As Cities Sign On, America 2000 Continues To Be Work in Progress

SAN ANTONIO--This city last week became the first in the nation to
win the distinction of being an official America 2000 community. To
celebrate, the leaders of San Antonio 2000 gathered at "Rockville
High,'' a fictional school that is part of a 1950's town in the Fiesta
Texas theme park.

In some respects, the backdrop is suggestive of the status of
America 2000, both nationally as well as in San Antonio.

It is an artfully rendered vision of an ideal American school frozen
in time, just as America 2000 is a vision of the schools of the future.
For today's students, though, neither bears much connection to the
day-to-day realities of school in the 1990's.

Unlike the fake school, however, America 2000--launched 18 months
ago by President Bush and Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander as a
"crusade'' to save America's schools--is a work in progress.

While it has had little practical impact on schools and is
criticized by some as blatantly political, the initiative is held up as
having the potential to provoke real educational change.

Chester E. Finn Jr., an informal adviser to Mr. Alexander and a
primary author of America 2000, offered a summary of the
Administration's reform program to date: "Some parts are going
famously; other parts have plainly been retarded on Capitol Hill; and
with others, the bread is rising, but the yeast is slow.''

San Antonio's efforts put it in the forefront of the
community-action portion of the Bush Administration's America 2000
strategy that seeks coalitions of local leaders and citizens to commit
themselves to the task of improving their schools.

Leaders in other communities that jumped on the bandwagon
early--including Memphis, Omaha, and Lehigh Valley, Pa.--say they will
unveil their "action plans'' in the next couple of months. But only a
few efforts are that advanced, and, even in those communities,
supporters acknowledge that the initiatives have yet to have much
impact on schools.

To be declared an America 2000 community, San Antonio had to meet
four criteria: adopt the six national education goals; draft a strategy
for meeting the goals; prepare to create an innovative "New American
School''; and issue a community report card.

Participants in San Antonio 2000 say they recognize that much hard
work lies ahead.

They acknowledge that the first installment of the report card
includes only vague, state-level data and that, so far, their plans are
just plans.

"It's been sort of a debating society,'' said John Moore, the
chairman of the education department at Trinity University and a key
member of San Antonio 2000's executive committee. "I think our plan is
first rate; the challenge is going to be putting the plan into
practice.''

Mixed Reviews

In the year and a half since the launch of America 2000, the
national results of the Administration's effort are no less equivocal.
Among the developments:

Congress rejected Mr. Bush's proposal for a voucher program
including private schools.

Lawmakers also declined to earmark funding for the creation of
"new American schools.''

Mr. Alexander had requested $535 million to launch 535 schools,
while also delegating the job of launching the effort to the private,
nonprofit New American Schools Development Corporation.

The business-led corporation announced grants to 11 design teams in
July. But the corporation has raised only $50 million of the $200
million its leaders projected, and whether it will survive is the
subject of considerable speculation. (See related story, page 1, and
Education Week, Aug. 5, 1992.)

Work has begun on national curriculum standards in several
subject areas. But some educators and lawmakers are leery of the
national assessment system called for in America 2000, and
legislation authorizing a federal role in standards and testing died
at the end of the 102nd Congress.

Meanwhile, the National Education Goals Panel continues to oversee
the standards-setting effort without formal authorization, federal
funding, or the full partnership of lawmakers. (See Education Week,
Oct. 14, 1992.)

A Rosy Scenario

Mr. Alexander said in an interview last week that he is pleased with
America 2000's progress.

"I'm not sure we expected 719 applications for new American
schools,'' he said. "I don't think any of us would have expected we
would have 2,700 communities meeting on one night through a satellite
town meeting to talk about making kids first in the world in math and
science. I think we have got a good start in getting the consensus for
standards and assessment.''

"Saying it's all talk is like saying a Supreme Court opinion is only
words,'' Mr. Alexander said. "Ninety percent of what we need to do is
to change people's attitudes.''

While critics have charged that the America 2000 strategy was part
of a campaign strategy for Mr. Bush, it now appears that any fruit it
bears will ripen too late to help the President politically.

"We have to keep in mind that we are talking about a very long-term
effort,'' Mr. Alexander said. "We'll probably work our way through
three or four Presidents before we reach these goals.''

