A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

FOR RELEASE                                      Contact:  John Bertak November 15, 1994                                       (202) 401-1304

NATION'S TOP TEACHERS VISIT WASHINGTON DURING AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK

The country's top teachers are visiting the nation's capital during this American Education Week to participate in the second annual Goals 2000 Teacher Forum being sponsored by the U.S. Education Department.

The Nov. 17-18 meeting brings together all 50 of the State Teachers of the Year for in-depth discussions on ways to become more actively involved in education improvement initiatives. Accompanying the teachers of the year are other outstanding teachers selected to provide each state team with broad representation. For example, elementary school teachers from suburban schools may be paired with secondary school teachers from urban or rural communities. Representative teachers will also be attending from private and religious schools, and the Department of Defense Dependents Schools.

According to Terry Dozier, a former national teacher of the year and currently the special advisor on teaching to U.S. Education Secretary Richard W. Riley, the meeting has two primary purposes:

to provide an opportunity for Department of Education staff and teachers to listen to one another;
to assist teachers in becoming partners in developing education improvement strategies, and in leading changes in their schools and communities that will enable all students to meet high levels of academic achievement as identified by the National Education Goals.

"We're excited about shifting the focus from teachers as objects of reform to teachers as partners in education improvement," Dozier said. "Secretary Riley recognizes that teachers are one of the most under-utilized resources for change and improvement in American education."

Teachers from seven states who attended the 1993 forum and then developed innovative strategies for increasing teacher involvement in local and state education improvements will share their experiences with the 1994 forum participants. Examples will be presented by teachers from Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota and Washington.

Deputy Education Secretary Madeleine Kunin will address the opening session of the Goals 2000 Teacher Forum, along with Dozier and Marilyn Reznick of the AT&T Foundation, which is helping to sponsor the forum. Many of the Education Department's senior officers and the Secretary's Regional Representatives from each of the 10 regions will also meet with participants.

Examining Time and Learning Last year, forum teachers identified better use of time as the most critical resource for the success of school improvement initiatives and their concern was noted in a report, "Prisoners of Time," published by the National Commission on Time and Learning. In response to this on-going concern, the 1994 forum includes "Breaking the Tyranny of the Clock," a session in which participants will share ways to deal with this challenge. Teachers will discuss several time-related questions, including how to restructure time in order to support teaching and learning to high standards, for example to:

engage students actively in their own learning;
assess students in more meaningful ways;
enable teachers to be actively involved in school reform efforts;
provide teachers with professional development that enables them to help all students meet high levels of academic achievement.

Sessions also will assist forum participants with acquiring leadership and networking skills to help make effective improvements at the local and state levels.

Two sessions on technology will help participants examine ways to access the latest information on successful practices via computer connections to other teachers, resource libraries and directly to the Education Department.

Following the forum, participants have been invited to participate in a simulated space mission at the Washington, D.C., Challenger Center, which was established to promote science education through "hands-on" simulation.