Media Advisory

During his State of the Union address, President Bush announced his administration s plan to spend more than $500 million on job training and education under a program called Jobs for the 21st Century. A White House fact sheet on the program is available online at www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/01/ 20040121.html. The fact sheet cites a report by education researchers and program developers Robert Balfanz, James McPartland, and Alta Shaw at the Center for Social Organization of Schools at The Johns Hopkins University. The Johns Hopkins report, Re-conceptualizing Extra-Help for High School Students in a High Standards Era, was commissioned by Office of Vocational and Adult Education. The researchers say that most high schools in the United States will need to develop extra support programs to help their students meet the government s goal to have all high school students enrolled in rigorous courses. Instead of focusing on remedial work in basic skills, the researchers say that students need opportunities to acquire intermediate level skills as well as more advanced reading comprehension and mathematical reasoning strategies. The report may be downloaded from www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/hs/remed.html. To speak with the researchers, contact Amy Cowles at 443-287- 9960. Visit CSOS online at http://www.csos.jhu.edu/.