Please share this weekly fact sheet with your colleagues
Edited by Ellen Kelly-Holland

Richard La Pointe Named New Division Director
Assistant Secretary Carol D'Amico announced this week that Dr. Richard La Pointe will serve as Director of OVAE's new Division of High School, Postsecondary and Career Education. Dr. La Pointe has had extensive experience in public education and in other fields. He served Presidents Reagan and Bush in the U.S. Department of Education as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education; Director of the Fund to Improve and Reform Schools and Teaching; Deputy Director for Post Secondary Relations for Higher Education; Executive Director for the National Council for Educational Research of the National Institute of Education; and he served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary at the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. A former English and history teacher and high school principal, Dr. La Pointe also served as Superintendent of Schools for Contra Costa County in California and as an administrator for the Oakland (California) Public Schools. More recently, Dr. La Pointe served as Virginia's Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Dr. La Pointe is expected to begin serving as Director of OVAE's Division of High School, Postsecondary and Career Education on Tuesday, May 28.

Important Notice: OVAE Public Meetings Take Place June 3 and 4
The Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), U.S. Department of Education, will hold a series of public meetings on June 3rd and 4th to request comments on the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 and the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Title II of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998:

June 3, 2002:
Perkins Reauthorization: Time: 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Family Literacy Act, Title II of WIA: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: Oakland Community College, Wallace Smith Theater, 27055 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334, Phone: (248) 522-3400 Fax: (248) 522-3903. Hotel Information: A limited number of rooms have been reserved at the Best Western Executive Hotel & Suites located at 31525 W. Twelve Mile Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334. For reservations, please call (248) 553-0000 and reference "OVAE Public Meeting."

June 4, 2002
Perkins Reauthorization: Time: 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Family Literacy Act, Title II of WIA: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: The Regional Collaboration Center, 12th Floor, Meeting Room, 1 Metropolitan Square, St. Louis, MO 63102 -- Phone: (314) 231-5555. Hotel: A limited number of rooms have been reserved at the Westin Hotel, 811 Spruce Street, St. Louis, MO 63102. For reservations, please call 1-800-937-8461 and reference "OVAE Public Meeting."

To present comments, submit written comments, receive additional information or request accommodations for persons with disabilities, please contact: Gerri Anderson, Conference Manager, 1010 Wayne Ave, Suite 300, Silver Spring, MD 20910 -- Voice: (888) 589-4366 - Fax: (301) 589-4122 - Federal Information Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339 - Email:ganderson@dbconsultinggroup.com.

Additional public meetings are being planned for the summer 2002 in California and North Carolina at times, dates, and locations, to be determined.

NOTE: A comprehensive notice of the meeting will be published shortly in the Federal Register.

Split Allocations Announced for FY 2002 Awards
As in previous years, the total grant dollars for the FY 2002 Basic Vocational Education Grants to the states will be awarded in two installments: one in July, and one in October. Thus, in July a total of $386,640,000 will be awarded; in October the remaining $766,928,000 will be awarded from the overall $1,153,568,000 allocation.

The State Directors received a listing of each State's award amounts for both installments via both FAX and email on May 21. This information is intended to assist with planning activities at the state and local levels.

Note that only the Basic Grant awards will be split in two installments. The Tech Prep grants totaling $108,000,000 will be awarded in one installment in July. In the near future a Tech Prep Program Memorandum is scheduled to be issued. This memorandum will further discuss the allowable uses of Tech Prep funds and the role of Tech Prep in Preparing America's Future, and a strategy for systemic change.

Highlights from High School Symposium Paper
Each week Perkins, Education, and Technology provides highlights from one of the nine papers presented last April at the Preparing America's Future High School Symposium.

This week the focus is on What Role Can Dual Enrollment Programs Play in Easing the Transition Between High School and Postsecondary Education? Thomas R. Bailey, Katherine L. Hughes, and Melinda Mechur Karp make the following points:

• For a variety of causes, the transition from high school to college is unsuccessful for many students.
• Dual enrollment programs allow high school students to take college courses and earn high school and college credit simultaneously; the programs vary widely in structure, funding, and prerequisites.
• Potentially, dual enrollment could shift from a program focused on a relatively small number of higher achieving students to a much larger strategy for easing the high school-to-college transition for a broad range of students.
• Despite complex funding, quality, and participation issues, the minimal research available indicates that participants and educators are enthusiastic about the strategy.

All nine papers presented at the April 2002 Preparing America's Future High School Symposium are available on the website of the Office of Vocational and Adult Education; although commissioned by OVAE, their views and findings do not necessarily reflect the official positions and policies of the U.S. Department of Education. For more information, consult: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/HS/commisspap.html.

America's Career Resource Network (ACRN)
The Oklahoma ACRN has recently been involved in GirlTech, a program designed for female high school and adult students enrolled in Oklahoma Technology Centers. It provides awareness and helps them to develop skills to pursue career opportunities in the IT/Scientific Research and Engineering Career Technical Education program areas by connecting them with professional women mentors.

For further information, contact Jo Kahn, Oklahoma CRN or from the National Consortium for State Guidance Leadership - Spring 2002 Newsletter.

Did You Know?

• Please visit the new location for program memoranda, www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/memorandums.html, which provides guidance and other information issued by the Department related to the implementation of the Perkins Act.
• In an effort to keep our office informed about any changes in contact information, title changes, address changes, email changes or telephone numbers, please submit your changes to Carole Gisriel.