U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. will join U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro and Children’s Defense Founder Marian Wright Edelman on Friday, June 10 in Arlington, Virginia to discuss eliminating chronic absenteeism in the nation’s schools as part of the first national conference on the issue. ED, and the Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Justice, are hosting the event in support of President Obama’s My Brother's Keeper Initiative (MBK). Leslie Cornfeld, special advisor to the Secretary and director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships, will moderate the discussion. During the event, Secretary King will also announce a new website detailing chronic absenteeism data from the 2013-2014 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), which was released to the public on Tuesday. A press avail will follow the conversation.
The President launched MBK to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by young people, including boys and young men of color, to ensure that all young people can reach their full potential. In response to the President’s call to action, nearly 250 communities in all 50 states, 29 Tribal Nations, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico have accepted the President’s My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge.
The Every Student, Every Day National Conference: Eliminating Chronic Absenteeism by Implementing and Strengthening Cross-Sector Systems of Support for All Students aims to support states, local school districts, schools and communities in their work to develop effective chronic absenteeism policy and practice; showcase how schools can address the root causes of the problem; and strengthen the collaborative capacity of multi-agency early warning systems to link students to necessary interventions, programs, and preventative services.
Visit Every Student, Every Day to get the full conference agenda.