plans and budget, the next NAEP reading assessment will be
conducted in 1998, followed by assessment a full four years later, in 2002. To
make NAEP more useful to this initi(ltive, it should to provide annual national and
state-level infom1ation OP the reading performance of 4th graders. i\'laking a
market basket c1 J''AJ:.::e items availaoic to states a1JO districts t(, mce~surc their
students' 1)erforn1ance accurai:ely agai1~st national levels would also provide
r,e:-:essary feedback as called for by the Governors during the Summit. These
iinprovements to N,\EP would cost an estimated additional $11 ,000,000 annually.
To have a yearly NAEP readine as~essment at the national and state level
for 4th graders each year wculd cost approximately $9,000,GOG ailnual:y.
(Adding biannual national and state assessments for 8th graders would
cost an additional $5,000,000).
To develop a NAEP market basket of test items that states and locals could
embed in their own assessments to report out scores in reading would cost
an additional $2,000,000 annually.
•
An incentive system based on improvement in NAEP reading scores could be
phased in, starting in 1999 when the new NAEP data become available. This
system could be modeled after Kentucky's and similar programs that base awards
7
�on increasing the percentages of children at each achievement level over time.
•
An alternative incentive system to encourage schools to participate in NAEP
would be to provide participating schools with extra resources. For example,
NAEP could offer $1000 to each participating school for computers, trade books,
or staff development to encourage participation. Districts could be furnished with
the NAEP scores for their school system.
Currently, 500 schools participate in the National NAEP and another 4500
schools participate in the state level NAEP for 4th graders. Doubling the
number of schools and providing $1,000 in incentives per school would
cost $100,000 per year.
•
The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, sponsored by NCES, could provide
important reading information that supplements NAEP findings. Starting in the
1998-99 school year, the study will follow a nationally-representative sample of
23,000 kindergartners in 1000 kindergartens for six years to determine their
reading progress.
Ill. Budget Options
This proposal presents two possible budget options.
Option #I: SI.6 Billion Per Year Starting in FY98
By funciing aPJ~roximatcly ~ i .6 billion per year L1eginnmg in i· 'v 91'~ this op:1on wuulu
enabi.: the initiaiive ~o go t0 full-scale immediatc!y. The budget breakdown .,ould be:
After-school and summer programs (liA):
Strengthening parents, other institutions (JIB)
Building a national commitment to literacy (IIC)
1.3 billion*
$300 million
$1 0 million
$1.6 billion
Option #2: 4-ycar Phase-In Reaching $1.6 Billion Per Year in FY2001
•
Under Option #2, funding would be phased in over a 4-year period, reaching S 1.6
billion a year by 2000-01. $400 million could be available in FY98, $800 n!illion
in FY99, $1.2 billion in FY2000, and $1.6 billion in FY200 I for a total qf""$4)
billion over 4 years.
~
8
�This chart illustrates four years of funding under this option:
•
FY98
FY99
FY2000
FY2001
After-school and
Summer
Tutoring (IIA)
$320 million
$640 million
$960 million
$1.28 billion
Parents, other
Community
Institutions (liB)
$75 million
$150 million
$225 million
$300 million
Building Nat'!
Commitment to
Literacy (II C)
$1 0 million
$10 million
$10 million
$10 million
TOTAL(approx)
$400 million
$800 million
$1.2 million
$1.6 billion
Under the four-year phase-in option in which the after-school. summer-school
budget would reach ($1.3 billion hy FY200 1). there must he a strategy for
ensuring that the available funds in FY98 and FY99 ($400 million and $800
million respectively) are not spread too thinly. Phasing in over the four year
period the number of school districts/communities receiving resources-- based,
for example, on need ur program re2diness -- could ensure that funding recipients
~it the outset or the initiative receive enough funds to launch cfTective recruitment,
tr~linillg <llld progra111s.
9
�Withdrawal/Redaction Marl(er
Clinton Library
UOCUMENT NO.
