U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will travel to Orlando on Friday, Feb. 24 where he will hold a town hall meeting to discuss community engagement in education and participate in NBA All-Star Weekend activities.
In the morning, Duncan will attend the 13th annual NBA All-Star Technology Summit. Each year, the forum provides an opportunity for leading thinkers to discuss the changing dynamics of sports, media and technology.
Following the summit, Duncan will hold a town hall at Memorial Middle School at 12:10 p.m. ET. He will be joined by fellow Administration officials including, Joshua DuBois, special assistant to the President and executive director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Robert Velasco, II, acting chief executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and Roberto Rodriguez, special assistant to the President for Education Policy. The town hall will highlight a new Obama Administration initiative aimed at fostering partnerships among schools, families, national service programs, and community-based organizations to propel improvement of low-performing schools.
Also in attendance will be U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Brian Gallagher, chief executive officer and president of United Way Worldwide. A press availability will be held at the close of the event, beginning at 1:10 pm ET.
At 2 p.m. ET, Duncan will travel to the Children’s Safety Village of Central Florida where he will help build a playground as part of the 2012 NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service, supported in part by KaBOOM!, the national non-profit dedicated to creating great play places for America’s children.
In the evening, Duncan, who played varsity basketball at Harvard University and later professionally in Australia, will participate in the 2012 Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at 7 p.m. ET at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.