Sacramento Head Start Alumni Association

Educational Partnerships and Family Involvement 8/27/03

Aug 29, 2003

Educational Partnerships and Family Involvement
August 27, 2003



NEWS


MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SCHOLARS RECOGNIZED. The Department recognized 10 Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars who have been serving at the Department's headquarters in Washington this summer as part of a program to honor the legacy of the renowned civil rights leader. www.ed.gov/PressReleases/08-2003/08082003.html


PAIGE JOINS WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF FAITH-BASED AND COMMUNITY INITIATIVES AT TRAINING CONFERENCE IN MINNEAPOLIS. Secretary Paige joined Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Director Jim Towey and more than 1,000 leaders of faith-based and community organizations at a White House conference aimed at educating grassroots groups about the federal grants process. www.ed.gov/PressReleases/07-2003/07292003.html



?“EDUCATION NEWS PARENTS CAN USE.?” The 2003-2004 broadcast schedule is now available at http://registerevent.ed.gov/.



WHAT WORKS
FREE: FEDERAL RESOURCES FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE. More than 30 Federal agencies formed a working group in 1997 to make hundreds of federally supported teaching and learning resources easier to find. The result of that work is the FREE web site, where new teaching and learning resources are updated monthly. http://www.ed.gov/free/

?“THE ACHIEVER?” NEWSLETTER. Read the latest on No Child Left Behind in The Achiever newsletter, published by the Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs. www.nochildleftbehind.gov/Newsletter/index.html


FUNDING


MORE THAN $41 MILLION IN GRANTS AWARDED TO SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES TO PREVENT VIOLENCE AMONG YOUTH. The U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) announced that more than $41 million in grants will be awarded to 23 schools and communities. www.ed.gov/PressReleases/07-2003/07282003.html



TIPS FOR PARENTS


Because of No Child Left Behind:


?· Parents will know their children's strengths and weaknesses and how well schools are performing; they will have other options and resources for helping their children if their schools are chronically in need of improvement.

?· Teachers will have the training and resources they need for teaching effectively, using curricula that are grounded in scientifically based research; annual testing lets them know areas in which students need extra attention.

?· Principals will have information they need to strengthen their schools' weaknesses and to put into practice methods and strategies backed by sound, scientific research.

?· Superintendents will be able to see which of their schools and principals are doing the best job and which need help to improve.

?· School boards will be able to measure how their districts are doing and to measure their districts in relation to others across the state; they will have more and better information on which to base decisions about priorities in their districts.

?· Chief state school officers will know how the schools in their states and in other states are doing; they will be better able to pinpoint where guidance and resources are needed.

?· Governors will have a yearly report card on how their states' schools are doing; they will be able to highlight accomplishments of the best schools and target help to those schools that are in need of improvement.

?· Community leaders and volunteer groups will have information they can use to rally their members in efforts to help children and schools that need the most help.



*Taken from No Child Left Behind: A Parents Guide. The complete document can be viewed at http://www.nclb.gov/next/parentsguide.html. To view other publications for parents and caregivers, visit www.ed.gov/offices/OIIA/pfie.



FOR MORE INFORMATION


To contact the Educational Partnerships and Family Involvement Unit, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, call (202) 401-0056. To be added or removed from the distribution list, visit www.ed.gov/offices/OIIA/partner_listserv.html or mail to Linda.Cuffey@ed.gov.