FYI:  Below is the text of the resignation letter of Susan Sclafani as 
Assistant Secretary of Education for the Office of Vocational and Adult 
Education, effective September 6, 2005.  Reactions, anyone?
Donna

Donna JG Brian
Moderator, NIFL Workplace Literacy Discussion List, and
Coordinator/Developer LINCS Workforce Education Special Collection at 
http://worklink.coe.utk.edu/
Center for Literacy Studies at The University of Tennessee
600 Henley Street, Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135

865-974-3420 (desk phone) FAX 865-974-3857
djgbrian at utk.edu


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 18, 2005


President George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, DC 20500


Dear Mr. President:

It is with great appreciation and gratitude that I tender my resignation as 
Assistant Secretary of Education for the Office of Vocational and Adult 
Education, effective September 6, 2005.  For the last four and one half 
years, I have had the great privilege and honor to serve you and our nation 
as we embarked on the road to educational excellence for all children.  As 
I crossed the country talking with educators, business people and community 
leaders about No Child Left Behind, I have seen the difference that your 
vision has made for children who have not previously had such a powerful 
advocate.  It is now time for me to join those working to implement the 
law, providing the knowledge and skills I have developed in my work in 
Houston as well as in Washington to assist their efforts.

I came to Washington in February 2001 to assist Secretary Rod Paige in his 
work to take your vision forward.  In your selection of Rod Paige, you gave 
America a role model for education and character.  He is a man of great 
integrity and commitment, and it has been my honor to work with him.  As he 
established a team of educators to lead the department, we worked to engage 
educators across the country in a discussion of your vision and the ideas 
that would form the statute you signed in January 2002.  The bipartisan 
support you developed for it, and the additional funding you provided for 
its implementation, helped educators accept NCLB as the educational 
imperative of our time.  Its potential is not yet fully realized, but I 
believe that it will be seen as the turning point for achieving America's 
future productivity and prosperity.

With Secretary Paige's leadership, we worked in other areas as well.  We 
started a Mathematics and Science Initiative that focused attention on the 
importance of mathematics and science in the education of all students, the 
need for teachers knowledgeable in mathematics and science at every level 
of schooling, and the requirement for further research in both subjects so 
that we can share with practitioners research-based practices they have 
learned to value in reading instruction.  We opened doors in China by 
engaging the Ministry of Education in its first joint projects with us 
regarding language learning as well as mathematics and science 
education.  And we started the dialogue on rethinking the structure and 
operation of high schools to meet the needs of today's students in 
preparing for tomorrow's challenges.  As part of that dialogue, we engaged 
the business community in advocating for more rigorous high school 
coursework through the establishment of the Center for State Scholars.  All 
of these accomplishments reflected your vision of creating an educational 
system that ensured that no child was left behind.

In both vocational and adult education, we have made progress as we worked 
to instill the principles of NCLB into state and local programs.  There are 
some remarkable career and technical education programs that motivate and 
prepare students for success; our challenge is to help states ensure that 
every program is worthy of the students they serve.  As a result, 
accountability and research-based practices have been the focal points of 
our efforts.  States are working to develop and analyze evidence for 
programs already established and are investigating how to put the 
principles of good reading instruction into adolescent literacy.

Community colleges have accepted the challenge of leading students and 
displaced workers into the high tech economy of the future, and they 
greatly appreciate your vision and support for their mission.  We have 
established programs that assist high schools and community colleges in 
assuring a smooth transition for their students from secondary to 
postsecondary opportunities.  In addition, we studied labor-market 
responsive community colleges and identified promising practices that other 
community colleges could pursue.  Through an on-going dialogue with 
community college presidents, we have identified a number of areas for 
additional work.

In adult education, we have put in place a national reporting system that 
ensures states are using valid and reliable data to evaluate and improve 
their programs.  We are developing projects to improve reading and 
mathematics programs, provide smooth transitions from adult education into 
community college, and assist English language learners in adult education 
develop the knowledge and skills required for success.  In addition, we 
have been working to make your vision of web site access to literacy and 
numeracy assistance in adult education a reality.  Research projects in 
career and technical education, community colleges and adult education, 
many in collaboration with the Institute of Education Sciences, are 
establishing research bases for high schools, community colleges and adult 
education programs that will propel these programs forward in the future.

We have also focused on implementing the President's Management Agenda in 
the Office of Vocational and Adult Education.  We have worked closely with 
the Offices of the Undersecretary and Management to ensure that our audits 
are clean, our reports timely, and our files in good order.  In our 
implementation of the employee evaluation system, we have made distinctions 
in the quality of performance and honored outstanding performers, while 
encouraging all employees to improve the quality of their work.  The Office 
works as a team on continuous improvement.

I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve your 
administration in the implementation of landmark legislation that is 
changing the education landscape.  I leave with great respect for the 
educators in the Department of Education with whom I have worked since 
early 2001, and especially those in OVAE.  I know that I speak for 
educators across America when I say how much we appreciate your continued 
commitment to education despite the challenges our country has faced from 
9/11 through the current time.  The Department of Education will move 
forward under the leadership of Secretary Spellings, and I will continue to 
support its mission and its activities in every way that I can.

Sincerely,



Susan K. Sclafani