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

FOR RELEASE
June 15, 2000

Contact:
John Emekli
(202) 401-4389
Melinda Ulloa
(202) 205-8811

NATIONAL COMMISSION TO STUDY SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL
Kentucky Gov. Patton to serve as chair

U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley today announced the formation of a Commission on the High School Senior Year.

The commission, to be chaired by Kentucky Governor Paul Patton, will bring together educators, experts, students and others to take a close look at the final year of high school and the transition to college, work and adulthood. The broader goal of the commission is to build partnerships among public and private sectors and secondary and post-secondary education, laying the groundwork for reforming the high school experience.

In his annual back to school speech last fall, Riley laid out a broad agenda to reinvent the American high school including: expanding Advanced Placement courses to every high school in the country; calling for high school exit exams; creating schools within schools; and working to make schools safer.

“The senior year of high school right now seems to be a lost opportunity that we need to reclaim to help our young people get serious about their futures,” Riley said. “We need to further a national dialogue to look closely at how to make this critical time more productive and a solid transition to adulthood. I'm delighted that Gov. Patton — a leader in education reform — has agreed to lead this effort.”

One-fourth of all American youth do not complete high school and receive a regular diploma, 25 percent of high school seniors who go on to college drop out, and 50 percent of all first generation college students do not get their degree. In addition, one-third of college freshman take remedial courses. Riley said many students — including those who are bound for college — fail to apply themselves in their last year of high school.

Riley made the announcement at the Reinventing High School Conference, where more than 1,400 educators, policymakers and students are considering ways to improve the quality of the nation's high schools.

The commission will meet this fall, in early September and in late October, to produce a preliminary report. Next year the commission will issue a final report and work to generate action around its recommendations.

The commission will have two dozen members, representing a broad range of Americans. Cheryl Kane of the Education Department's Office of Educational Research and Improvement has been appointed executive director of the commission.

The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, Mott Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation have joined the department in sponsoring the commission.

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