U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will visit Kentucky on Friday as part of his Partners in Progress tour to see America’s ingenuity in education at work and discuss progress, promise and results.
At 9 a.m., Duncan will address more than 15,000 FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) members attending the organization’s national convention at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. He will discuss the unique needs of students in rural areas and the administration’s efforts to improve education and career opportunities there. (Note: prompt arrival is encouraged at the exposition center’s Freedom Hall.)
From Louisville, Duncan will travel to Sand Gap, Ky., for a 12:30 p.m. lunch with students at Sand Gap Elementary School. The school is the recipient of an Education Department Promise Neighborhoods grant. Promise Neighborhoods, first launched in 2010, is a community-focused program that funds local-led efforts to improve educational opportunities and provide comprehensive health, safety and support services in high-poverty neighborhoods.
After lunch, the secretary will host a roundtable with stakeholders from the Berea Promise Neighborhood community, which includes Sand Gap Elementary, to see what’s working and to discuss the importance of community partnerships in helping boost student engagement and academic success. A media availability will follow the roundtable.
Duncan will then travel to Williamsburg where he will visit at 3:20 p.m. with a family to hear about the Save the Children’s Early Steps to School Success program and the challenges of early childhood education in Appalachia.
At 3:55 p.m., Secretary Duncan will wrap up his Kentucky visit with a town hall on early learning at Pleasant View Elementary School in Williamsburg. Joining the secretary will be Sen. Robert Stivers, president of the Kentucky State Senate. A media availability will follow.