AND TYPE
002. note
SUBJECT/TITLE
DATE
Handwritten note (partial) (1 page)
nd
RESTRICTION
P6/b(6)
COLLECTION:
Clinton Presidential Records
Speech writing
Terry Edmonds
OA/Box Number:
10987
FOLDER TITLE:
Campaign for Universal Literacy 9/27/96 [2]
2006-0462-F
r 665
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act- 144 U.S.C. 2204(a)l
Freedom of Information Act- [5 U.S.C. 552(b)J
PI
1'2
1'3
1'4
b(l) National security classified information j(b)(l) of the FOIA)
b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
an agency j(b)(2) of the FOIAI
b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute j(b)(3) of the FOIA)
b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
information j(b)(4) of the FOIA[
b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy j(b)(6) of the FOIAJ
b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIAJ
b(S) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
financial institutions J(b)(S) of the FOIA[
b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
concerning wells [(b)(9) of the FOIA]
National Security Classified Information j(a)(l) of the I'RAI
Relating to the appointment to Federal oflice j(a)(2) of the I'RAI
Rele:tse would violate a Federal statute j(a)(3) of the I' RAJ
Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
financi<tl infornwtion j(a)(4) of thl' I' RAJ
1'5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
and his advisors. or between such advisors ja)(S) of the PRAJ
1'6 Rcle:tse would constitute a clearly unwa~ranted invasion of
persorutl privacy j(a)(6) of the I' RAJ
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed
of gift.
l'l{i\'1. Personal record mislile defined in accot·dance with 44 U.S.C.
2201(3).
RR. Document will be reviewed u110n request.
�[Oo~l
.
. ..
'.....
.:
.
,.·
.. ,
·,.
.
.... ",'· ...... · ... ,:.
...
.
;
··:·
·,
.•.,
·.···•
~ ' .·. ~· ~ .
.\
'·
.
-~. <::.
'·
'
'
-.
.
'.
~
:
.'
:::· .'· -·
.
...
�,•
PRESERVATION
PHOTOCOPY
..
.';:;
�THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
May 29, 1996
For Immediate Release
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS AWARDS CEREMONY
South Lawn
1:54 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much. Secretary Riley, thank you for the wonderful
job that you do and your clear, strong voice for education. Mr. Vice President, thank you for
the work you have done in advancing our technology initiative. I forgive you for mentioning
all those Tennessee schools. (Laughter.) We're always doing this. You know, there's a school
from· Arkansas here -- from Bentonville, ..Arkansas. And I have spoken at the high school
graduation there more than once. Now, have you spoken at all those Tennessee schools'
graduation? (Laughter.) We'll do .this for three or four more days until-- (laughter.)
And I want to say to Jill Mahler how very much we appreciate not only the excellent
work being done in your school -- and I think I -- they are so proud of her, I think I'd like to
ask the representatives from Mainland High School in Daytona Beach to stand up here, and
thank you very much. (Applause.)
But it also reminds us that teaching and learning are a lot more than technology. And
this fine young lady is also the captain of her cross-country team and obviously very
well-spoken. And we were honored to have her here on the stage with us today to remind us
about what all these endeavors are truly all about.
In Mainland High School, which is, as Jill said, a model technology school, the students
can actually download images from satellites from the space shuttle, from weather satellites.
I wish they had downloaded better weather for us today. (Laughter.) But, nonetheless, it's an
exciting prospect to think about what young people are doing.
Let me say to all of you here in the Blue Ribbon schools, from all across America, you
are, as the Secretary said, a living textbook of the best lessons American education has to offer.
I am filled with hope as I look around this tent -- there's not a classroom problem anywhere in
America that somebody somewhere hasn't solved. In the 21st century, America must have -must have --the best-educated citizens in the world. If we keep doing what you are doing, that
�is exactly what we will have.
One of the things that has always perplexed me, having spent a great deal of time in
public school classrooms in the 12 years I served as governor of my state and since I've been
President, going around the country, is that we don't do enough learning from each other. So
Secretary Riley makes all the Blue Ribbon schools work when they come up here and learn from
· each other. But it is a model that I think if that were followed in every other state, every state
in our country across this great land, we'd have even more rapid improvements in education.
I also want to point out that today this ceremony is honoring not just a single student, or
even a single teacher, but entire schools and the communities that sustain them .. The Blue
Ribbon Awards are rooted in the belief that schools work only if everyone does his or her part
-- if principals set high standards, if teachers teach well, if students work and learn, if parents
and other community leaders stay involved and stay supportive.
