The Goals 2000 program is Missouri's response to the Goals 2000: Educate America Act passed by Congress in 1994. What's especially exciting to me is that this has been a bipartisan effort. These goals began originally as President Bush's six goals for education. President Clinton was very involved with the National Governor's Conference in drafting those goals. Last March, Congress added two other goals bringing the total to eight.

Missouri applied for a federal grant to develop its Goals 2000 plan. We received the grant last August. Gov. Mel Carnahan and the Missouri Board of Education appointed panelists from around the state to develop out state plan. We have held public forums all over the state to get public input. We expect to have our plan ready in August or September.

This state panel, along with a related state technology task force, has been working together. We first took a broad focus and laid out a vision of what education should look like and what issues are important.

We then developed strategies and recommendations to help us attain the vision. Throughout the plan we have state and local initiatives designed to assist local school districts and to help schools and colleges work together. These were all generated by citizens, educators and numerous committee meetings of the people on our panel.

The Goals 2000 plan is coordinated with many other federal programs, such as the School-to-Work program. I think coordination is one key factor that will make this program work, and that it focuses truly on the learner, not on protecting turf.

In our work environment, careers are ever-changing, as are the tools we use. Lifelong learning skills are those that help learners to be better prepared, to be able to adapt within their environments, to solve problems creatively and develop skills for the highly competitive job market. The more we can enhance our educational programs and services to include those attributes, the better our educational system will be.

The basics are always important, but the ability to apply that knowledge is even more important. Goals 2000 goes beyond what we have in place in several ways: It provides incentives to school districts to focuses on raising standards and increasing parental involvements.

At the state and local levels, we are seeing a lot more coordination of education, health and social services to put in place all those elements a child needs for a healthy learning environment. The Parents as Teachers program is one example. Goals 2000 will enhance this kind of coordination.

Sitting around the table with representatives from all the organizations involved in the Goals 2000 discussions, it's amazing to hear them talk about how they can collaborate and provide better services.

When I hear all these ideas and strategies brought out, "Here's how we can assist this student, these school districts," that reassures me that Goals 2000 is not just a passing fad.

Steve Coffman of Jefferson City is the assistant director of Goals 2000 at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.