WASHINGTON — President Bush conferred Friday at Camp David with representatives of a private organization, led by former New Jersey Gov. Thomas H. Kean, that is seeking to raise as much as $200 million to create "new learning environments" in a redesigned U.S. educational system.
The New American Schools Development Corp. is a nonprofit company formed at Bush's request by American businesses to seek financial support from businesses, foundations and individuals for "educational design work" that can be applied to communities across the nation as they seek to improve their educational systems.
In wrapping up a news conference at midday at the White House, Bush said that he had to dash off to the meeting at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains near Gettysburg, Pa.
"It's a wonderful program and I want to go up there and give it strong support," he said.
The program is intended to pay for the work of seven design teams, each seeking to determine what it will take to create the best schools and to improve student performance in English, mathematics, science, history and geography.