Nevertheless, observers note that Mr. Alexander has tried to turn
America 2000 to Mr. Bush's political advantage and that, in doing so,
he sometimes overstates the crusade's impact.

For example, they say, he often speaks of "more than 2,000 America
2000 communities'' as if they all have plans in hand. In reality, many
that have signed on to the effort have not done much more than accept
the challenge.

In late 1991, Deputy Secretary David T. Kearns estimated that about
100 communities were making serious efforts. Mr. Alexander said last
week that the number would be higher now, but declined to estimate.

'Fudging It'?

"Yes, it's very uneven,'' Mr. Alexander said. "What we've done is
create an opportunity for communities, and we've seen some who have
really taken it. In the end, the schools in San Antonio will only be as
good as the people of San Antonio want them to be.''

Even in communities with relatively advanced efforts, backers
acknowledge that they cannot point to new programs instituted as a
result of America 2000.

Rather, they speak of future plans and ongoing programs that are
spreading as educators involved in the planning process exchange
ideas.

For example, Maria Ferrier, who recently left San Antonio's
Southwest Independent School District to become director of the federal
bilingual-education office, says San Antonio 2000 helped to broaden a
program through which employees at Kelly Air Force Base serve as
mentors to at-risk students.

"There were a few people in San Antonio doing these things on our
own,'' she said. "When the President and the Secretary came, things we
were doing caught fire because there was someone important behind
them.''

However, promotional materials, satellite broadcasts, and
presentations at regional America 2000 meetings tout programs like Ms.
Ferrier's as the direct result of America 2000.

"One of the first things we want to do is discover communities that
are headed in the right direction and point that out,'' Mr. Alexander
said.

The Secretary acknowledged, that the distinction between local
improvement efforts and the Administration's political agenda "probably
gets fudged sometimes,'' although he also denied confusing the two
intentionally.

In addressing America 2000-related meetings, Mr. Alexander stresses
the bipartisan nature of the initiative. And he acknowledges that a
community's involvement in a local school-improvement effort does not
constitute endorsement of the Administration's education agenda.

Democrats' Reaction

Critics also note that the Administration has used conferences it
has called on America 2000 to promote its political agenda.

A conference held in Atlanta in July, for example, included a
session on choice that was dominated by proponents of private-school
vouchers.

Some Democrats who support America 2000 say they are aware that the
Bush Administration is using the program toward political ends, but
that they think the need to focus on the nation's educational
shortcomings outweigh political concerns.

The keynote speaker at the Atlanta conference was Gov. Zell Miller
of Georgia, who had delivered a scathing address just days before at
the Democratic National Convention.

"No, I don't support their agenda, especially on choice,'' Mr.
Miller said. "But any way I can push education, I will. In education,
you have to have a bipartisan approach.''

However, political concerns have made some Democrats think
twice.

"I was reluctant, because I'm a Democrat, and it is Bush's plan,''
said State Rep. Karyne Jones-Conley, one of San Antonio 2000's three
chairmen. "It's also a program of rhetoric, because there is no funding
behind it.''

"But I decided it is better to be involved in it and see that it
focuses on the needs of the children than to just criticize it,'' she
said.

Teachers' unions, in particular, have been reluctant to get involved
in an effort that has primarily been led by a Republican administration
and local business leaders.

An informal survey of some of the more advanced America 2000 efforts
indicates that most local unions are neither opposing or actively
supporting the initiatives, although, in many of the communities,
individual teachers are involved.

Teacher Involvement

Mattie Rivers, the president of the Memphis Education Association,
is working on Memphis 2000, but she is not confident that her
membership will support the plan being drafted there.

"We don't have enough grassroots participation to make this work,''
she said. "We don't have enough teacher input. It's going to be hard to
get them to accept things like a longer school day.''

"Teachers just do not feel that they have been part of the process
from the beginning; it's like we were an afterthought,'' said Shelley
Potter, the president of the San Antonio Federation of Teachers. "Maybe
I'll think about it when we have a new administration in
Washington.''

Others have also begun speculating about America 2000's future if
Bill Clinton is elected President.

Mr. Clinton opposes vouchers for private schools, but supports the
standards and assessment initiative. He has taken no position on the
New American Schools Development Corporation, or on the
community-planning portion of America 2000, although his state has
signed on, and 34 Arkansas communities are listed as participants.

