Number of New Awards Anticipated: 40
Average Award: $500,000
Range of Awards: $200,000 - $700,000

CT Parents Plus, Connecticut

CT Parents Plus, Connecticut's Parental Information and Resource Center has an overall goal of increasing the ability of schools and parents to work effectively as partners to support learning both at home and at school. The project, No Family Left Behind, is designed to help close the achievement gap between children from low-income families and those from more affluent backgrounds by serving the pressing needs of low-achieving students through a concerted, coordinated, holistic plan.

No Family Left Behind is a four-year project that will narrow the achievement gap by working with schools, families, and communities with the greatest need to improve understanding and support of learning and academic achievement from birth on. The project capitalizes on the strengths of CT Parents Plus's history and partnership with the Connecticut State Department of Education to provide high quality, coordinated services to parents who need information about how to help their children learn at home and to schools that want to maximize their relationships with the families they serve.

CT Parents Plus's activities are designed to help reach its goals include training teachers and parents regarding Connecticut's academic standards and assessments; coordinating with the Connecticut State Department of Education to improve the accuracy of interpretation of standards and assessment; training teachers and parents on communications skills; and increasing access to Parents as Teachers, including the addition of a bilingual trainer; and the development of a variety of different types of materials (e.g., CDs, print materials, videos, etc.) that provide easily understandable information about Connecticut's academic standards and assessments in both English and Spanish.

North Dakota Parent and Supportive Schools (NDPASS) Project, North Dakota

North Dakota is a sparsely settled state with limited resources to meet the needs of its families and children, many of whom are geographically isolated. NDPASS works closely with state and local agencies and schools to strengthen partnerships between parents and schools to meet the educational needs of young children. The project will continue to expand the information base and network for disseminating information throughout the State of North Dakota, and the project will continue to provide a Parents as Teachers program that includes both direct services to families, as well as training and technical assistance to early childhood professionals interested in starting Parents as Teachers programs.

The project will initiate activities supporting the state's efforts to increase the understanding and awareness of new educational issues related to accountability. NDPASS will work with the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction to develop workshops for parents on the impact of new federal legislation reflected in the No Child Left Behind Act. Issues to be covered include the use of standardized testing, how it will be used in North Dakota, and how the results will be shared with parents. Another workshop will be developed to help parents better understand the standards, benchmarks, and performance assessments that are used in North Dakota and how they relate to their student's learning. NDPASS will also work with the State's Title I personnel and reading first coordinator to develop programs that will increase parental involvement in reading activities.