Secretary Duncan to Join White House Officials in Live Panel Discussion of President's State of the Union Address
Event Date 1: January 24, 2012 09:00 pm - 11:00 pm
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will join several White House officials tonight in a live, interactive panel discussion following the President’s State of the Union address. Duncan will join the panel during the latter half of the discussion and highlight the Administration’s efforts to rebuild the economy through strengthening education.
The panelists – including Mark Zuckerman, deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council; Roberto Rodriguez, special assistant to the President for education policy; Brian Deese, deputy director of the National Economic Council; Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications and speechwriting; and Jen Palmieri, deputy White House communications director – will answer questions about the President’s address submitted via Twitter (#WHChat and #SOTU), Google+, Facebook and the in-person audience of tweetup participants.
More information can be found at www.whitehouse.gov/sotu. The panel can be viewed online athttp://www.whitehouse.gov/live.
Event 1
| Who : | U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan |
| What : | Panel discussion on President’s State of the Union address |
| When : | TONIGHT, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012 9 p.m. ET: President’s State of the Union address Approximately 10 p.m. ET: Panel discussion begins Secretary Duncan will join the second half of the discussion. |
| Where : | www.whitehouse.gov/sotu and http://www.whitehouse.gov/liveSome of Nation’s Finest Talk About Teaching in Rural America
When the White House recently celebrated the latest class of National Board Certified teachers, several of the honorees traveled to Washington from some of America’s most remote and distant rural communities to receive the teaching profession’s highest credential. During their visit, we caught up with these rural teachers to hear their stories about what it’s like to teach in rural America.
Click here for an alternate version of the video with an accessible player.
These rural teachers describe challenges with funding, a lack of technology, and the need to elevate the teaching profession while expanding curriculum in order to prepare students for a 21st century economy.
Jenny Lovering, a history teacher at Columbia Falls High School in Montana near the Canadian border, addressed the “brain drain” that challenges many rural areas. Her goal is to prepare students for college and careers, so they are equipped to compete, return and rebuild their community. “I want to be able to help them to get to the places where they want to go, so they can come back. I want them to be able to bring in new industries and new ideas to revitalize this area that they love,” she said.
While in the nation’s capital, the new NBC teachers attended a White House forum held to recognize the importance of the teaching profession. Teachers shared their thoughts on their profession and how the Administration can help support educators to ensure that every student receives high-quality instruction. In addition to the forum, senior officials at the Department of Education engaged in a series of roundtables with the teachers to speak with them about strengthening the profession and to get their input on how to best develop teachers to become leaders in the classroom.
To keep the public informed about efforts to elevate the teaching profession, the Department has produced a “Plan to Reform Teacher Education.” Senior leaders in the Department continue to engage with teachers during school visits, at national and regional conferences, through new media like Twitter and Facebook, and through newsletters andthe Web. We invite new ideas and more participants in this important conversation.
John White is Deputy Assistant Secretary for Rural Outreach
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