President Clinton and the United States Secretary for Education, Richard Riley seem to have ambitious plans for American education.

In response to a presidential "Call to Action" in Clinton's last State of the Union address, Secretary Riley and officials in the US Department of Education developed a list of seven priorities. They say all students in the US will benefit once these priorities are dealt with. Top of the list of priorities is a bid to ensure that all students read independently and well by the end of third grade - that is, by the time they are about eight years old. Some 100,000 teachers in the States are to be given special training in the teaching of literacy skills, Secretary Riley says. He describes literacy as a vital issue.

The US Department has also approved the establishment of "21st Century Learning Centres", which are expected to provide high quality after-school learning programmes for schoolgoing children. These will be aimed primarily at middle school students - aged between 12 and 15 years. Many of the centres - which, unusually, are to be funded by the US federal government rather than by state and local government - will be based in areas of high disadvantage in inner cities, the Secretary for Education says. Another listed priority is the modernisation of American schools, many of which are dilapidated buildings. Riley readily concedes that a large number of school buildings in the US are in urgent need of upgrading and updating. The government is anxious to encourage a school-building programme, he says.

Technology is another big issue facing US educators. "I'm pleased with what's taking place here in Ireland," Riley comments. "In the USA we're trying to have all our schools connected to the Internet by the year 2000, and we're almost there. America is experiencing a skills shortage similar to that in Ireland and it's vital that we produce more technically skilled people."

For the future, we can expect closer co-operation between the American and Irish governments on educational issues. A joint seminar between the Department of Education and Science and the US Department of Education is planned for next spring, and it is envisaged that it will become an annual event. Among the common issues to be discussed, according to Riley, are models of best practice, special education, class size and early interventions to break the cycle of disadvantage.