The President's 2005 budget invests in preparing America's youths and
adults for the jobs of the future. It recognizes that success in the
21st century demands both a rigorous academic education and cutting-edge
technical skills.

**Helping Young People Meet Higher Expectations**

Too many of our young people now graduate from high school with big
dreams for the future but without the solid academic or technical skills
they need to achieve them. The 2005 budget promotes high expectations
for our youth and the rigorous academic preparation they need to meet
them:

-   Large numbers of young people are entering high school with academic
    skills that are far below grade level. About one-third of
    eighth-graders scored "below basic" in reading and math on the 2003
    National Assessment of Educational Progress assessments. Further,
    nearly one-third of our college freshmen start postsecondary
    education in remedial courses. The \$100 million **Striving
    Readers** initiative and a new \$120 million investment in the
    **Mathematics and Science Partnership** program will help school
    districts implement research-based interventions to accelerate
    learning by these struggling students to ensure that they are not
    left behind. These strategies will help youths build their basic
    reading and math skills so they can take even more challenging
    courses to prepare them for postsecondary education, training and
    employment.

-   High-poverty high schools also will benefit from the additional \$1
    billion President Bush is seeking for **Title I of the Elementary
    and Secondary Education Act**. School districts will be able to
    enhance the services they offer to adolescents with disabilities
    with the additional \$1 billion the President is requesting for the
    **Individuals with Disabilities Education Act**.

-   Business/education partnerships in 12 states are now educating young
    people about the higher-level academic skills they need to succeed
    in the workplace and motivating them to take more rigorous courses
    in high school. The President is proposing to expand the **State
    Scholars Initiative** nationwide and to offer up to \$1,000 in
    enhanced Pell Grant scholarships to low-income students who complete
    a challenging high school course of study.

-   President Bush also is seeking an additional \$28 million to make
    **Advanced Placement** (AP) courses available to low-income
    students. To strengthen instruction in the core academics, the new
    **Adjunct Teacher Corps** will help middle and high schools bring
    talented professionals with subject-matter expertise and experience
    into the classroom.

-   Launched by Secretary of Education Rod Paige in October 2003, the
    **Preparing America's Future High School Initiative** is supporting
    leaders at the State and local levels in creating educational
    opportunities that will fully prepare American youth for success in
    further education and training, as participants in a highly skilled
    workforce, and as productive and responsible citizens. The three
    goals of the initiative are to: (1) equip State and local education
    leaders with current knowledge about high schools through a series
    of regional summits, technical assistance activities and targeted
    print and electronic materials; (2) develop the expertise within the
    Department of Education to provide effective technical assistance
    and support; and (3) facilitate a national dialogue to raise
    awareness about the need for significant reform in American high
    schools. More information about the initiative can be found at:
    [www.ed.gov/highschool](http://www.ed.gov/highschool).

**Opening Doors to High-Demand Jobs**

Many of the fastest-growing and better-paying occupations in our economy
now require a higher level of technical skills than ever before. The
President's budget will help more Americans obtain the skills they need
to secure these quality jobs:

-   The Administration\'s plan for reauthorization of the Carl D.
    Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998, the proposed
    new **Secondary and Technical Education** **Excellence** program,
    would create a coordinated high school and technical education
    improvement program. Funding would provide States, local educational
    agencies, community colleges, and schools with the resources to
    strengthen academic and technical education at the secondary and
    postsecondary levels. States would use most of their allocations to
    make competitive grants to partnerships between school districts and
    technical schools, community technical colleges, and institutions of
    higher education to support secondary career and technical education
    programs in high-demand job sectors that offer a clear pathway to
    further education beyond high school, such as an apprenticeship or a
    postsecondary degree program. The postsecondary components of these
    programs also will be available to adults who want to enhance their
    skills or learn new ones. States would be able to use a portion of
    their formula allocations to carry out State-level activities, and a
    national activities reservation would fund research, development,
    demonstrations, and other activities to help improve the quality and
    effectiveness of career and technical education. The new program
    would support and complement the achievement and accountability
    goals of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) by requiring States to focus
    more intensively on improving student academic achievement and
    outcomes in career and technical education programs so that students
    are taught the skills needed to make successful transitions from
    high school to further education and training and into the
    workforce. To get more information about Administration policy for
    career and technical education, you can view a webcast of Deputy
    Assistant Secretary Hans Meeder on the topic \"Policy Directions for
    Career and Technical Education\" at <http://www.nccte.org/webcasts/>

-   The President's **Jobs for the 21st Century** plan includes \$250
    million to fund partnerships between community colleges and
    employers to train workers for industries that are creating the most
    new jobs. This effort will be administered as part of the Department
    of Labor's High Growth Job Training Initiative. A majority of the
    funds will be targeted for training workers for jobs in locally
    identified high-growth/high-demand industries. The remaining funds
    will be awarded to build the capacity of community colleges by
    developing curricula with the help of industry obtaining qualified
    faculty ensuring community colleges can provide industry required
    clinical experiences utilizing up-to-date equipment.

-   The \$590 million President Bush is seeking for the **Adult
    Education and Family Literacy Act** will help millions of adults who
    lack basic skills or proficiency in English obtain the educational
    foundation they need to pursue postsecondary education or training
    and to find and keep employment. Stronger partnerships with the
    Workforce Investment Act One-Stop Career Center system will broaden
    the array of services available to these adult learners.

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