U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. will visit Calhoun Community College’s postsecondary education programming at Limestone Correctional Facility in Harvest, Alabama on Wednesday, Sept 14, to highlight their selection as a Second Chance Pell site, as part of this year’s back-to-school bus tour.
Broderick Johnson, Assistant to the President, Cabinet Secretary, and Chair of the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force, will join King during his visit to the correctional facility. The My Brother's Keeper Initiative, launched by President Obama in February of 2014, brings together partners from the federal government, state and local government and the private sector to address persistent opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color and ensure all youth can reach their full potential. It is one of several Administration initiatives designed to expand opportunity for underserved young people and disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline.
Calhoun Community College is partnering with Limestone Correctional Facility and the Alabama Department of Corrections to provide incarcerated students access to 11 training programs ranging from carpentry and welding to horticulture and mechanical design. Students will gain experience and instruction and will also receive career and transition guidance as they approach release, and will be able to transfer accumulated credits to another institution or may continue their education at Calhoun Community College in the community.
King and senior Education Department officials are hosting the seventh and final back-to-school bus tour to celebrate progress in communities and states across the country. The tour kicked off in the nation’s capital and is traveling all the way to Louisiana, from Monday, Sept. 12 to Friday, Sept. 16, 2016. This year’s “Opportunity Across America” tour includes stops in Washington, D.C.; Charlottesville, Virginia; Bristol, Knoxville, Chattanooga and Memphis, Tennessee; Harvest, Alabama; North Little Rock, Arkansas; Indianola, Mississippi; and Monroe, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana. King and other senior Department officials will hold events touting the Administration’s key initiatives over eight years, highlighting the progress made to expand opportunity across the nation and the groundwork laid for continued momentum.
President Barack Obama entered office in 2009 with a comprehensive vision for improving our education system to advance our children’s opportunity and success. That vision included efforts to address the dropout crisis, improve student achievement, and increase graduation rates; expand equity in education through stronger schools; ensure all students achieve to high standards that prepare them for college and career; and grow innovation and investment in what works, while safeguarding the right of all students to a world-class education. Thanks to the hard work of educators, state and local leaders, communities, parents, families, and students, the nation has made significant educational progress over the last eight years. To build on our prosperity and competitiveness as a nation, the Administration has worked diligently to make a positive difference for students and to continue the work to deliver on the promise of a world-class education to every child.
As this is a correctional facility, all media MUST follow protocols. To attend this event, media must RSVP to [email protected] by 3 p.m. CT/ 4 p.m. ET, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016 (no exceptions).