Building choice.

To help ensure parents have the information they need to make decisions regarding their children's education, the U.S. Department of Education recently unveiled a new Web site for building choice within the public school system.

BuildingChoice.org is a new online toolkit that provides a variety of practical resources based on diverse school districts across the country that have created voluntary public school choice programs. With a growing number of students no longer routinely attending their neighborhood schools, the site covers a range of options for parents who feel their children's needs may be better met elsewhere, for example, at an arts magnet school, a charter technology high school, or a media academy operating within a larger school.

For school district leaders either implementing or improving a public school choice program, the site's tools are organized around five action areas: creating a vision; communicating with parents; managing operations; supporting schools; and evaluating the program. Included are downloadable sample materials that can be adapted for specific program use.

In addition, a 26-page illustrated companion to the Web site, An Invitation to BuildingChoice.org, is available free of charge by calling (877) 4ED-PUBS with identification number EU0159P, while supplies last.

BuildingChoice.org is a project of the Department's Office of Innovation and Improvement and is an online complement to its popular Innovations in Education book series.