U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced the award of $3,514,590 in grants to eight Alaska organizations to help them support the unique educational needs of Alaska Native children and adults. The three-year Alaska Native Education Program grants will support a wide range of innovative projects--from parental involvement programs and dropout prevention to school construction and teacher training--designed to benefit Alaska native populations through enhanced teaching and learning opportunities.

"Education is the stepping-stone to a world of much greater opportunity, and this program will help more Alaskan students realize that opportunity," Secretary Spellings said. "Not only will these grants help develop and operate schools in rural Alaska, they also will help teachers better prepare their students to be successful in college or the workforce."

Awards under the Alaska Native Education Program ranged from more than $75,000 to almost $590,000. The program received 51 eligible applications from organizations throughout Alaska, which were eligible for review, including Alaska Native organizations, educational entities with experience in developing or operating Alaska Native programs or programs of instruction conducted in Alaska Native languages, and cultural and community-based organizations with experience in developing or operating programs to benefit Alaska Natives.

For additional information on the Alaska Native Education Program, log onto http://www.ed.gov/programs/alaskanative/index.html.

The list of eight grantees and their awards follows:

• Rural Alaska Community Action Program Inc.
  $424,100
• Cook Inlet Tribal Council Inc. Educational Services System
  $589,239
• Alaska Pacific University
  $441,868
• Kashunamiut School District
  $337,182
• Central Council of Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska
  $538,501
• Chugach School District
  $567,015
• Lower Kuskokwim School District
  $541,191
• Yuut Elitnaurviat
  $75,494

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