The tribute to Mrs. Vukmir was announced at the Center for Education Reform's Fifth Anniversary Celebration and Salute to the Nation's Unsung Education Reform Heroes.

Mrs. Vukmir was honored for her accomplishments advancing better educational opportunities for children, by nationally recognized authorities and leaders in reform who gathered at The Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, DC. Mrs. Vukmir is the founder of Parents Raising Educational Standards in Schools (PRESS) in Milwaukee. Under her leadership, PRESS grew from a band of ten parents to over 1,000 members statewide. This education reform group has demonstrated that parents can make a huge difference in educational policy. PRESS has influenced the quality of instruction in all subjects and has helped Wisconsin lawmakers raise the bar on standards, helped to forge charter schools and helped elect strong school board members who are responsive to parents.

"Leah has been a catalyzing force and leader to whom parents, not only in Wisconsin but the nation as a whole, owe a great debt of gratitude," said Jeanne Allen, CER Founder and President. "Because of the efforts of Leah and her five colleagues honored by the Center tonight, our shared goals have been met hundreds of times in hundreds of ways in communities across the country."

The Center for Education Reform celebrated its fifth anniversary with a special salute to the six award winners. The evening was capped off by a special musical presentation by the Colin Powell Academy of Detroit (a charter school) children's choir and a pathbreaking speech by national scholar, author and education leader, E.D. Hirsch.

The Center continues its celebration Wednesday with an all day education reform conference, American Education: The Next 15 Years, also at The Four Seasons Hotel, in Washington, DC.

Founded in 1993, the Center has grown to become an authoritative voice for innovative education reform, an active broker for change, and a leader in the battles that have fundamentally altered the national debate on what true education reform means, how it can be achieved, and who is responsible for achieving it.

(Pictured above, from left to right, Leah Vukmir, Jerry Hume, CER Chairman of the Board, and Jeanne Allen, CER President.)