If you read through list of the schools honored today, it is truly amazing what you have
been able to accomplish by working together. In some schools, revolutionary science and math
curriculums have been developed. In others, parents are volunteering in the classroom and
students are helping out in child care centers. In others, the whole community has joined
together to kick gangs and drugs out of the schools, to wipe away graffiti, to restore safety to
the classrooms and the learning environment.
You are literally making learning a jump off the dusty shelves of libraries and into the
imaginations of our children, our leaders of tomorrow. So to every single one of you, more
than anything else, we wanted you to be here today on the lawn of the White House so that I
could say on behalf of all the American people, we thank you, we are proud of you, and we
hope that today you'll all be very proud of yourselves. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
You know, I've had the chance,. as I've said, to be in a lot of different schools -elementary, middle and high schools all across the country; public schools, parochial schools.
I've seen science classes and English classes and· history classes and economics classes. I've
been in schools that were well over 100 years old in their physical facilities and schools that had
been opened just a few days. I have seen in all the schools that really work, clearly, one
. uniform characteristic. It was the schools, every one of them, had high standards and high
expectations. They actually believed that students could learn and that they would learn if given
the right kind of standards, the right kind of support, the right kind of environment.
I told the country's governors at their Education Summit in March that we have to have
those kinds of expectations for all of our students. And somehow we have to make sure that
they have those expectations of themselves. We have to make every child in this country believe
in himself or herself -- believe they can learn difficult things. We have to hold them
accountable, but we also need to reward them and pat them on the back when they do well.
This is more important than it has been ever in our country's history because at this
peculiar moment we are moving at a rapid rate toward a new century and a new millennium.
We are already into an entirely different sort of economy than that which most of us in this tent
�have lived most of our lives in. We are moving away from a national economy into a global
economy and a global society. We are moving away from the Industrial Age to the Information
and Technology Age. We are moving into an era where most people will be working with their
minds far more than their hands, and many of them will be working in businesses and industries
·
that have not even been invented yet.
I am-- I suppose it's not too strong to say --literally obsessed with making sure that our
country will do well in the next century; that we'll continue to be the world's strongest force for
peace and freedom; that we'll continue to be a beacon within our own land of the ideals that
have made this country great; and that every person will have a chance to live our his or her
dreams. I believe that we can do that.
We spent a lot of time here working on things to get .our economic house in order -cutting the deficit by more than half and opening trade to new countries and new products and
new services and trying to get ahead of the technology curve and trying to generate more jobs
from small businesses, where so many of the new jobs are being created. But nothing-- nothing
-- is as important as preparing the American people and our young people for the 21st century
world in which they will live. And that means they have to not only learn things today, but be
able to learn for a lifetime. And nothing -- nothing -- will replace that.
As long as we have a well-educated citizenry, as long as we have people who can learn
whatever they need to learn whenever they need to learn it, and who understand that this is
related to the work of citizenship, this country will do just fine. If you succeed, America
succeeds. That is the ultimate lesson of today. (Applause.)
You know, if you ask most citizens, well, what do we really need to do in our schools,
they might say, well, we ought to get back to the basics. You've heard it a thousand times, I'm
sure. And at one level it's quite true; that is, if you look at any human endeavor, it's very.
difficult to succeed unless you're quite good in the basic requirements of whatever the activity
is.
~
.~ c:Lld~ic~~
But what I'd like to say today is that there are at least some new basics, as well as the
old basics. For the better part of the last 15 years the United States has been working hard to
get back to doing a better job at the old basics. Half of all of our four-year-olds are now in
preschool. When the kids gets to elementary school they will find a much better Title I program
back on course, with a more focused, more rigorous curriculum that challenges our children to
meet high standards. (Applause.) The number of young people talking core courses has jumped
from just 13 percent in 1982 to 52 percent in 1984, and math and science scores have risen by
one full grade.
So there's been a great emphasis on the basics, but more needs to be done.
Unfortunately, the reading scores for our young children have stayed about flat. That may be
because there's a higher and higher percentage of our students whose first language is not
English and we haven't factored that into account, and we need to do a better job of moving
them through the bilingual programs into the main stream. But, nonetheless, by any standard,
we haven't done as well as we should.
• ~
~rJ;U-t h- d.A-:4 ~~
�I think every American child should be able to read independently by the third grade.
