Deputy Secretary Jim Shelton will give remarks at the Equity Policy Project Roundtable hosted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) at 11:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 15, in Washington, D.C. Shelton will discuss the importance of technology, innovation and opportunity in achieving educational equity.
AIR's roundtable, "New Directions in Using Research to Transform Educational Policy: Opening Doors to Opportunity for All students," aims to use research to inform policies and practices that disrupt the cycle of lost talent and abandoned dreams for minority youth and youth from low-income households.
Shelton will discuss the Obama Administration's commitment to equity in education, which underlies nearly every significant activity of the Department, from ConnectEd to the My Brother's Keeper Initiative, Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) flexibility, and School Improvement Grants, to its Race to the Top—Equity and Opportunity proposal, among others.
In a move to continue closing equity and opportunity gaps for minority students attending colleges and universities across the country, the Department recently awarded nearly $96 million in grants to ensure every student—regardless of wealth, zip code, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity or disability—has the same opportunities to learn and achieve.
Last month, as part of the My Brother's Keeper initiative, the White House announced the My Brother's Keeper Community Challenge—an effort to encourage communities (cities, counties, suburbs, rural municipalities and tribal nations) to implement a coherent cradle-to-college and career strategy aimed at improving life outcomes for all young people. The Challenge is a call to action for leaders of communities across the nation to build and execute comprehensive strategies that ensure all children enter school cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally prepared; can read on grade level by third grade; graduate from high school; complete post-secondary education or training; and that youth out of school are employed and safe from violent crime.