(FORTUNE Magazine) – WILL THE DRIVE to revive America's ailing public schools, launched in the early 1980s, start producing results in the 1990s? It had better. By the latest tally, the high school dropout rate remains stuck at roughly 25%. On standardized tests, especially in math and science, U.S. students still trail those in most other developed countries. Says Ira Magaziner, a management consultant and chairman of a bipartisan commission that just completed a detailed assessment of the skills of the American work force: ''We can't afford to play around with this problem for another decade.'' True, individual success stories abound. The 281 business leaders, politicians, and educators who gathered in October in Washington, D.C., for FORTUNE's third annual education summit had the chance to meet several -- students from five members of the Coalition of Essential Schools, an organization founded by Brown University professor Theodore Sizer and dedicated to inspiring kids through experimental teaching methods and smaller classes. By giving an intelligent and enthusiastic human face to the abstract debates that had dominated FORTUNE's previous summits, these children underlined, as nothing else could, how much the U.S. stands to gain from radical reform. The inescapable conclusion of the 1990 meeting, as TRW Chairman Joseph Gorman put it, was that ''as a nation, we simply must turn up the crank on this issue.'' That means, as Gorman and other speakers observed, that companies cannot settle for merely adopting a local school, underwriting college scholarships, or getting executives involved as instructors or mentors. Instead, they must steel themselves to tackle the really tough issues. Here are five where business can make a difference.

| DEMAND HIGHER STANDARDS The essential first step is to help formulate a set of minimum standards that all schools and students must meet. Says Vartan Gregorian, president of Brown University: ''We spend $200 billion a year on education in this country without a national consensus on what we expect in return from our schools.'' Critics argue that national standards, if set too high, would damage students' self-esteem or be unfair to minorities. Bunk, says Al Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers. He points out that in the mid-Seventies several states, including Florida, began to require that students prove they had achieved at least a minimum level of competency in reading, writing, and arithmetic before graduating from high school. Immediately an outcry went up. Since a 1975 assessment of black 17-year-olds found that 80% were illiterate or semiliterate, opponents of such state tests said that they would be discriminatory and that dropout rates would soar. Besides, solving the social problems that held these kids back was the more important priority. Well, guess what? Minority students made the grade. Not overnight. Though 80% to 90% of them failed the first time around in Florida, Barbara Lerner, a psychologist and lawyer, found that after more rigorous preparation all but 10% of the group eventually passed. Given those results, Shanker believes, it's time to demand even more from America's high school graduates. Says he: ''Right now we make believe that 50% of our kids qualify for college. Then we make believe that spending four years getting what should have been their high school education gives them a college education. We've been able to fool ourselves in the past, but world competition won't let us do so much longer.'' For the U.S., with its 16,000 independent school districts, the trick is to push for national goals and state standards without losing the benefits of local control and creativity. That's a trick American business knows something about. Faced with the need to decentralize and push decision-making down to the shop floor, its solution, in part, has been to craft corporate mission statements: documents that define a company's objectives and ensure that all divisions march, by diverse routes, toward the same end. Of course, not all school districts are created equal. In New Jersey, Governor Jim Florio has signed controversial legislation that will take state money away from richer school districts, some of which allot up to $14,000 per | pupil, and redistribute it to poorer ones, whose spending can be as low as $4,000 per pupil. (Local property tax revenues, obviously much higher in wealthy neighborhoods, account for the difference.) Superintendents and parents from some of the roughly 200 districts that stand to lose revenue accuse Florio of sacrificing excellence for equity. California has been working on this issue since the mid-1970s, when it adopted a school finance plan that allowed funds to be redistributed gradually among districts. Now, according to superintendent of public instruction Bill Honig, 95% of schools are within $250 of one another in per student spending. President Bush defined six broad goals for American education in his State of the Union address last January. These included increasing the high school graduation rate to a minimum of 90% by the year 2000 and assessing student performance in critical subjects in the fourth, eighth, and 12th grades. Too ambitious? Not for Jerry Hume, chief executive of Basic American Inc., a privately held food processor based in San Francisco. Hume would like schools to develop report cards that would show how students' test scores stack up against national and international standards. Says he: ''As a businessman, I'd like to see standards for K-12 education that are superior to those in countries with which we compete.'' The other virtue of standards is that they give taxpayers a way of assessing the return on their education investment. Says John Chubb, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution: ''Voters want some guarantee that they are not being asked to throw money down a rat hole.'' Standards are one way to provide accountability. By the rough measures that now exist, those returns have been lousy: While annual spending per U.S. pupil rose 27%, after inflation, from 1980 to 1989, the average SAT scores of college-bound seniors remained virtually unchanged. Legislators in Massachusetts and New Hampshire recently voted to cut education spending. But in New Mexico, Governor Garrey Caruthers got more education money from his legislature by promising to assess all 88 school districts in his state. The first report card, ranking the districts from the best to the worst, was published in November.

