My EdWeek colleagues who write the Politics K-12 attended today’s National Summit on the Role of Education in Economic Development in Rural America, held in Washington, and wrote a must-read post for rural education advocates.
The event, which was sponsored by the Education Commission of the States, featured U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who challenged rural schools to have higher college completion rates and acknowledged their unique set of challenges. Still, he didn’t propose any new ideas.
Duncan spoke in the morning, but the summit will last the rest of the day. It includes sessions on topics such as: successful models of education and economic development partnerships; available resources and collaboration at the local, state, and federal levels; and broadband and technology resources and solutions.
Participants also are supposed to separate into small groups to review one-page summaries of federal legislation related to rural education and economic-development issues. They’re slated to discuss how those policies should be changed to allow more flexibility in implementing collaborative partnerships. Recommendations will be created and prioritized, and we’ll try to get our hands on those for you.