U.S. Department of Education Deputy Secretary Tony Miller will travel to Las Vegas tomorrow for a White House Urban Economic Forum and a visit to Western High School, a local school receiving a share of Nevada's School Improvement Grant (SIG) funding. Nevada has received nearly $27 million from the Education Department's SIG program since 2009.
At 8:45 a.m. PT, Miller will join Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council Cecilia Muñoz, U.S. Small Business Administration Deputy Administrator Marie Johns, and Executive Director of the White House Business Council Ari Matusiak to host a White House Urban Economic Forum at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The forum is the fourth of a multi-city series designed to connect urban entrepreneurs and business owners to the local and national resources and the networks they need to grow and hire, and to discuss ways to enhance their success.
At 10:30 a.m., Miller will visit Western High School where he will join several district and school leaders for a focus group on the school’s turnaround work. Participants will include Clark County School District (CCSD) Deputy Superintendent Pedro Martinez, CCSD SIG Turnaround Leader Dr. Florence Barker-Aitken, and Western High School Principal Neddy Alvarez in addition to teachers, students, and other stakeholders. Following the roundtable, Miller and Alvarez will tour the school. A brief media availability will be held from 12:20 to 12:30 p.m. PT.
Western High School is investing a SIG award totaling more than $2.5 million over three years to improve school culture and student achievement, especially through its Reclaim Your Future program, which aims to bring dropouts back to class. The SIG program provides financial assistance and other support to help states and districts turn around their lowest-performing schools. SIG funds are distributed by formula to the state and then competed out by the state to school districts.
The White House Forum is open to pre-credentialed media. Media interested in covering this event should RSVP HERE by Wednesday, March 28, at 6pm EDT/3 pm PDT. Due to limited space, this event is by invitation only to the public but will be streamed live at www.whitehouse.gov/live. You can also follow the forum and join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #UrbanEconForum.