BUST UP THE BUREAUCRACY On average, only 60 cents of every dollar spent on education makes it to the classroom. The rest goes to capital spending, maintenance, and, worst of all, that yawning black hole known as the board of education. Since 1980, administrative costs for U.S. schools have climbed nearly twice as fast as spending on teachers. Should business play a role in the bare-knuckle politics that busting up this empire of paper pushers requires? Yes, says Ohio's outgoing governor, Richard Celeste: ''Business leaders must be willing to speak out, even though it is controversial, about how the system can be reformed.'' Despite all the rhetoric about corporate involvement, the number of executives serving on local school boards has actually declined in recent years. One political cause that corporate America increasingly endorses is public school choice: giving families the freedom to pick the school for their kids, no matter where it is. The idea is that competition for students will force schools to either shape up or shut down. Says Peter Flanigan, managing director at Dillon Read: ''With choice, children and their parents, not the state, make the final decision on whether a school is good or bad.'' Critics, many of them school administrators, claim the pro-choice crowd oversells its benefits. In Minnesota, for example, where a statewide choice plan was introduced in 1989 after four years of hard lobbying by local business executives, only 0.4% of students have changed districts. But in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and other places where choice plans have been around longer -- and where, unlike rural Minnesota, there are more schools to choose from -- the participation rate and the improvement in test scores are striking. In his recent book, Politics, Markets, and America's Schools, Brookings' John Chubb concludes that the common trait shared by all effective schools is lack of bureaucracy. To Deborah Meier, principal of Central Park East High School in East Harlem, that's what choice is all about -- putting power and responsibility back into the hands of teachers and principals. ''I'm for choice,'' she says, ''not because it provides competition but because it's the only way I know to explore the kind of fundamental restructuring our schools need.''

STOP DEVALUING HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS By the year 2000, according to the Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, more than 70% of jobs in the U.S. will not require a college education. Yet typical high schools continue to concentrate on getting most students ready for college. As technology advances and companies push employees to assume more responsibility, continued neglect of those who end their formal education with high school is likely to be disastrous. You want proof? Ponder this abbreviated description of the position of manufacturing production operator at Motorola, an entry-level job: ''Analyze computer reports and identify problems through experiments and statistical process control. Work with technicians and engineers to improve the process. Communicate manufacturing performance metrics to management, and understand the company's competitive position.'' Since high schools aren't teaching these skills, corporations have increasingly been forced either to pay higher wages to those with at least a year or two of college or to hire unskilled workers and train them. The Workforce Commission reported that 90% of the companies interviewed pay high school graduates the same wages as non-high school graduates. If that's the case, why not drop out? Unable to find enough skilled entry-level workers, the Arizona Business Coalition -- a group of top managers from Arizona's biggest companies -- has launched a drive to make a high school diploma worth something again. In July it persuaded legislators to pass a bill that adds four business representatives to the state's Board of Vocational and Technological Education and that boosts spending on vocational education by $2 million, despite a statewide budget crunch. The coalition has also proposed raising business taxes by $40 million over the next five years -- provided the state government matches that sum and spends it on restructuring vocational education. Why are Arizonans so gung-ho? Three years ago the Business Coalition formed task forces in electronics, hospitality, machining, and other key state industries. They reshaped curriculums and provided teacher training, as well as donated employees, technology, and money. The task forces also launched a number of pilot vocational programs. These start by giving seventh- and eighth-graders exploratory courses in careers such as lasers, robotics, and desktop publishing. As the kids advance, the technical training becomes more hands-on, so that by 12th grade, students can work as apprentices in local companies. The results, according to Arizona's Department of Vocational Education: not a single dropout among the 2,000 students in the 36 pilot programs, compared with the state average of 37%. In addition, businesses report that graduates of the pilot sites, some of which have been running for three years, are far superior to past hires. But doesn't the job market change so often and so quickly that it's difficult -- even risky -- for schools to prepare students for specific careers? Yes. That's why in Fort Worth the chamber of commerce and the local school district have devised something called Project C 3 (the Cs in question are community, corporations, and classrooms). To better match work force supply with demand, executives from the city's largest businesses -- among them, American Airlines, General Dynamics, and Tandy Corp. -- as well as smaller companies, are trying to identify what skills will be most in demand over the next three to five years and to advise the schools on how best to prepare students for jobs. A final way business could make high school matter would be to start checking high school transcripts and refusing to hire dropouts. In Florida the Educational Testing Service is hoping to make additional information about school performance available by developing a database that contains attendance records and written assessments as well as grades. Employers using this resource would send a message to students that hard work and graduation count.

