1997 Bill Clinton - Call to Action for American Education

In 1997, President Clinton called on the nation to take action on the American education. He promised to include a commitment in his budget of $51 billion, but asked America to put these principles into action.

"Let's work together to meet these three goals: Every 8-year-old must be able to read; every 12-year-old must be able to log on to the Internet; every 18-year-old must be able to go to college; and every adult American must be able to keep on learning for a lifetime."

"every 12-year-old must be able to log on to the Internet"   ...I think we nailed that one.

In his 1997 state of the Union, President Clinton laid out a 10 point plan of action. These included:

1. Establish national standards.
2. Reward and recognize our best teachers.
3. Create an citizen army of volunteer reading tutors.
4. Expand early childhood education programs (Headstart)
5. Give parents the power to choose the right public school.
6. Teach character. Teach citizenship, promote order and discipline.
7. Finance $20 billion in school construction over next 4 years.
8. Every child goes to college at least 2 years. Give parents a tax credit.
9. Pass the "GI Bill" to simplify federal training programs.
10. Connect every classroom and library to the internet by year 2000.

In 1999, President Clinton proposed his "Education Accountability Act", where he called on congress to use federal funding to spur school reform. This strategy had five steps:

1. End social promotion and make summer school mandatory.
2. Shut down worst performing schools.
3. Hold school districts responsible for the quality of their teachers.
4. Empower parents with more information and more choices.
5. All schools should implement sensible discipline policies.

Then, Governor George W. Bush was sharply critical, stating that the federal government should be a limited partner, and should not be telling states how to run their business. Clinton's strategy was rejected by congress. Yet ironically, it was George W. Bush who would later resurrect it as "No Child Left Behind". 

 http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=53358
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=57577
http://www.heritage.org/research/education-notebook/remembering-who-opposed-president-clintons-education-plan
http://educationnext.org/the-politics-of-no-child-left-behind/
http://readingpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/woman-tutor-and-boy_0618.jpg (picture)
http://media.web.britannica.com/eb-media/15/62215-050-D8F6A3D9.jpg