As part of the U.S. Department of Education’s third annual back-to-school bus tour, Brenda Girton-Mitchell, director of the Department’s Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, will visit St. Louis on Thursday, Sept. 20, for events that will highlight the importance of parental involvement in the academic success of children and the value of community partnerships in helping to propel school improvement and turn around low-performing schools.
Girton-Mitchell’s visit will follow that of Deputy Secretary Tony Miller and other senior Education Department officials, who are in St. Louis today, Sept. 19, for school events that highlight education reform, college affordability and completion, community involvement and the link between education and jobs.
“America’s future is directly linked to the quality of education that we provide our children, young people and adults,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who began the tour on Wednesday, Sept. 12, in Redwood City, Calif. “Education is the key to a vibrant middle class, strong national security and our global economic competitiveness.”
Duncan and his senior leadership team will continue crisscrossing the country through Sept. 21 for a series of events that reinforce the message that Education Drives America. Besides St. Louis, some of the other stops include Sacramento, Calif.; Reno, Nev.; Cheyenne, Wyo.; Denver; Topeka, Kan.; Kansas City, Mo.; Evansville, Ind.; Lexington, Ky.; Charleston, W.Va.; Roanoke, Va.; Richmond, Va.; and Washington, D.C.
Girton-Mitchell will meet with officials at the Fathers’ Service Center to discuss the importance of parental involvement in the academic success of children and to meet with officials and commend their work in helping men become better, more responsible fathers. The meeting will take place at 10 a.m. at the center.
At 1 p.m., Girton-Mitchell, joined by Senior Advisor for Nonprofit Partnerships Michael Robbins and Senior Advisor Ken Bedell, both in the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, will host a “Together for Tomorrow” roundtable. The roundtable will focus on the value of community partnerships in helping to propel school improvement, especially in areas that need it the most. Members of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri will join the discussion, which will take place at their office in St. Louis.
For live, up-to-the-minute updates from the road, follow the Education Drives America tour on Twitter using the hashtag #edtour12, or visit the Department’s bus tour blog. To receive media advisories, press releases, notifications about postings to the blog, and other special updates during the tour, subscribe to the Department’s new Education Drives America e-mail updates by clicking here.