HELP KIDS BEFORE THEY START SCHOOL In more and more American cities, teachers are no longer just educators. ''They are missionaries,'' says Honeywell Chairman James Renier. A school superintendent in Minnesota lists 52 nonacademic issues his schools are now responsible for, ranging from day care to suicide prevention. Can business do anything about the 28 babies born each day in New York City addicted to crack? Or the 41% of infants in Minneapolis -- yes, Minneapolis -- born to single mothers? Or the fact that there are more black males in jail in the U.S. than in college? Not alone and not right away. But it can start by doing what companies do best: analyzing the problem, identifying needs, and marshaling community resources to meet them. Says Renier: ''To get education back on track, our whole society sooner or later will have to participate.'' Several studies indicate, for example, that poor children who are successfully prepared for kindergarten stand a far better chance of staying in school than their peers. But the U.S. still spends far less on educating children 5 years old or younger than on those older than 5. To help close this gap, Honeywell last year joined with United Way of Minneapolis and other community social service groups to start an organization called Success by Six. Under its pilot Way to Grow program, volunteers from business, government, and nonprofit agencies recruit workers who live in poor areas of the city and train them to help new and expectant mothers take advantage of available social services. Honeywell's Renier is even more excited about a recent Success by Six venture called New Vistas. Every day some 3,000 American teenagers get pregnant. To care for their children, many of these young mothers are forced to join the army of dropouts, perpetuating the vicious cycle of ignorance and poverty. New Vistas, housed on the first floor of Honeywell's Minneapolis headquarters, will eventually provide 30 mothers or mothers-to-be with the academic courses they need to earn a high school diploma, as well as counseling in child care, health care, and social services. During class hours, specialists at the school care for the students' infants and toddlers. Does it make a difference? Ask Angela Lyons, 18, who dropped out last December because she didn't have anyone to watch her two kids. Now a junior at New Vistas, Angela plans to go to college. To supplement Honeywell's contribution, the Minneapolis public school system provides money and instruction; the Minneapolis Children's Medical Center and Minneapolis Public Health Department supply medical services; and the city's Big Brother and Big Sister organization sends social workers. Success by Six is such a textbook case of how a whole community can pull together that United Way hopes to replicate the program in Houston, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Phoenix, and many other cities. Says Renier: ''There's tremendous latent support for this kind of approach. Business's role is to act as a catalyst.''

INVEST FOR THE LONG TERM The problem with instant gratification, says the character played by Meryl Streep in the current film Postcards From the Edge, is that ''it takes too long.'' Might U.S. business, notorious for its obsession with quick payoffs, prove about as flaky in its commitment to education reform? No way, says TRW's Joe Gorman: ''We must do much, much more. We simply cannot allow ourselves to tire or despair of this task.'' One year ago, he and 171 other chief executives on the Business Roundtable signed a pledge committing ten years of their time and their companies' resources to improving elementary and secondary education. Under the Roundtable's scheme, each chief executive adopts a state -- Gorman chose Ohio, TRW's home base -- where he can influence education policy. To do that in Connecticut, Union Carbide CEO Robert Kennedy heads up a broad-based business coalition of 24 chief executives. In Minnesota, Honeywell's Renier is pushing the Minnesota Business Partnership, which has long been involved in education, to work even harder. To ensure that the companies don't drop out once their CEOs retire, the Roundtable is encouraging boards of directors to endorse formally the ten-year commitment. The Control Data board already has. Says John Anderson, education assistant to IBM Chairman John Akers, who heads the Roundtable's Education Task Force: ''If companies can institutionalize this so it transcends changes in CEOs, we will have a much better chance of success.'' Ira Magaziner, for one, worries that the U.S. is becoming distinctly less civilized. He points out that some 2,000 years ago, Aristotle described the difference between a civilized culture and a barbaric one. In a civilization, Aristotle said, society advances because every generation of parents tries to do more for its children. Barbarians live only for the day. They accumulate in order to consume, then accumulate again. Says Magaziner: ''Since this republic was founded, we've had ten generations that have left more to their children than they've inherited,'' he says. ''We're the first generation in danger of doing the opposite. We're selling off our assets and leaving our children with a huge national and international debt.'' America can still avoid that gloomy fate, but only by giving its children the skills and the education they need to pay off those debts -- and build again.

