America Goes Back to School, 2000

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part V

The President

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Proclamation 7336--America Goes Back to School, 2000

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7336 of August 31, 2000

America Goes Back to School, 2000

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

For America's students, the new school year is a time
for learning lessons, making friends, and setting
goals. For America's parents, it is a time to focus on
the role education plays in their children's lives and
future. And for our Nation, it is a time to strengthen
our efforts to improve the quality of education and to
make America's schools safe, nurturing places where
children can reach their full potential.

This year a record 53 million young people will fill
our schools--the highest enrollment in our Nation's
history--and communities across the country are
struggling to provide adequate classroom space and to
hire qualified teachers to meet students' needs. To
assist local school districts in meeting these critical
challenges, my Administration's proposed education
budget for fiscal 2001 includes tax credits and loans
to help communities build and modernize 6,000 schools
and to make emergency repairs to another 25,000. We
have also requested an additional $1.75 billion to meet
our goal of hiring 100,000 qualified teachers to reduce
class size in the early grades and $1 billion in new
funds to recruit and train high-quality teachers for
every grade level. And we have proposed dramatic
increases in the Federal investment in after-school and
summer school programs, safe and drug-free schools, and
support to help States and districts to turn around
failing schools. These critical investments, coupled
with my Administration's ongoing commitment to high
standards and accountability, will help children across
the country reach their full potential.

While the Federal Government has an important role to
play in improving the quality of American education, it
is the efforts of local school boards, families, and
communities, working together, that make the crucial
difference in preparing our children for the future.
Parents who read with their children, monitor homework
and out-of-school activities, demand high academic
standards and challenging coursework, and encourage
greater community support and investment in school
activities have an enormous impact on their children's
academic success. Similarly, businesses with family-
friendly leave policies, community organizations that
offer after-school programs, libraries that provide
access to computers and educational software,
volunteers who help children read or who serve as
mentors--all of these people and programs help create
supportive environments that enable students to make
the most of their education.

America Goes Back to School is a nationwide initiative,
in partnership with the Department of Education, to
encourage and support family and community involvement
in improving children's learning. The initiative's
theme, ``Challenge Our Students and They Will Soar,''
reflects the importance of setting high expectations
for America's young people and reminds us that we each
have a role to play in providing our Nation's students
with the schools, teachers, and standards they need to
achieve their dreams and succeed in this new century.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim September 4 through
September 10, 2000, as a time when America Goes Back to
School. I encourage parents, schools, community and
State leaders, businesses, civic and religious
organizations, and the people of the United States to
observe this period with appropriate ceremonies and
activities expressing support for high academic
standards and promoting family and community
involvement in providing a quality education for every
child.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord two
thousand, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.