Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Alexa Posny will each give remarks at the White House Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI) conference, Thursday-Friday, July 21-22.
On Thursday, Duncan will discuss the importance of shared responsibility in education and highlight the work of the Department's Promise Neighborhood grantees, community leaders and policy experts in a speech from 1:30-2 p.m. In his remarks, Duncan will also emphasize the importance of families and communities in supporting and sustaining education reform. A question-and-answer session with the audience will follow.
On Friday, Posny will participate in a workshop from 9:45-11 a.m. Posny will join a panel discussion where she will talk about the Department's initiatives toward supporting and strengthening early learning programs and discuss all aspects of early learning relating to the Department's Early Learning Challenge Fund, Promise Neighborhoods and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Following the workshop, Barnes will deliver the closing remarks for the conference at 11:15 a.m.
The United Neighborhood Centers of America is co-convening the conference, which is aligned with the NRI and co-organized with members of the National Neighborhood Alliance. It will be held at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington, D.C.