BOX: PARTICIPANTS AT FORTUNE'S EDUCATION SUMMIT III

Dorothy Ackerman, Consumer Insights Supervisor, Young & Rubicam; Anne Alexander, Vice President, Education Programs, AT&T; Robert Anderson, Executive Assistant, Mayor's Youth Leadership Institute; Richard W. Anthony, Executive Officer, Business Roundtable; Alicia D. Ayer, Program Manager, Corporate Education, IBM Richard M. Barron, Vice President -- Sales, ServiceMaster; Sandra Bateman, K-12 Public Relations Manager, Apple Computer; Cynthia E. Beezley, Director of Scheduling & Briefing, U.S. Dept. of Education; Alan F. Benedeck, Corporate Relations Director, Allstate Insurance; Robert F. Bennett, Vice Chairman/CEO, Franklin International Institute; Roseann Bentley, Past President, National Association of State Boards of Education; Michael Berney, Corp. Contributions Manager, Hershey Foods; Sue Berryman, Director, Institute on Education & Economy, Teachers College, Columbia University; Mary V. Bicouvaris, 1989 Teacher of the Year, Bethel High School; Huntley H. Biggs, Manager, Economic Analysis & Forecasting, Mississippi Power; Donald K. Black, Vice President, National Executive Service Corps; Don Blandin, Director, Business-Higher Education Forum; Lou Ann Blaylock, Director, Corporate Relations, Tandy; Richard M. Bossone, University Dean, City University of New York; Jack E. Bowsher, Consultant, Andersen Consulting; Richard A. Boyd, Executive Director, Martha Holden Jennings Foundation; Ernest Boyer, President, Carnegie Foundation; Reginald K. Brack, Chairman, President & CEO, Time Warner Publishing; Toby Bremer, Director, Educational Relations, New York Telephone; William E. Brock, Former Senator & Secretary of Labor, Brock Group; Drew Brown, Founder & President, The American Dream; Laurie Brown, Vice President, The American Dream; Lawrence Brown, President, 70001 Training & Employment Institute; Gene A. Buinger, Superintendent of Schools, Ector County ISD, Odessa, Texas; James D. Burge, Corporate Vice President/Director of Government Affairs, Motorola; Patty Burness, Executive Assistant, California Department of Education; Robert A. Burnham, Director, Center for Education Technology & Economic Productivity -- N.Y.U.; James M. Burt, President, M.R. Communication Consultants; Tamra Busch-Johnsen, Executive Director, Business Education Compact, Washington County; Brad Butler, Chairman, Committee for Economic Development; Raymond L. Byers, Educational Affairs Manager, Ford Motor -- John R. Campbell, President, Oklahoma State University; Ben Canada, Superintendent of Schools, Jackson Public Schools; Cynthia T. Canevaro, Manager, Education Outreach, Electronic Data Systems; Leslie Carbone, Executive Director, Accuracy in America; Peter Carlivati, Director, American Institute of Banking, American Bankers Association; Garrey Carruthers, Governor, New Mexico; John Castellani, Vice President, Government Relations, TRW; Emelda M. Cathcart, Director of Corporate Contributions, Time Warner; Richard F. Celeste, Governor, Ohio; John E. Chubb, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Henry Cisneros, Chairman, Cisneros Asset Management; Meryl Comer, Vice President, Communications Development, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Brian Conboy, Vice President, Government Affairs, Time Warner; Alton C. Crews, Director, Leadership Academy, ; Southern Regional Education Board; Eileen T. Crowley, President & Chief Operating Officer, Houston Chamber of Commerce -- Michael H. Davison, President, Junior Achievement of National Capital Area; Gloria De Necochea, Program Officer, Arco Foundation; Wilhelmina Delco, State Representative, Texas House of Representatives; Ellen Dempsey, President, Impact II -- The Teachers Network; James C. Denneny, President, Denneny & Associates; Joann P. DiGennaro, President, Center for Excellence in Education; Dorothy Dolphin, Chairman, Dolphin; Edward Donley, Chairman, Executive Committee, Air Products & Chemical; John Doorley, Executive Director, Corporate Communications, Merck; Glenn Doughty, Vice President, Takeoff Video