Series 2617: Education Advisor’s Files. 1991-1995.
Governor’s Office (RG 27). Administration of Daniel Kirkwood Fordice.

Series 2617: Education Advisor’s Files. 1991-1995.
Governor’s Office (RG 27). Administration of Daniel Kirkwood Fordice.

      Papers and video tapes belonging to Dr. Jeanne Forrester, Education Advisor to Governor Kirk Fordice. Forrester was heavily involved in the implementation of the “America 2000” national education goals in Mississippi, and also maintained files on the then-ongoing Ayers desegregation lawsuit that had been filed against the state. She also closely followed education-related bills as they worked their way through the Mississippi Legislature. Thus, this series is organized into three main groups: America 2000 files, Ayers Case files, and legislative files.

      The America 2000 (and “Mississippi 2000,” as it was known locally) files consist of correspondence, reports, notes, news clippings, and seventeen VHS video cassettes. Of particular interest among the video cassettes are the ten “Mississippi 2000” television programs, thirty-minute Mississippi Educational Network live television broadcasts in which a panel of education experts from around the state was interviewed by the host, and then questioned by viewers who called in to the program. An itemized list of the video cassettes may be found on the next page. The other records consist of a set of alphabetically-arranged subject files and a separate set of files on the six national education goals of the America 2000 program.

      The Ayers Case files consist of notes, court documents, news clippings, Institutions of Higher Learning policies and by-laws, and a small amount of correspondence. The Ayers case was a lawsuit originally filed by Jake Ayers, Sr., in 1975 against the State of Mississippi, alleging discrimination by the state in the funding of historically Black institutions of higher education. The case went on long after Forrester’s tenure in the Governor’s Office, only finally being settled in 2004 when the Supreme Court refused to hear another appeal.

      The legislative files contain copies of legislative bills, budgets, Forrester’s notes, clippings, and correspondence. The files mostly concern legislation on educational matters, but not entirely.

• America 2000: An Education Strategy. Produced by the U.S. Department of Education, this is an overview of the program, from the education of children to the teaching of job skills for adults. The six national education goals are also discussed. Run time is approximately 14 minutes.
• Tri-State Education Initiative and America 2000. A recording of the June 9, 1992 conference to mobilize the nation’s first America 2000 region, which covered portions of Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. Run time, 24:00.
• America 2000: An Education Strategy. Despite having the same title as the first item in this list, this is a different, albeit similar, presentation. Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander hosts this overview of the six national education goals, which also covers job skills and job training for adults. Run time, 8:50.
• America 2000: Communities Getting Started. Hosted by astronaut Tammy Jernigan and author Alex Haley, this 1991 program is basically a sales pitch given towards potential America 2000 communities. It includes portions of a speech by President Bush and comments from citizens and from Education Secretary Lamar Alexander.
• Drug-Free Schools: A Generation of Hope. Produced by SERVE (Southeastern Regional Vision for Education), this video discusses the Sharing Success program, which recognized excellent school programs in the southeastern U.S. that met one of the national education goals. In particular, it examines the six characteristics of effective programs for meeting the goal of safe, drug-free schools. Run time, 27:00.
• Meeting the Nation’s Goals for the Year 2000. The “Jobs for America’s Graduates” program is the topic of this video, which presents an overview of the program and features interviews with participants, business people, and government officials. Run time, 15:30.
• Mississippi 2000. There are ten episodes of this Mississippi ETV program, from January 12, 1993 to June 21, 1994. These thirty-minute live broadcasts featured a panel of education experts from around the state who answered questions from the program’s host, then fielded telephone calls from viewers. Dr. Jeanne Forrester is a panelist on all but one of these programs (the February 9, 1993 episode, in which Forrester’s place was taken by her assistant, Marsha Meeks Kelly). Topics are as follows:
  • 1/2/1993: “2000” communities.
  • 2/9/1993: Arts education.
  • 3/9/1993: Update as to where “Mississippi 2000” stands as of this date.
  • 4/13/1993: School-to-work programs.
  • 5/19/1993: “What Can I Do About Education?”
  • 9/21/1993: Drug and violence-free schools.
  • 10/19/1993: Drug and violence-free schools, continued.
  • 11/16/1993: Systemic education reform.
  • 1/18/1994: The arts in education.
  • 6/21/1994: Parental involvement in their children’s education.