PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Seventeen charter schools in Arizona will receive a total of $2.6 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Education to help them strengthen their charter school programs.

On behalf of U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, Lori StillwagonYaklin, senior advisor on educational rights in the Department's Office of Innovation and Improvement, made the announcement at a press conference at the Arizona Department of Education. She was joined by representatives from the charter schools and by Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne.

"There is no force in the universe more powerful, as far as school change is concerned, than an informed parent with options. Charter schools provide important choices for parents -- especially parents whose children are in a school labeled, "in need of improvement" -- and help local districts alleviate capacity challenges they face," Secretary Paige said. "The president knows -- and I know -- the value of choice and innovation in creating great schools. The demand for high-quality education is everywhere and charter schools can meet that demand in unprecedented ways."

Charter schools are independent public schools designed and operated by educators, parents, community leaders, educational entrepreneurs, and others. They are sponsored by designated organizations that monitor their quality and effectiveness but allow them to operate outside of the traditional system of public schools. The funding will provide for the planning, design, implementation and exchange of information on charter schools.

This fall, more than 3,000 charter schools will be serving about 750,000 students. Nearly two-thirds of these schools have waiting lists.

President Bush has proposed $320 million for charter schools in the coming year, including $120 million for charter school facilities. The Charter Schools Program funds -- $200 million in fiscal year 2003 -- now support charter school growth in 39 of the 40 states with chartering statutes and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. These funds support more than a thousand charter schools nationally on a yearly basis in the planning, design and implementation of their programs.

Wednesday, Secretary Paige announced that New Mexico, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Kansas, New Hampshire and Iowa have received a total of $19.1 million in state charter school grants.

Following is a list of the schools funded in Arizona:

For more information about the public charter schools program, visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/charter/index.html.

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