Educational Excellence; Anne T. Dowling, Director, Corporate Contributions, Philip Morris; Jean Droste, Governor's Office, Ohio; Paul J. Dulle, Board of Directors, Education Research Development Institute -- Lonnie Edmonson, Manager, Community Relations, Fannie Mae; Mort Egol, Partner, Arthur Anderson; Eunice Ellis, Director, Book It! Program, Pizza Hut; Robert C. Embry, President, Abell Foundation; Laura Eshbaugh, Vice Chairman, Whittle Communications; Thomas Evans, Partner, Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon -- Beatrice J. Farr, Research Technical Applications, Army Research Institute; Joseph A. Fernandez, Chancellor, New York City Schools; Chester E. Finn, Professor, Education & Public Policy, Vanderbilt University; Peter Flanigan, Managing Partner, Dillon Read; Karl Flemke, President & CEO, Junior Achievement; James J. Florio, Governor, New Jersey; Barbara Flynn, Editorial Vice President, Scott Foresman; Fred W. Friendly, Edward R. Murrow Professor Emeritus, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism; F. Charles Froelicher, Executive Director, Gates Foundation -- Gonzalo Garza, Superintendent, Austin Independent School District; Carver C. Gayton, Corporate Director, Training & Education Relations, Boeing; George M. Gazda, Associate Dean of Research, University of Georgia College of Education; Keith Geiger, President, National Education Association; Robert Gholson, Manager, Educational Solutions, IBM; Robert M. Ginn, Chairman, Cleveland Scholarship Program; Bruce Goldberg, Co-Director, American Federation of Teachers; Joseph T. Gorman, Chairman, President & CEO, TRW; David Gottlieb, Vice President, Woodlands; Patricia Granger, President/ CEO, UTAC America; Adrienne A. Gray, Program Manager, IBM; Nancy H. Green, Senior Vice President, Equitable Life Assurance Society; Richard Green, ! Director, Community Programs, Honeywell; Donald R. Greene, President, Coca- Cola Foundation; Vartan Gregorian, President, Brown University; W. Grant Gregory, Chairman, Gregory & Hoenemeyer; Barbara B. Grogan, President, Western Industrial Contractors; Thomas Gustafson, Speaker, Florida House of Representatives -- Anthony Habit, Executive Director, Durham Public Education Fund; Sharon K. Hake, External Affairs, Du Pont; Sandra Kessler Hamburg, Director of Education Studies, Committee for Economic Development; Clement E. Hanrahan, Director, UPS Foundation; Peter Harder, Vice President, Education, Junior Achievement; Charles H. Hartman, Executive Director, American College Health Association; David Haselkorn, Executive Director, Recruiting New Teachers; Robert S. Hatfield, Chairman, National Executive Service Corps; Barbara R. Hatton, Deputy Director, Education & Culture Program, Ford Foundation; Ellen T. Hayden, Vice President for Education, South Carolina Chamber of Commerce; Don Helms, Superintendent, Corona-Norco Unified School District; Robert Herbold, Senior Vice President, Procter & Gamble; David B. Hickerson, Washington Representative, Human Resource Affairs, Eastman Kodak; Mike Hill, Security Agent to Governor, New Mexico; Williams P. Hobby, Lt. Governor, Texas; William Honig, Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Dept. of Education; Jeffrey P. Howard, President, Efficacy Institute; Elizabeth Howland, Vice President, Contributions & Community Affairs, Citibank; William J. Hume, Chairman of the Board, Basic American Inc.; Ladonna Huntley-James, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Lincoln National; William J. Hybl, Chairman & CEO, El Pomar Foundation Judith T. Irwin, Associate Director, Business-Higher Education Forum -- Jere A. Jacobs, Assistant Vice President & Deputy Chair, California Business Roundtable Education Task Force; Barbara Jay, President, Learning Power; Ronald M. Jones, President, Plexus Communications; Sharon Jones, Executive Assistant to Governor, New Mexico; Shelia D. Jones, Systems Integration Executive, Applied Learning -- Susan L. Keipper, Senior Vice President, Media Management Services; Eugenia Kemble, Educational Issues, American Federation