Michael Robbins, senior advisor for Nonprofit Partnerships and Richard Culatta, director of the Office of Educational Technology, will lead a discussion on how community and family partnerships can advance digital learning, and participants will share their experiences and promising practices on Thursday, Sept. 12 at High Tech High in San Diego. The conversation will have a special focus on the Department’s Reimagining Education initiative and ConnectED, President Obama’s plan to connect all schools to the digital age. Topics include the Department’s work to support technology in education, personalized learning, and 21st century classrooms.
This roundtable discussion complements U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s “Strong Start, Bright Future,” back-to-school bus tour. Robbins and Culatta are among several senior Department officials hosting additional events highlighting the Administration’s work to leverage education reform and innovation across the country.
“The strength of America's economy is inextricably linked to the strength of America's education system,” said Secretary Duncan. “This year's bus tour will be an opportunity to discuss throughout the southwest how investments in education are critical to our country’s future and how state and local reforms are delivering encouraging results. Our theme of ‘Strong Start, Bright Future’ also speaks to the importance of starting the school year off right and providing all our children with high-quality preschool to prepare them ultimately for success in college and careers.”
In May 2013, the Department co-hosted the Reimagining Education initiative with the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. That event convened leaders from across the education sector to explore ways to develop learning experiences that better connect in-school and out-of-school time; better connect students to their passions, peers, communities and careers; and redesign our nation’s’ high schools to prepare our students for a connected world of learning.
For live, up-to-the-minute updates from the road, follow the “Strong Start, Bright Future” tour on Twitter using the hashtag #edtour13, or see the department’s bus tour page. To receive media advisories, press releases, notifications about postings to the blog, and other special updates during the tour, subscribe to the department’s Strong Start, Bright Future e-mail updates.