I believe every American middle or high schooler should be able to spend an afternoon with
Mark Twain or Willa
Cather or Nathaniel Hawthorne. I believe every American looking for
v
a job should be able to read and fill out an application. And we all know the kinds of things
we need to do. Here's just one of them: This summer, Secretary Riley's Read, Write Now
Challenge will encourage one million young people to keep up their reading straight through
summer vacation. That's the sort of thing that would enable us to close the book on low reading
· scores for good. And we all need to do more of that until we can close that book once and for
all.
We are also committed to educational excellence in other core academic courses like
physics and chemistry and biology and American history and geography. But we know even that
is not enough in this day and time. We have to imagine what the world is like today with its
problems and its promise, and ask ourselves whether there ought not to be some new basics.
I would like to mention just two that I think have to be incorporated into the fabric of every
educational curriculum in America: citizenship and computer literacy -- new basics that build
up and strengthen our traditional educational effort, that give our young people the tools they
need to succeed, and to make a contribution to our country.
If you think about basic literacy and citizenship, it may be something that we think we
can take for granted. But clearly, it's not-- especially since we are becoming once again, just
as we were 100 years ago, more and more a nation of immigrants. In our largest county today,
Los Angeles County, there are children from 150 different racial and ethnic groups. And all
over America, in all school districts, you see a greater and greater need for people to understand
exactly what it means not only to be a learner in school, but a good citizen. At this time of
tremendous change, must of it, but not all of it, is positive, and we needed to do what we can
to help our children stay true to a course in a world that often seems to spin off-course.
I've done what I could. We've offered two White House conferences on character
education; we've had grass-roots character education programs that the Secretary of Education
has funded and promoted. We've done what we could to clarify the confusion that existed about
the role of religion and people's religious convictions in the schools. We have provided our
schools with guidelines that tell them how they can protect the religious rights of their students
without turning their schools into religion-free zones. We have worked with those schools who
are trying experiments like school uniforms. We have done the things that we could do. But
in the end, the magic of citizenship is a learned -- a learned characteristic.
And you have to help your students to do that.
I know you do or you wouldn't be successful in other ways. But every school should,
without apology, teach its students to be responsible for themselves, to respect other people and
be concerned about them, to love our country and be willing to do what it takes to contribute
to our country.
Schools can help parents teach children right from wrong through good rules, teach the
value of hard work through homework, teach the importance of resolving conflicts peacefully
�by having zero tolerance for all forms of violence. We have to teach these young people to turn
away from that. (Applause.)
We have to teach our young people to define themselves in terms of what they are and
what is good about them, not what is bad about someone else. We have to be able to do that.
We can teach our young people to become voters and good neighbors and good citizens and
good advocates and good servants. We have to be able to do that. I will say again, without
that, the learning cannot occur.
I look around at all these bright-eyed students behind me, right before I got up here I
tried to look at every one of them and think, you know, I feel pretty good about my country's
future. It would be hard not to feel good about your country's future looking at them. Every
one of you can think about the work you do in your schools. But there's something wrong with
an America where we have all these wonderful things going on, but violence among children
under 18 is still going up. There's still too many of these kids out here raising themselves.
There's too many of these kids that don't have support. And I know that too many of you have
been asked to do too much in the past. And sometimes you were judged by someone else's
failure -- the people at home, the people in the church, the people in the community that might
have done more.
But you are sometimes the only thing that stands between these young people and the
opportunity to have a good, wholesome, constructive life. And we have got to turn around these
trends of violence and dystructive conduct. The number of young people coming into our
schools is going up again. Soon the schools will be full of people, so full that the years will be
even larger -- the classes will be even larger than they were in the peak baby-boom years. By
the time that happens, we must have turned around this trend toward destructive behavior and
violence among our young people. And we can only do it by teaching them to live in an
affirmative way, as good responsible citizens.
We need you on this. This is something that cannot be done unless it can be done by our
teachers and our schools, with the support of caring parents and a community. And we're
pulling for you. You have to understand that we must not let the largest group of school
children in the history of the United States come into our classes without doing something about
the violence and the other destructive behavior. We can build a generation of good citizens and
I'm determined to see us do it. (Applause.)