of Teachers; Katharine E. Kennedy, Partner, Coopers & Lybrand; Douglas R. King, President, Challenger Center for Space Science Education; Wendy S. Kopp, President, Teach for America; Janice C. Kreamer, President, Greater Kansas City Committee Foundation; Steven C. Kussmann, Director, Communications Programs, American ^ Gas Association -- James D. Lacy, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Ashland Oil; Stewart Lamle, President, Edvance Foundation; Julie E. Latzer, Director, Education/Business Partnerships, Scholastic; Carolyn Lavely, Director, Institute for At-Risk Infants, Children, Youth, & Their Families; Don LeBrecht, Executive Director, National Association of Broadcasters; Joel M. Levy, Executive Director, CEO, Young Adult Institute; John F. Lewis, Managing Partner, Squire Sanders & Dempsey; Priscilla Lewis, Vice President for Publications, Council for Aid to Education; Sol M. Linowitz, Senior Counsel, Coudert Brothers; Molly Lloyd, Center for Excellence in Education, National Alliance of Business; Jerry Lucas, Chairman of the Board, Learning; Leonard Lund, Program Director, Business/Education Research, Conference Board -- Ira C. Magaziner, President, SJS, & Chairman, Commission on Skills of the American Workforce; Jean Mahoney, Executive Director, Reebok International; J. Douglas Marchant, Education Coordinator, U.S. Dept. of Labor; Michael A. Marshall, Program Manager, U.S. Postal Service; Holly Stewart McMahon, Director, Government Programs, American Bar Association; Catherine McNamee, President, National Catholic Education Association; Richard L. Measelle, Managing Partner, Arthur Andersen; Edward J. Meell, President, Media Management Services; Deborah Meier, Principal, Central Park East Secondary School; Daniel E. Merenda, Executive Director, National Association of Partners in Education; Christina Milano, Executive Director, Cleveland Scholarship Program; F. Eugene Montgomery, President & CEO, Sylvan Learning Center; Beth Mooney, Education Manager, Sports Illustrated for Kids; James L. Moore, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Mississippi Power & Light; Barry G. Morris, Executive Assistant for Education, Tenneco; Dan R. Morris, President, Colorado Education Association; Bill Moyers, Executive Editor, Public Affairs Television; Bennat C. Mullen, Executive Director, East Texas Research & Development Center -- Charles R. Nesson, Professor, Harvard Law School; Nicholas J. Nicholas Jr., President & Co-CEO, Time Warner; Timothy M. Nolan, President, Innovative Outcomes -- Charles Ogletree, Professor, Harvard Law School; Peter G. Osgood, Vice Chairman, Hill & Knowlton; Paul Ostergard, Vice President & Director of Corporate Contributions, Citibank; Charles J. O'Malley, Executive Assistant for Private Education, U.S. Department of Education -- Linda K. Peek, Special Assistant, Corporate Affairs, Coca-Cola Co.; Charles B. Pelton, Retired Educator, Fremont Union High School District; Claire L. Pelton, Vice Chair, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; Arlene R. Penfield, President Elect, National School Boards Association; Hilary Pennington, President, Jobs for the Future; Richard W. Peters, Director, Corporate Advertising, Phillips Petroleum; Darlene S. Pierce, Director, National Superintendent of the Year Program; Willis Price, President, Chevron U.S.A. -- Richard Rangel, Field Representative, Colorado Department of Education; James M. Ratcliffe, Vice President, Corporate Relations, R.R. Donnelley & Sons; Diane Ravitch, Professor of Education & History, Teachers College, Columbia University; James Renier, Chairman & CEO, Honeywell; Donna C. Rhodes, Executive Director, National Foundation for the Improvement of Education; Dorothy Rich, Founder & President, Home & School Institute; Jackie Robinson, Office of Government Affairs, Apple Computer; Alan S. Rosenberg, Chairman, New York Alliance for Public Schools; Henry A. Rosenberg, Chairman, Crown Central Petroleum; Peter J. Roskam, Executive Director, Educational Assistance; Richard F. Rosser, President, National