This month's U.S. Department of Education TV show will highlight tools for parents under No Child Left Behind and provide tips on how families can ensure their children have the best education possible through access to valuable information on the performance of their children's schools and the full range of options available to them under the law.

The program is available live from 8 to 9 p.m. EDT on May 16 on the Dish Network, certain PBS stations and numerous cable outlets. Others will broadcast the show on a tape-delayed basis. A complete listing of viewing options is available at http://www.ed.gov/news/av/video/edtv/index.html. In addition, the program will be webcast live and archived at www.connectlive.com/events/ednews/.

The program, entitled "New Tools for Parents: Getting Informed and Getting Involved," will cover some of the key provisions and programs -- through compelling examples and discussions with national education leaders -- that empower parents, including school report cards, school choice, supplemental educational services, charter school expansion and opportunity scholarships.

Following are some of the show's highlights.

GETTING INFORMED: PARENTS AS EDUCATIONAL CONSUMERS

• Kerri Briggs, senior policy advisor with the Education Department's Office of the Deputy Secretary, will explain how No Child Left Behind provides the parents of America's 48 million public school students with information to be smart educational consumers and effective advocates for their children

CHOOSING THE RIGHT SCHOOL FOR YOUR CHILD

This segment will be introduced by a video on "Reaching Out to Parents & Giving Them the Tools They Need to Be Effective Advocates" featuring Desert Sands Unified School District in La Quinta, Calif., near Palm Springs.

• Doris Wilson, superintendent of the Desert Sands Unified School District.
• Michael Bell, assistant superintendent of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, talking about the district's effective choice program.
• Susan Schaeffler, KIPP D.C.'s executive director, on effective charter schools.
• Catherine Hill, citizen activist, discussing scholarship opportunities available through the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.

GETTING INVOLVED: CHOICE, S.E.S., AND PARENTS AS ADVOCATES

This segment will be introduced by a video on Toledo Public Schools' efforts to provide students with the tutoring help they need.

• Stacy Kreppel, senior policy advisor at the Education Department, will explain supplemental educational services (SES) under No Child Left Behind -- who is eligible and why it's good for parents and children.
• Marcus J. Newsome, superintendent of the Newport News, Va., public schools, explaining the various types of supplemental educational services Newport News provides for students and how parents are made aware of these opportunities.
• Ned Rimer, managing director and co-founder of Citizen Schools in Boston, talking about supplemental services provided by organizations like his.

The "Education News Parents Can Use" TV series airs monthly during the school year.

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