The money would represent the second installment on a seven-year program by President Clinton to finance the hiring of 100,000 new teachers, the central feature of his education agenda. President Clinton has released a new report from the U.S. Department of Education highlighting the initial success of his initiative to reduce class sizes in the early grades. The report reveals the positive impact that the class size reduction program is having nationwide. Among its key findings, the report shows that 1.7 million children nationwide have benefited from the program, that 29,000 teachers have been hired under the program, and that average class size for grades 1-3 in schools receiving assistance has been reduced to 18. The report notes that a substantial body of research demonstrates that lowering class size in the early grades produces significant and lasting benefits for students and teachers alike.
Smaller classes allow teachers to spend more time on instruction and less time on discipline.
Teachers can provide more individualized instruction to meet the students' learning needs. Students attending small classes in the early grades make more rapid educational progress than students in larger classes, and these achievement gains persist well after students move on to larger classes in later grades. Moreover, the research shows that disadvantaged students benefit most from smaller classes. On November 10, President Clinton announced a report from the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, which says that major breakdowns in key economic and infrastructure sectors now appear unlikely. Key sectors of our economy, including electric utilities, transportation, telecommunications, and finance, have undertaken satisfactory conversion, testing, and contingency planning to make a smooth transition into the Year 2000.