The Schools for the 21st Century Program was established, via SB 5479, in Washington state in 1987.  The legislation was introduced at the request of the Governor, Booth Gardner.  Consultant to Governor Gardner at that time, and appearing before the House Education Committee in February 1987, was Marc Tucker, then head of the Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy, later to become the National Center on Education and the Economy.

The 21st Century program actually commenced in the 1988/89 school year.  Twenty-one proposals, comprised of individual schools or school districts, became 21st Century program pilots in the first round, in 1988/89; two years later, in the 1990/91 school year, 12 more proposals joined the first 21, for a total of 33 pilot projects encompassing 111 schools in 27 school districts.

The 782 page resource document, written by Peter Holly, filed away in haphazard fashion in the offices of the State Board of Education, found by researchers in Washington State, typed by Lynn Stuter, is presented to the left.

The report that can be accessed to the left, An Experiment in Failure, tells the story of the Schools for the 21st Century program, including the testimony presented before the Senate Education Committee on January 29, 1998. 

Although provided with ample evidence …

·         of unethical conduct;

·         of contracts that violated state law;

·         that the program never met the requirements of the laws governing it;

·         of the failure of the program,

the Washington state Legislature has refused to investigate the program that was the basis of not only education reform in Washington state, but also the foundation of America 2000 under the Bush Administration; becoming Goals 2000 under the Clinton Administration.

Professing to be wise, they became fools.  Romans 1:22

Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens.  They fall when the wise are banished from the public councils because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded because they flatter the people in order to betray them.

                             —Justice Joseph Story; A Familiar Exposition of the Constitution of the United States

Note:  If you are accessing this page from another section of this website, please click here to bring up the corresponding links for the Schools for the 21st Century section.

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