Three national education organizations will share $1.3 million in grants for initiatives aimed at teaching families about the education options available to them under the historic No Child Left Behind Act, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced today.

The Hispanic Council for Reform and Education Options, the Black Alliance for Educational Options and the Greater Educational Opportunities Foundation each will receive funds to develop or continue their existing public information campaigns to inform families about key components of No Child Left Behind, including the supplemental academic services and choice provisions.

"No Child Left Behind provides unprecedented options for parents, including public school choice, charter schools and free tutoring," Secretary Paige said. "We have to make sure there are open lines of communication with the people who can benefit the most from these options, so they can take advantage of them for their children. These local, grassroots organizations have wonderful avenues into their communities and these grants will ensure that parents know about their options under the law. There is no more powerful force in education reform than an informed parent with options."

The Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options (Hispanic CREO) is a national organization dedicated solely to improving educational outcomes for Latino students. Hispanic CREO will use the funds for a new project to reach 18,000 at-risk children and their families in Miami, Dallas, Austin (Tex.), San Antonio and Camden (N.J.). Project CREO will establish parent, community and school resource operations with the goal of building public awareness, knowledge and understanding of the options available under the No Child Left Behind Act. The project also will develop Spanish language communication tools and disseminate the information through Spanish language communication outlets. Hispanic CREO also will work with other organizations on this project, including the Black Alliance for Educational Options, the Florida School Choice Fund and Excellent Education for Everyone in New Jersey.

More information about Hispanic CREO is available at www.hcreo.org.

The Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) works to actively support parent choice to empower families and increase education options for black children. BAEO will use its grant to continue Project Clarion, a communications and media campaign designed to educate parents about the No Child Left Behind Act, particularly in cities with high concentrations of low-income African-American families and schools in need of improvement. BAEO will specifically focus on Detroit, Dallas, Milwaukee and Philadelphia.

More information about BAEO is available at www.baeo.org.

The Greater Education Opportunities Foundation (GEO) is national organization with a mission of ensuring that all children have access to education choice and a quality education, regardless of ethnicity or income. GEO will use the grant for parent outreach programs in Denver and Gary, Ind., with a goal of increasing both parents' knowledge of the education options available under No Child Left Behind and the number of providers of supplemental academic services. The project features a "direct to the people" media campaign, a toll-free 800 number and a website to provide additional access to NCLB information and state-specific services for families. GEO also will assist with a national distribution of 100,000 posters informing parents of their opportunity to receive additional academic services for their children. The organization has commitments from private foundations to provide additional funding for the project.

More information about GEO is available at www.geofoundation.org.

The grants are from the Fund for the Improvement of Education, which supports nationally significant programs and projects to improve the quality of education, and is housed in the Department's Office of Innovation and Improvement.

No Child Left Behind is the landmark education reform law designed to change the culture of America's schools by closing the achievement gap, offering more flexibility, giving parents more options and teaching students based on what works.

Under the act's strong accountability provisions, states must describe how they will close the achievement gap and make sure all students, including those who are disadvantaged, achieve academic proficiency. In addition, they must produce annual state and school district report cards that inform parents and communities about state and school progress. Schools that do not make progress must eventually provide supplemental services, such as free tutoring or after-school assistance; take corrective actions; and, if still not making adequate yearly progress after five years, make dramatic changes to the way the school is run.

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