Friday, December 9, 2011

HUD and GreatSchools Partner to Provide Education Resources For Parents

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and GreatSchools have partnered to support parents and families residing in public housing (or receiving housing vouchers) make informed decisions about school placements. By providing information about local school performance to parents and families, the HUD/GreatSchools partnership hopes to help families locate both quality housing and schools for their children.

GreatSchools, a national nonprofit organization, manages a resources website that provides performance information on over 200,000 public, private and charter schools throughout the nation. The information provided includes test scores and the availability of extracurricular activities both in the school and in the community. In addition to reporting performance information, the resource website also includes links to enrichment worksheets, homework help and college preparation materials. Supplemental materials also include parent factsheets, which outline important steps in choosing a quality school for children, and information on how parents can be more involved with their local schools. HUD authorities will ensure that both the GreatSchools website and easy-to-understand informational materials are made available to HUD-assisted families on the HUD website, in resident newsletters, at resident meetings and during the annual voucher recertification process.

This partnership is a key resource that will promote parent engagement, as well as provide parents the opportunity to make critical decisions about the quality of education their children receive.

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