The other thing I'd like to talk about very briefly is the issue the Vice President discussed
-- our technology literacy challenge, to bring information and technology to every classroom in
this country by the year 2000. We got off to a good start. Many of you-- many of you-- are
part of that. And when we had Net Day in California and hooked-up 20 percent of the
classrooms in the state in one day, it started off a chain reaction of a lot of things like that
happening in other places throughout the country. Much has already been done. But there is
more that has to be done.
One of the things that we know --I was just talking to the Governor of West Virginia,
where they have done a lot of work in bringing computers into the schools -- he said he was
�" very proud of the fact that they spent one-third of their money on teacher training -- one-third,
one full third -- because no computer, no aide in learning is worth anything without the magic
of learning between the teacher and the student.
Today I am pleased to announce a remarkable initiative in our education community.
Working with our administration, leading organizations in education, from the national PTA and
the NEA, to the AFT and the national school boards associations, have joined together to make
sure America's teachers are as comfortable with computers as they are with chalk boards.
They call themselves "21st century teachers." And to launch their effort they will do
what they do best -- teach. This fall these groups will mobilize 100,000 teachers to teach
500,000 other teachers how to teach using computers, software and networks. When they are
done, we will have a half a million more teachers who are computer and technology literate, and
an infinite number of new learning opportunities. The teachers will have new and exciting ways
to teach traditional subjects. They'll be able to exchange lesson plans with other teachers,
communicate more frequently with parents, help students unfamiliar with computers, and keep
up with students who already are.
Through this enormous effort, teachers will be doing what they have always done -dedicating themselves to a brighter future, joining together to say that computer and technology
literacy is truly a new basic for our time, jl,lst as they continue to teach our other fundamental
basics. They are helping to create opportunity, assuming responsibility, working together as a
community.
To every one of these groups and the 100,000 teachers who will be involved in this, I
say thank you. The rest of America is deeply in your debt. This is a very great project.
(Applause.)
Now as we close this formal ceremony, let me say again to each and ever one of you,
I'm proud of you, I'm grateful to you. What you are doing is building America's future.
Because of the nature of the economic and social changes going on in the world today, your
work is more important to America's success than ever before.
I ask you to leave here with one idea in mind. I ask you to do what you can back in
your home towns, back in your home districts, back in your home states to make sure that every
single school in America works to be a Blue Ribbon school.
Thank you and God bless you. (Applause.)
END
2:16P.M. EDT
�THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
OFFICE OF
SPEECHWRITING
COMMENTS:
***WARNING***
UNAUTHORIZED USE OF THESE MATERIALS IS SUBJECT TO FEDERAL
PROSECUTION
�-~~
---------,---------------------------~~-
-----
----..
right standards, the right support and the right environment. This is so important. All the
economic opportunity in the world will not matter unless we have students who can read and
~ 1...~ ~ ~ ~
write and think at worl -c ass le el .
~The ftrst §Je
our children must make up the ladder
~:~:~-;is to master the
basics. While-1hath and science scores have gone up/reading scores for young children have
stayed fiatt.. ~g is the most ~asic o! \:)lt~ic;s_. A child w~ l).eve,r ~e~;!~~~J<2
into an adult who n"tverli'at1C'na~e~ ~n~e
1
-.,7
grade ar-e-more likely to graduate from.-high-seke3(1~ssThty to drop out, and more likely to
beco
productive citizens. Kids who learn to read well by the third grade will be the ones
who w ll more likely participate in the high tech world of the 21st century. Let's remember,
you can't s~~YJ'{Ze;:Jj ~,;:'t
kn}~~~oZ;~~ gw1~4~-
We({;;;eto help our chil~sential first step. I believe that every
//
American child should be able to read independently by the third grade. Today, 40 percent of
our children aooot read or write by the 3rtl-gntde. Some learn late; some never really learn
at all. We ca do better-- but only if we all work together in a spirit of community that
11
A;,j "".
reco tzes th every child is p ~c!~us a.nd every <;hild qeserve~ ~ :h!n~e to succeed.