Association of Independent Colleges & Universities; Richard Rowe, President & CEO, Faxon; Terrence J. Ryan, President, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce -- Frederic V. Salerno, CEO & President, New York Telephone; Rod Sands, Chief Operations Officer, Pace Foods; Karen Sandstead, Special Assistant to the Governor, Colorado Governor's Office; Steve Sauls, Director of External Affairs, Florida House of Representatives; C. Barry Schaefer, Senior Adviser, Dillon Read & Co.; Doug Schallau, President, Junior Achievement of New York; David P. Schell, Executive Director, New Hampshire Automotive Education Foundation; Marcia Schiff, Director, Polaroid Foundation & Education Programs; Ralph Schulz, Executive Vice President, Junior Achievement; Stephen P. Scovic, Superintendent, Fairborn City School District; Albert Shanker, President, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO; E. Thomas Sharrit, President, Palmer Sharrit & Co.; Rolin Sidwell, Associate Director for Education, Office of Intergovernmental Relations, Washington, D.C.; Barbara Simmons-Holmes, Executive Director, Cleveland School Budget Coalition; Ted Sizer, Chairman, Coalition of Essential Schools; George Skena, Director of Robotics, Norstar Project; Jay Smink, Executive Director, National Dropout Prevention Center; Sherwood H. Smith, CEO, Carolina Power & Light; Thomas Sobol, Commissioner of Education, New York State; K. L. Solheim, Vice President, Karsten Manufacturing; Ruth S. Steele, Superintendent, Little Rock School District; Arthur W. Steller, Superintendent, Oklahoma City Public Schools; Frederick J. Stokley, Superintendent, Ridgewood Public Schools; Nan Stone, Managing Editor, Harvard Business Review; Harriett Stonehill, Director, Home & School Institute; Susan Suss, Manager, Media Relations, Ketchum Public Relations -- Faye Terrell-Perkins, Department of Vocational & Technical Education, Chicago Public Schools; Robert L. Thompson, Vice President, Public Affairs, Springs Industries; Nancy S. Ticktin, Vice President, Bankers Trust; Saralee Tiede, Assistant to Lt. Governor Hobby, Texas; Michael P. Timpane, President, Teachers College, Columbia University; Bernadette A. Toomey, Vice President, National Academy Foundation; Dee Topol, President, Primerica Foundation; Marc S. Tucker, President, National Center on Education & the Economy; Frances Turnage, Biloxi District Manager, Mississippi Power -- Adam Urbanski, President, Rochester Teachers Association -- William J. Vanden Heuvel, President, Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt Institute; General Carl E. Vuono, Chief of Staff, United States Army -- Michael W. Walls, Senior Vice President, MBHA America; Robert Walsh, Vice President, Daniel J. Loden; Terrence R. Ward, President, H&R Block Foundation; Joseph L. Washington, Assistant Director, Education Programs, MacArthur Foundation; Dennis Watson, Executive Director, National Black Youth Leadership Council; Gary D. Watts, Senior Director, National Center for Innovation, National Education Association; Samuel W. Webster, Manager of Educational Affairs, Texas Instruments; Mr. & Mrs. Arthur H. White, President & CEO, WSY Consulting Group; Judith White, Director of Constituent Relations, National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education; Mark Wells White, Former Governor, Texas; Chris Whittle, Chairman, Whittle Communications; David A. Williams, Executive Director, Center for Excellence in Education, Northern Arizona University; Jesse T. Williams, Vice President, Goodyear Tire & Rubber; R. Thomas Williamson, Executive Vice President, Clarkson University; Lois S. Wilson, Programs Manager, Ford Aerospace; Marvin R. Womack, Vice President, National Government Relations, Procter & Gamble; Barbara Wright, Director, Executive Communications, New York Telephone -- Larry Yawn, Assistant Superintendent for External Affairs, Houston Independent School District; James F. Young, Assistant to the / Chairman, Electronic Data Systems -- Marvin H. Zim, Director of Corporate Communications, Union Pacific