For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 21, 2004
Fact Sheet: Jobs for the 21st Century
Presidential Action:
In his State of the Union Address, President Bush announced Jobs
for the 21st Century -- a comprehensive plan to better prepare
workers for jobs in the new millennium by strengthening post-secondary
education and job training and improving high school education. This
plan includes over $500 million in new funding for education and job
training programs.
Strengthening Access to Post-Secondary Education and Job Training:
The President's plan will expand opportunities for workers to access
post-secondary education to get the job training and skills to compete
in a changing and dynamic economy and fill jobs in emerging industries
-- including $250 million to fund partnerships between community
colleges and employers in high-demand job sectors, and $33 million for
expanded Pell Grants for low-income students who complete rigorous
coursework in high school.
Improving High School Education: The President's plan will also
improve the quality of education at our Nation's high schools and
better prepare students for success in higher education and the job
market -- including $100 million to help striving readers and $120
million to improve math education.
Higher Education
Background: Post-secondary education and training has become an
essential requirement for a steadily increasing percentage of jobs.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 80% of the fastest-growing
jobs in the United States require some sort of higher education after
high school, and many of these jobs require a strong foundation in math
and science. Because they are so adaptable and accessible, community
colleges are increasingly critical providers of job training, both for
degree-seekers and for workers seeking to retool, refine, and broaden
their skills.
The Challenge: High school graduates are not entering college and
the workforce with the skills they need to compete in a changing
economy. A recent report by the National Center for Education
Statistics found that 42% of entering freshmen at public two-year
colleges and 20% of entering freshmen at four-year public institutions
enrolled in at least one remedial course in 2000. Research from the
U.S. Department of Education also shows that there is a strong link
between the courses completed in high school and the completion of a
post-secondary degree.
President Bush's Plan: President Bush wants to expand access to
post-secondary education for low-income students, and he wants to
foster a new generation of job training partnerships between community
colleges and the employers in industries with the most demand for
skilled workers. His plan includes:
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Community-based Job Training Grants Building on the successes of
the President's High-Growth Job Training Initiative, a strategic
approach that has provided seed money to fund job training partnerships
between community colleges and local high-growth industries, the
President proposes $250 million in 2005 to strengthen the role of
community colleges in workforce development. These new competitive
Community-based Job Training grants would be used for training in
community and technical colleges that are linked with local employers
looking for more skilled workers.
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Enhanced Pell Grants The Bush Administration proposes to
establish a $33 million program to enhance Pell Grants to reward
low-income students who participate in the State Scholars Program by
taking a rigorous high school curriculum. This program would provide
up to an additional $1,000 per year to students in the first two years
of college who complete the rigorous State Scholars curriculum in high
school, enroll in college full time, and are Pell Grant recipients.
Next year, approximately 36,000 low-income graduating high school
seniors would be eligible to receive an enhanced Pell Grant under this
proposal.
High School Initiatives
Background: The No Child Left Behind Act is providing
accountability and resources to improve the achievement of America's
elementary and secondary students. These reforms are already beginning
to show results in elementary reading and math scores, but President
Bush also wants to ensure that all high school students will be better
prepared to enter higher education or the workforce. Unfortunately,
recent results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP) demonstrate that, while achievement for our Nation's fourth- and
eighth-graders is on the rise, scores for twelfth graders have declined
in both reading and mathematics.
Reading
The Challenge: Many struggling students are at risk of dropping
out of school in part because of deficient reading skills. A 2002
study done by researchers at Johns Hopkins University estimates almost
one-third of entering ninth-grade students need additional help in
reading. In high-poverty high schools, this problem can be even worse,
with some studies showing students entering high school three or more
grade levels behind in reading. A 1999 study by Andrew Sum of
Northeastern University confirms that literacy is highly correlated
with the probability of ever earning a high school diploma, the
probability of ever earning a higher education degree, and with future
earnings.
The President's Plan: The Administration is proposing a new $100
million Striving Readers Initiative that would make competitive grants
to develop, implement, and evaluate effective reading interventions for
middle or high school students reading significantly below grade
level. This program would complement the Reading First State Grants
program, which provides comprehensive reading instruction for children
in kindergarten through third grade that is grounded in scientifically
based reading research. The proposal would provide funds to
approximately 50 to 100 school districts for reading intervention
programs to help middle and high school students catch up to their
peers in reading.