0
A'.u./<~~~ ~ ~
-rt_;_ ~t0~ ~ kf<_~ [3 ~.~
~~
That is why today, I am challengmg Americans from all walks of life to make sure that
~- all our children can read independently by the third grade. I am proposing a national literacy
{1;..;/
campaign that must involve every sector of our society --businesses, religious institutions,
~ () O.li2.1- colleges and universities, civic organizations, the media, the nation's 16,000 libraries, and
~individuals, including our senior citizens. The goal of this effort will be to mobilize parents
~
and 1 million volunteer tutors to provide extra reading help, after school and during the
~__.summer, for the millions of children in grades K-3 who are behind in their reading. ~
..9-
tJ
~
The first step in fulfilling this goal is to encourage every parent and every grandparent
in America to be a tutor. Parents are the first teachers our children know. And moments we
spend reading to them are some of the most precious moments we will ever know. So, take
time to spend time -- turn off the TV and read to your kids at least 30 minutes a day. And
make sure they get a library card. They will get more out of this gift than anything we will
ever give them.
While parents are their children's primary educators, helping every child become a
successful reader by the end of the third grade is everybody's business. That's why my plan
will support effective grassroots efforts that help parents help their children. I am urging every
community to respond to this challenge. We know that there is no problem in America that
has not been solved somewhere-- including poor reading among our young people.
During the 1995 school year, 25 AmeriCorps members tutored 128 second graders in
reading in Simpson County, Kentucky. With their help, students made almost 3 years of
progress in reading comprehension in one school year. This is a remarkable achievement --
~
�hourly wages are starting to rise for the first time in a decade.
We have seen recently just how much we can do when we put aside partisan politics and
use common-sense. In the last five days, I signed bipartisan legislation to reform health care so
families will never again be denied health insurance because a family member is sick; to end
welfare as we know it; and to give 10 million Americans a raise, by increasing the minimum
wage.
Now we must press forward.
Let us extend this season of progress by balancing the budget and meeting one of the
most important challenges we face -- improving the education of our children.
Education has always been one of the crowning values of America. We are a country
that says to its young people -- if you get a good education and work hard, there is nothing
you can not achieve. And as America takes its place in the new global economy, it is clear
that education is more important than ever before. Education is literally the fault line that
separates those who will prosper from those who cannot in the 21st century. That is why over
the last four years, my Administration has spared no effort to improve the quality of American
~~~:!:nand expand fue opportunity for al~e~ ;~~erCet~
We strengthened and expanded
1ft]
Start. We helped schools raise standards for basic
and advanced skills. School-to-Work/ Safe chools. We have proposed putting computers,
and software and teachers who know how to se them in every classroom in America-- and
hooking every school to the Internet~Propose $5 billion to help communities repair broken
down schools and build new ones. irect loans hat make it cheaper and easier ~<J7s~~e~t~o. (}
borrow the money they need to go to college.
~ ,.. ~ ~ ~().J/
h-t~~ 2-CJOD
~~4
I believe that the best tax cut is one that is targeted to education. That's why I have
proposed A $10,000 tax deduction for families to help pay for education after high school.
And we must make 14 years of education the standard for every American. That is why I
have proposed a $1,500 tax cut for Americans, modeled after Georgia's successful HOPE
scholarships, to guarantee the first year of tuition at a typical community college, and the
second year if individuals earn it by maintaining a B average. These efforts are beginning to
pay off. National math and science scores are up. SAT scores are up-- the SAT scores in
math are now at a 24-year high. ACT scores have gone~ three times in the last four years.
Half of all four-year -olds now attend preschool. And 8~percent of all our young people are
completing high school.
But, in the next four years, we must do even more to make sure America has the best
public schools on earth. That begins with setting high standards and high expectations for
reachers and
sruden~. ~ s = ; ; ; n ~· ~fu~
~-~
~~~~4),
·
�---
ORAfl
, ,J"
0
I"
/
~~···
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
CAMPAIGN FOR UNIVERSAL LITERACY
BACON MEMORIAL LIBRARY
WYANDOTTE, MICIDGAN
AUGUST 27, 1996
~knowledgments:
Congressman John Dingell, Senator Carl Levin ...
Today, we stand on the edge of a new century. A time of great challenge and change,
but, especially, a time of remarkable possibility for all our people. My fellow Americans, I am.
as confident as I have ever been that the future ahead is bright, brighter than all the days of our
magnificent past.
In every city and town of our great land Americans are rising up alio coming together to
meet the challenges of our times-- and conquer them. We are doing it in a way that honors our
legacy by protecting our values, but looks to the future by embracing new ideas. It is not a
Democratic approach or a Republican approach-- it is a truly American approach.
