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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release May 17, 1999

          VICE PRESIDENT GORE LAUDS PROGRESS OF ON-LINE TOOLS
                        FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS

       Announces New On-Line Service, Praises Progress of Another

     Washington, DC -- Building on the blueprint he laid out for

American Education in 21st Century in Iowa on Sunday, Vice President Gore today announced new progress on connecting parents with teachers, involving parents in their children's education, and providing parents and teachers on-line resources to improve children's education.

"Nothing is more important than providing a quality education to all of our children, said Vice President Al Gore, "and I applaud these innovative ways to involve parents in their children's education."

"Parental involvement is essential to improving our children's education", Gore added, "and I am pleased that this new, free, on-line tool will help parents and teachers work together to improve their children's education."

The Lightspan Partnership is one company that has taken on this challenge -- offering this new free on-line tool for teachers and parents called "Page One" beginning this June. This service will enable teachers to customize the web for their specific classroom needs and share this resource with students and parents. From home, parents will be able to share these resources and view the entire class calendar and their children's projects.

Gore also praised other efforts to connect parents and schools on-line including the Family Education Network. The Family Education Network is an organization dedicated to providing parents with the information and resources they need to actively participate in their children's learning process.

Two years ago, Vice President Gore highlighted earlier models of these services at an annual Family Reunion Conference devoted to finding ways to strengthen families, and called for their further development. Gore praised the dramatic development of these services and said their wide availability will provide parents and teachers important new ways to work together on behalf of their children.

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