Mr. Alexander said he thinks the initiative has gathered too much
momentum to be stopped by a change in administrations, and Democrats
involved with local America 2000 efforts also expect them to
continue.

"I can't imagine that they're going to tell us to stop,'' Ms.
Jones-Conley of San Antonio 2000 said. "I'm hoping that when Bill
Clinton is elected, we might see some actual money behind this.''

Leslye A. Arsht, until recently one of Mr. Alexander's top aides, is
also looking toward the future. That is why she left the Education
Department to become executive director of the America 2000 Coalition,
a new national organization that aims to connect businesses and such
social-service organizations as the Salvation Army with local America
2000 efforts.

"We're looking to establish ourselves for the long term,'' she said.
"It seems to us that the commitment by these communities to achieve the
goals is growing and will continue. And I think you can achieve more,
have more credibility, outside government.''

The Promise and Potential

The efforts of San Antonio 2000 illustrate both the potential of the
America 2000 concept and how far it has to go to realize that
potential.

Like many other communities that jumped out to an early start, San
Antonio had the advantage of building on earlier efforts. Former Mayor
Henry Cisneros had brought together a nucleus of activists a decade ago
in a community-improvement effort called Target 90.

In addition, said Harvey B. Cox, the executive director of San
Antonio 2000, the local business community was already discussing
getting involved in education reform before America 2000 came along
"and gave us a framework.''

Mr. Cox is on loan to San Antonio 2000 from U.S.A.A., an insurance
and financial services company whose chief executive officer, Robert
McDermott, is one of the initiative's chairmen, along with Ms.
Jones-Conley and Mr. Cisneros.

Supporters say Mr. Cisneros deserves a great deal of credit for
making it possible to recruit a leadership group that is diverse both
ethnically and politically.

"For the first time, we have business people, teachers, and parents
all working together,'' said Mary Jo Laughlin, the principal of the
Academy for Creative Education, an alter
native school for former dropouts in the Northeast Independent School
District. "That's why I think something is really going to
happen.''

Educators who are involved with the effort, such as Ms. Laughlin,
say they are already reaping benefits from the network it has created
for sharing ideas and support.

But even supporters acknowledge that their hopes for an educational
renaissance are just hopes at this point.

"I think it will help in raising awareness that this is a community
problem, that we can't do it alone,'' said Patsy Richards, a science
teacher at Mark Twain Middle School in the San Antonio Independent
School District. "I think I'm already starting to see a greater
awareness among parents.''

Building Public Support

Victor Rodriguez, the superintendent of the San Antonio Independent
schools, said he hopes that awareness of the schools' problems and
their efforts to improve will lead to greater public support.

He noted that voters in several San Antonio districts had recently
rejected school-bond proposals.

"Yet, for the first time, we are also seeing a great interest in our
public schools,'' Mr. Rodriguez said. "I think people will support the
schools financially if they are involved in planning.''

Bill Fish, the principal of Lee High School in the Northeast
Independent School District, hopes the focus on reform will allow
schools more freedom.

"There's an opportunity here for people at the policymaking level to
give a green light to people in schools to try some things that are
different from what's been tried before,'' Mr. Fish said.

But even its staunchest supporters acknowledge that it will be
difficult to put the San Antonio 2000 plan into practice. The plan,
drafted by a series of committees, addresses everything from prenatal
care to adult literacy.

It includes many proposals that are sure to be controversial, such
as school-based health services, year-round schooling, consolidating
some administrative functions of the city's 15 independent school
districts, "shared funding'' across districts, and allocating more
funds for at-risk students who often attend the most poorly funded
schools.

A key part of the plan is a program called "Smart Schools,'' which
was created by a coalition of local educators in conjunction with
Trinity University. Among other recommendations, the agenda calls for
enriched curricula for all students, "authentic assessment,''
interdisciplinary teaching, school-based governance, and choice among
public schools.

Mr. Moore of Trinity University, who headed the "Smart Schools''
effort, said that 30 schools are joining the program this year but that
it "is clearly a long-term project.''

"The point,'' Secretary Alexander said, "is that it's starting. You
start building a house with a few cinder blocks in the basement.''

In five years, he predicted, there will be 10,000 America 2000
communities, thousands of charter schools, universal choice, national
standards and tests, extensive private-sector involvement in schools,
and schools that are "almost unrecognizable as schools.''

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