They're having a great time in Chicago right now. I can't wait to get there, and I'm glad
I'm going on this train trip, because I ~ant all Americans to see what's happening all across our
country ... America is s;m the right track to the 21st century!
G
\
~
As we take this trip through the heartland, we are seeing Americans in all walks of life,
astering our challenges with new solutions based on old values. My Adm~ion set out to
ve our people the tools to meet our challenges. [cops, schools, econ, envi~
@
We are coming together around our common values: Opportunity fur all Americans to
build a great future, and responsibility from all Americans to make the most of it. That's the
basic bargain of America. And it thrives when we come together as a community. These are the
values that guide millions of Americans across our country every day, and they must guide
yes{-~.
America into the future.
( ~ _--_ ~
.
.
When I took office, our economy wasn't creating enough opportunity. Unemployment
was nearly eight percent; the deficit was out of control; new jobs were scarce. We put a
comprehensive economic plan in place to get the American economy back on track: cutting the
deficit, shrinking government, expanding exports, and investing in our people.
~9-
~~(f · {~""
Look at the results: America is selling more cars than Japan for the first time in a decade.
The combined rate of inflation, unemployment, and mortgages is the lowest in 30 years. We have
cut the deficit by 60 percent. America has created more than 10 million new jobs. In [state
unemployment.] We cut taxes for 15 million working families, including more than ... And real
1
·
�hourly wages are starting to rise for the first time in a decade.
We have seen recently just how much we can do when we put aside partisan politics and
use common-sense. In the last five days, I signed bipartisan legislation to reform health care so
families will never again be denied health insurance because a family member is sick; to end
welfare as we know it; and to give 10 million Americans a raise, by increasing the minimum
wage.
Now we must press forward.
Let us extend this season of progress by balancing the budget and meeting one of the
most important challepges we face -- improving the education of our children.
Education has always been one of the crowning values of America. We are a country
that says to its young people -- if you get a good education and work hard, there is nothing
you can not achieve. And as America takes its place in the new global economy, it is clear
that education is more important than ever before. Education is literally the fault line that
separates those who will prosper from those who cannot in the 21st century. Tha·t is why over
the last four years, my Administration has spared no effort to improve the quality of American
education and expand the opportunity for all Americans to get the education they need to
succeed.
We strengthene~ and expanded Head Start. We helped schools raise standards for basic
and advanced skills. School-to-Work. Safe schools. We have proposed putting computers,
and software and teachers who know how to use them in every classroom in America -- and
hooking every school to the Internet. Proposed $5 billion to help communities repair broken
down schools and build new ones. Direct loans that make it cheaper and easier for students to
borrow the money they need to go to college.
I believe that the best tax cut is one that is targeted to education. That's why I have
proposed A $10,000 tax deduction for families to help pay for education after high school.
And we must make 14 years of education the standard for every American. That is why I
have proposed a $1,500 tax cut for Americans, modeled after Georgia's successful HOPE
scholarships, to guarantee the first year of tuition at a typical community college, and the
second year if individuals earn it by maintaining a B average. These efforts are beginning to
pay off. National math and science scores are up. SAT scores are up-- the SAT scores in
math are how at a 24-year high. ACT scores have gone up three times in the last four years.
Half of all four-year -olds now attend preschool. And 86 percent of all, our young people are
completing high school.
But, in the next four years, we must do even more to make sure America has the best
public schools on earth. That begins with setting high standards and high expectations for
teachers and students. America's students can be the best in the world, if we give them the
2
�------------------------------------
right standards, the right support and the right environment. This is so important. All the
economic opportunity in the world will not matter unless we have students who can read and
write and think at world-class levels.
The first step our children must make up the ladder of opportunity is to master the
basics. While math and science scores have gone up, reading scores for young children have
stayed flat. Reading is the most basic of basics. A child who never learns to read, will grow
into an adult who never has a chance. We know that kids who learn how to read by the third
grade are more likely to graduate from high school, less likely to drop out, and more likely to
become productive citizens. Kids who learn to read well by the third grade will be the ones
who will more likely participate in the high tech world of the 21st century. Let's remember,
you can't surf the Internet if you don't know how to read.
