U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will travel to Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 19, to participate in several events that highlight excellence in education and the importance of community involvement and support.
At 9:50 a.m., Duncan will join John Deasy, Superintendent of Los Angeles Unified Schools, at the Hollywood Family Source Center for a roundtable discussion with parents, students and staff about the parent engagement efforts that have helped strengthen the local schools and community. The Center is using funds from the Education Department's Promise Neighborhoods program to serve as a "one-stop shop" for families by offering free youth and adult education and training programs. The center illustrates the potential of President Obama's Promise Zones Initiative, designed to create a better bargain for the middle-class by partnering with local communities and businesses to create jobs, increase economic security and expand educational opportunities.
At 1:30 p.m., Secretary Duncan will give brief remarks and be interviewed by Abraham Madkour, executive editor of Sports Business Journal, as part of the 2014 IMG World Congress of Sports conference. The secretary will engage in a discussion with sports leaders and athletes about how they can help advance education more effectively, including supporting turnarounds of struggling schools and recruiting more minority men as teachers.
At 4 p.m., Secretary Duncan will visit Nava Learning Academy, a model middle school in L.A.'s South Central community that utilizes a collaborative leadership style to meet the personalized needs of its 1,000 students. Nava Learning Academy has two unique schools—the Business and Technology School and the Arts and Culture School—that are co-located on its campus and share teachers, programs, facilities and activities. Superintendent Deasy will join Duncan for the school visit.