Math
The Challenge: Research indicates many students who drop out of
school lack basic skills in mathematics. A 2002 study done by
researchers at Johns Hopkins found that "[i]n almost every State, there
is at least a 35 percent difference between the percent of white eighth
graders and the percent of eighth graders in the State's largest
minority groups scoring at the basic level in mathematics on the NAEP
test." Further, a 2001 study of Third International Mathematics and
Science Study (TIMSS) data revealed that 40 percent of the Nation's
13-year olds fail to perform as well as the average student worldwide
in mathematics. Many jobs of the future, however, require a strong
background in math and science.
The President's Plan: The Administration is proposing a $120
million increase for the Mathematics and Science Partnership program
authorized in the No Child Left Behind Act. The increase would support
direct Federal competitive grants to partnerships to increase
achievement in mathematics for secondary students. The new 3-year
competitive grants would support projects that have significant
potential to accelerate the mathematics achievement of all secondary
students, but especially low-achieving students. The initiative would
focus on ensuring that States and school districts implement
professional development projects for mathematics teachers that are
strongly grounded in research and that help mathematics teachers to
strengthen their skills.
Advanced Placement
The Challenge: Low-income students who participate in Advanced
Placement (AP) programs, which give students the opportunity to take
college-level courses in high school, are much more likely to enroll
and be successful in college than their peers. While enrollment in AP
courses has nearly tripled over the past decade, studies show that
minority students participate in AP classes and tests at rates far
below those of non-minority students, since many students from
low-income families attend schools that do not offer AP classes.
President Bush's Plan: Advanced Placement programs not only
encourage the growth of Advanced Placement (AP) and International
Baccalaureate (IB) courses, but also serve as a mechanism for upgrading
the entire high school curriculum for all students. The Administration
is proposing a $28 million increase for the Advanced Placement program
authorized in the No Child Left Behind Act bringing spending on it to
nearly $52 million a year. The increase in funds will ensure that
teachers in low-income schools are well-trained to teach AP and IB
courses. This program has two components: Advanced Placement Test Fee
and Advanced Placement Incentive grants. The purpose of both programs
is to support State and local efforts to increase access to advanced
placement classes and tests for students in low-income schools, as well
as other programs with challenging curricular and end-of-course
examinations such as the International Baccalaureate program.
Adjunct Teacher Corps
The Challenge: Job growth is expected to occur in occupations
requiring a strong foundation in math and science. According to the
Department of Education's 1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey, 52
percent of middle school and 15 percent of high school mathematics
teachers did not have a major or minor in mathematics and 40 percent of
middle school and 11 percent of high school science teachers did not
have a major or minor in science.
President Bush's Plan: Many school districts need opportunities
and the personnel to strengthen instruction in middle and high schools
in the core academic subjects, especially mathematics and science. The
Adjunct Teacher Corps would help alleviate this critical situation by
bringing professionals with subject-matter knowledge and experience
into the classroom. The Administration is proposing a new $40 million
initiative to provide competitive grants to partnerships of school
districts and public or private institutions to create opportunities
for professionals to teach middle and high school courses in the core
academic subjects, particularly in mathematics and science.
Grants would be used to: (1) identify, as adjunct teachers,
well-qualified individuals outside of the K-12 educational system,
including outstanding individuals at the height of their careers in
business, government, and institutions of higher learning; and (2)
facilitate arrangements for these individuals to function in this
capacity, for example, by teaching one or more courses at a school site
on a part-time basis, teaching full-time in middle and high schools
while on leave from their jobs, or teaching courses that would be
available online or through other distance-learning arrangements. The
proposal would provide for approximately 60 to 100 awards for
partnerships to create and implement arrangements for using
well-qualified individuals as teachers on an adjunct basis as is done
in our institutions of higher education.
State Scholars
The Challenge: Students are not entering college with the skills
necessary to succeed in and complete a post-secondary education.
According to a recent study by the Manhattan Institute, 70% of all
students in public high schools graduate, but only 32% of all students
leave high school academically prepared to attend college. College
readiness for minority students is even lower: 51% of all black
students graduate, but only 20% leave high school college-ready; and
52% of all Hispanic students graduate, but only 16% leave high school
college-ready.
President Bush's Plan: The Administration proposes $12 million in
funding for the State Scholars program to make grants available
nationwide. In August 2002, President Bush announced the State
Scholars Initiative, modeled on the successful Texas Scholars program,
to encourage high school students to take more rigorous high school
courses. Under the State Scholars Initiative, 12 States have already
received assistance in developing and promoting strong courses of
study, as well as providing special incentives for students enrolled in
these programs.
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