We have to help our children take this essential first step. I believe that every
American child should be able to read independently by the third grade. Today, 40 percent of
our children cannot read or write by the 3rd grade. Some learn late; some never really learn
at all. We can do better-- but only if we all work together in a spirit of community that
recognizes that every child is precious and every child deserves a chance to succeed.
That is why today, I am challenging Americans from all walks of life to make sure that
all our children can read independently by the third grade. I am proposing a national literacy
campaign that must involve every sector of our society --businesses, religious institutions,
colleges and universiti~, civic organizations, the media, the nation's 16,000 libraries, and
individuals, including our senior citizens. The goal of this effort will be to mobilize parents
and 1 million volunteer tutors to provide extra reading help, after school and during the
summer, for the millions of children in grades K-3 who are behind in their reading.
The first step in fulfilling this goal is to encourage every parent and every grandparent
in America to be a tutor. Parents are the first teachers our children know. And moments we
spend reading to them are some of the most precious moments we will ever know. So, take
time to spend time -- turn off the TV and read to your kids at least 30 minutes a day. And
make sure they get a library card. They will get more out of this gift than anything we will
ever give them.
While parents are their children's primary educators, helping every child become a
successful reader by the end of the third grade is everybody's business. That's why my plan
will support effective grassroots efforts that help parents help their children. I am urging every
community to respond to this challenge. We know that there is no problem in America that
has not been solved somewhere -- including poor reading among our young people.
During the 1995 school year, 25 AmeriCorps members tutored 128 second graders in
reading in Simpson County, Kentucky. With their help, students made almost 3 years of
progress in reading comprehension in one school year. This is a remarkable achievement -3
�and we need to help communities all over the country achieve those same results.
The hard work has to be done at the grassroots level. But communities cannot do this
alone. That's why my proposal calls for $2.25 billion that will go to states to help
communities recruit and train volunteer tutors. As they did in Simpson County, the National
Service Corps will play a leading role in helping to recruit and coordinate these tutors. This is
happening with other groups all over America -- and many states are making childhood
literacy a major priority. But reading must be everyone's business ..
This is the way America has always met its challenges-- people working together in
their communities to protect our values and honor our commitments to each other.
Helping our children to read is more important than it has ever been in our country's
history because at this moment we are moving at a rapid rate toward a new century. We are
moving into an entirely different economy -- one that is more global and more competitive.
We are moving away from the Industrial Age into the Information and Technology Age. And
we are moving into an era where most people will be working with their minds far more than
their hands, and many of them will be working in businesses and industries that have not even
been invented yet.
_...
In this environment, literacy is not a luxury -- it is basic to expanding opportunity for
all our citizens. If our children cannot read, they will not be able to apply for or qualify for
the good jobs that awai; them. They will not be able to take advantage of the enormous
opportunities of this exciting new economy. We have got to meet this challenge -- and we
have got to do it together. The future of our children and our nation depends on our success.
· I want you all to think about what kind of future you want for your children, about what
kind of country you want America to be in the 21st century. That's what this election is all
about. Are we going to meet our challenges and protect our values to make the 21st century the
future we want for our children? All across America, people are coming together and saying,
"Yes."
New solutions for new challenges-- guided by values as old as America. We've got more
to do, and we are going to do it. I look to the future and I am filled with confidence. I want this
train trip to show all Americans what you see every day in Wyandotte -- America is on the right
track to the 21st century!
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
4
I
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Terry Edmonds
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Office of Speechwriting
James (Terry) Edmonds
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1995-2001
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36090" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763294" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0462-F
Description
An account of the resource
Terry Edmonds worked as a speechwriter from 1995-2001. He became the Assistant to the President and Director of Speechwriting in 1999. His speechwriting focused on domestic topics such as race relations, veterans issues, education, paralympics, gun control, youth, and senior citizens. He also contributed to the President’s State of the Union speeches, radio addresses, commencement speeches, and special dinners and events. The records include speeches, letters, memorandum, schedules, reports, articles, and clippings.
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
635 folders in 52 boxes
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Campaign for Universal Literacy 9/27/96 [2]
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Office of Speechwriting
James (Terry) Edmonds
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0462-F
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 33
<a href="http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/2006/2006-0462-F.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763294" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
12/9/2014
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
42-t-7763294-20060462F-033-005-2014
7763294