The U.S. Department of Education's monthly TV/webcast series, "Education News Parents Can Use," resumes Tuesday with its September show focusing on tips for parents to help their children learn to read, along with a live interview by satellite with jazz musician Al Jarreau.

A number of cable services across the nation will carry the program from 8-9 p.m., EDT. A complete listing of viewer options is posted at http://registerevent.ed.gov/. In addition, the program will be webcast at www.connectlive.com/events/ednews/.

"The first and most important goal of education in America should be to ensure that every child develops proficiency in reading, and No Child Left Behind is leading the way," said U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige. "We want to share through this television program ways schools and families can help students develop the skills, knowledge and habits they need to master literacy skills that will benefit them throughout their lives."

Jarreau, the five-time Grammy Award winner and world-renowned jazz musician, will be interviewed by satellite about his work to help raise awareness about low-literacy levels in the U.S. and what the public can do to address the problem.

Besides Jarreau, the program will also feature a conversation between Secretary Paige and Reid Lyon, nationally recognized reading expert and chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch of the National Institute for Child Health and Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health.

Among the topics to be covered with in Tuesday night's show include:

• How do children develop the reading skills necessary to ensure them a solid foundation for success throughout school and life?

• What does the latest research tell us about the best ways for children to learn reading skills?

• What role do teachers play in ensuring that America's students become successful readers?

• How is No Child Left Behind helping more children learn to read proficiently?

• What can parents do to ensure that their children become good readers? Broad Acres Elementary School in Silver Spring, Md., will be profiled for its dramatic improvement in reading and student achievement on all state and county assessments during the past four years.

Details about the "Education News Parents Can Use" TV series can be found at http://www.ed.gov/news/av/video/edtv/index.html.

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