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Advice on empowering parents to improve learning will highlight the U.S. Department of Education's monthly TV show and webcast to be presented Tuesday evening, Jan. 21. 

The show will pay tribute to the first anniversary of the landmark "No Child Left Behind" education reform act and showcase the ways parents, reflecting the vision of the new law, have worked to improve education for their children and in their communities.

This month's "Education News Parents Can Use" program runs from 8-9 p.m. EST on more than 400 cable outlets across the country and will be carried on the Web at www.connectlive.com/events/ednews.  A listing of viewing options is available at http://registerevent.ed.gov.

"I can assure you there is no more powerful advocate for children than a parent armed with information and options," said U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige.  "We urge parents to watch this program and find out about the valuable opportunities available to them through the No Child Left Behind Act."

Among the topics to be covered in Tuesday's show:

• How does the No Child Left Behind Act affect my home and community?
• What options are available to parents whose children are attending under-performing and unsafe schools?
• What can parents do to promote reading excellence in schools?
• How are parents using the choice options in the law to strengthen their children's school and learning community?
• How can parents best support their children's educational growth during the after-school hours and in the home? 
• How can I help develop my children's study skills and the quality of their homework assignments?

Guests will include U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige (via video) and Nina Rees, deputy undersecretary for innovation and improvement.

Discussing the topic of empowered parents will be Norma Garza with the "Success by Six" Brownsville Reads program in Brownsville, Texas; Leah Vukmir, state assemblywoman from Wauwatosa, Wis.; and Kendra Lindsay, founder and music teacher of the Classical Charter School in Appleton, Wis.

Another panel will cover the subject, "Helping My Child Succeed in School," with guests Jeana Preston, program manager for the Parent Involvement Department of the San Diego City Schools; Bricca P. Sweet, project director of the North Carolina "Northwest Three Consortium," a 21st Century Community Learning Center grantee in Sugar Grove, N.C.; and Christopher Pender Sr., director of the Fatherhood Initiative with the Urban Family Council in Philadelphia.

"Education News Parents Can Use" features one-on-one interviews, "how-to" demonstrations, and brief conversations with parents, educators, community, business and religious leaders, and education experts.  As always, viewers can call in and e-mail their questions at addresses and phone numbers that will be posted on the screen.

The show is broadcast on the third Tuesday of each month during the school year.  Besides local cable systems, it's rebroadcast nationally on the Discovery Network's TLC (The Learning Channel), the Channel One Network, and some Public Broadcasting Service stations. 

Details about the series are available at:  http://www.ed.gov/offices/OIIA/television/index.html. 

Future broadcasts will address citizenship and service (Feb. 18), teacher quality (March 18), special education (April 15), educational technology (May 20) and summer reading (June 17).

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