Eight school districts will share nearly $3 million in grants to develop stronger character and citizenship among our nation's students, U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige announced today.

"It is important that parents, students, and community organizations work with schools to make character education be a part of the education process," Paige said. "We have invested nearly $24 million in character education in FY 2003 because we believe that building strong character is as essential as reading, math and science."

The Partnerships in Character Education Program awards grants to eligible organizations to design and implement character education programs in areas such as citizenship, justice, respect and responsibility for grades K-12. Grant recipients must show how they have integrated character education into classroom instruction and teacher training, and that they have involved parents, students and the community in the process. Since 1995, a total of 93 state and local education agencies have received character education grants.

The grant is from the Fund for the Improvement of Education, which supports nationally significant programs and projects to improve the quality of education, and to help all students meet challenging standards.

Character education is a key feature of No Child Left Behind, 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 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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NOTE TO EDITORS: Following is a list of grantees, the size of the award and local contact information.

ILLINOIS -- Wheaton, Regional Office of Education #19, $181,074, Contact: Darlene Ruscitti, (630) 682-7170.

INDIANA -- Crawfordsville, Crawfordsville Community Schools, $217,862, Contact: Anita Klein, (765) 362-2342.

KANSAS -- Topeka, Topeka Public Schools, USD 501, $450,000, Contact: Rosanne Habermann, (785) 575-6187.

MASSACHUSETTS -- Boston, Boston Public Schools, $264,596, Contact: Carol Riley, (617) 635-8599.

NEW JERSEY -- Newark, Newark Public Schools, $656,498, Contact: Fran Atchison, (973) 733-6437.

NEW YORK -- Syracuse, Syracuse City School District, $279,212, Contact: Corliss Kaiser, (315) 435-4510.

OKLAHOMA -- Stilwell, Stilwell Public Schools, $332,798, Contact: Mary Fletcher, (918) 696-4228.

OREGON -- Portland, School District No. 1, Multnomah, $381,569, Contact: Sheryl Lahey, (503) 916-5840.

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