No Child Left Behind empowers parents with information and options, Education Secretary Rod Paige said today as he kicked off a discussion on supplemental educational services being offered to students.

Supplemental services are part of the historic education reform law No Child Left Behind and consist of extra academic assistance to eligible children, including tutoring or remedial course work, among others. Students from low-income families who attend Title I schools that are in their second year of school improvement, in corrective action, or in restructuring status are eligible for these services.

"We want all parents to be involved in their children's education. We want them to be education consumers, making decisions about what is best for their child. Ultimately, we want them to feel that they have more control, and thus a greater stake, in their children's education," Paige said. "And for some students, these extra academic services are like a lifeline in a stormy sea.

"We're stepping up our efforts to promote supplemental services. For example, we're creating a tool kit to help parents, local schools and community groups understand the options available. We're also working on a publication that will highlight five school districts that are most effectively making these provisions real and that will show what they can teach other districts about how to do this right. And, we will be announcing several grants to key national and local organizations to assist in boosting the numbers and quality of supplemental services providers, and to help us get the word out about these exciting opportunities."

Today's session was the latest in the Department's Innovations in Education Exchange Series, hosted by the Department's Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII). Secretary Paige established the office in December 2002 to help identify and promote innovative programs aimed at increasing student achievement.

To date, more than 1,400 supplemental services providers have been approved by the states, and parents across the country have signed up their children to receive the services.

Today's discussion included remarks or panel presentations by OII Deputy Under Secretary Nina Rees; Ron Tomalis, chief of staff to Acting Deputy Secretary Gene Hickok; Jeff Cohen, president, Sylvan Education Solutions; Steve Fleischman, principal research scientist, American Institutes for Research; Laura Hensinger, senior consultant for Title I, Colorado Department of Education; and Monique Miller, director of Project Clarion at the Black Alliance for Educational Options.

The audience included an array of participants, including education practitioners, researchers, philanthropists, congressional staff and leading thinkers in school reform and innovation.

More information about the Office of Innovation and Improvement and supplemental services under No Child Left Behind is available at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/index.html and http://www.ed.gov/parents/academic/involve/suppservices/index.html.

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