U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will visit Austin tomorrow to keynote the annual National PTA Convention and host a roundtable discussion at Austin Community College.
During his remarks at the PTA convention, he will discuss the growing agreement about the important ways that public education has to change to truly prepare young people for their future. The convention brings together parents, educators, administrators, policymakers and thought-leaders from across the country to discuss key issues impacting children, families, schools and communities. In addition to hearing from Secretary Duncan and other speakers during the four-day event, attendees will participate in a wide variety of workshops, including sessions on advocating for every child, enhancing leadership, growing schools of excellence and empowering a generation of good digital citizens. The convention also will feature an Emerging Minority Leaders Conference, Youth Leadership Summit and a Male Engagement Forum.
After the convention, Secretary Duncan will visit Austin Community College’s Highland Business Center, where he will host a roundtable discussion with young men from Austin and the surrounding area to talk about their lives, their experiences in school – particularly those involving discipline, as well as the opportunities that have put them on the road to success. The discussion is being hosted by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans and the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics (WHIEEH). WHIEEH’s Deputy Director Marco Davis will moderate the discussion, which is part of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative that works in partnership with foundations, businesses and others to build on approaches that help young men of color reach their full potential.