Draft Letter to the Council of Presidents

						June 8, 1990
Dear President xxxxx,

	The creation of the Academy for Mathematics and Science Teachers in
Chicago (AMSTE) is proceding rapidly. I recently sent you letters of support
from the White House, the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of
Sciences, the Department of Education, and others. The Secretary of
Transportation just asked two days ago what his department could do. We now have
three Cabinet officers who have specifically asked what they could do to help.
There is also strong support at the State and City levels, as well as in the
business community. Perhaps even more importantly, at the grass roots level and
among the teachers there is great excitement and we have had a large number of
volunteers to help us get started. 

	We have taken some major steps in the last weeks. The question of
where the Academy will be located we believe has been solved. Mel Bernstein of
IIT has offered us space in the IITRI tower on the IIT campus. This is a
marvelous building- it has the necessary space, is in good condition, and has a
large auditorium, machine shop, carpenter's shop, 24 hour access, and a
cafeteria. It is ideally located, right between two El lines and close to the
Dan Ryan. Being on the campus of an institution strong in mathematics, science
and technology will provide many wonderful opportunities as well (for example,
they have a very strong TV program that perhaps we can interface with to provide
national outreach). IIT has made a generous offer that allows us to move in
immediately (June 15) at no cost for the summer, and after October 1 will charge
us only the differential cost due to our presence in the building. We are
absolutely delighted with the building, and are now pursuing obtaining the funds
for the furniture and the necessary remodeling (laboratories, offices, resource
center, etc.) to make the space ideal for the Academy.

	Gordon Berry  (Argonne	National Laboratory) has agreed to serve as
Acting Director. The search for a permanent Director is starting: we have
written a job description, and the Board of Trustees will have its first meeting
on June 21 to get the process formally started. We hope to advertise the
position immediately. We also have our first employee- the University of
Chicago is supporting a 1/2-time secretary, and she has been busy for the past
week. With Bob Eder from LQE we have made a organization/management chart to get
a first detailed estimate on the budget.

	Leon has been working on the funding for the coming year. The DOE
has agreed to provide 0.5M$ right away for the short term startup. We expect
to be funded at roughly the 10 M$ level by October 1 by a combination of
Federal, State, City, and local funds.

	Leon has suggested that we raise the annual contribution from the
$5000 per institution agreed on earlier to the $10,000 maximum per year
that was in the draft by-laws circulated at the last meeting. I would
appreciate your reaction to his proposal. This money is essential at the
outset as it does not suffer the restrictions that the DOE money has. At
this initial time of searching for senior staff and many other activities
the availability of unrestricted funds is very important.

	The DOE funds require that we be incorporated right away to be able
to use them. At our last meeting we had agreed on two changes to the Articles
of Incorporation. The first was to invite several more institutions to join
us in creating the Chicago Education Federation. I am pleased to report that
both Columbia College and Mundelein College have agreed to join. Both have
strong programs in mathematics and science education, and we welcome them.

	The second change, the handling of the issue of private and parochial
schools by the deletion of the word 'Public' in 'Chicago Public Schools', has
become a problem, and I would like to offer a compromise solution. I enclose a
letter from Leon pointing out that from the outset this project has explicitly
been sold as a national solution to the poor performance of the public schools.
He judges  that we will not be able to procede with the Academy if we
incorporate private and parochial schools in the Academy at the outset. The
Academy, however, will have enormous spinoff for all the schools in Chicago, and
fully half of the program, the Resource side of the Academy, will be available
to all teachers. The intervention side, whereby we put replacement teachers
directly into the schools, will not be available at the outset. But the impact
of the Academy on mathematics and science teaching through providing a focus for
collegiality and resources will be available to all schools.

	I enclose a copy of the new draft of the Articles encorporating the
above changes. I would like to for us to vote on their acceptance by written
ballot. If you could contact me in writing by 5:00 pm Tuesday June 12 we can
move to file for incorporation immediately. I apologize for the speed; we
are making great progress and need the incorporation to be able to accept 
the initial 0.5M$ from the DOE immediately. My FAX number is 794-6247.

	There is one last issue which has troubled me somewhat since the last
meeting. The Academy is of major national importance, and will shortly be highly
visible. I would like to ask you all to give these matters your personal
attention and committment. We are embarking on an historic adventure, and we
will need the wisdom and resources of all of us to succeed. The stakes, however,
are very high, as if we succeed we will have created a model for raising the
standard of mathematics and science training nationally. We must not fail, as an
opportunity such as this will not come again.

					Sincerely yours,


					Gordon Lamb
					President
					Northeastern Illinois University