Stay Connected--Linking Up with
Other Outreach Activities

Almost every community has something exciting to share with others. Almost every community has a local partnership starting to work on important issues and facing new challenges in education. A network of parents, concerned citizens, educators, business and community leaders are working to move education forward across America. Newsletters and mailings, special conferences and downlink opportunities will keep you and your efforts connected. You can be a part of the national network through the following activities.

The Satellite Town Meeting
Across the country, partnerships of concerned citizens--parents, teachers, college leaders, child-care providers, business people, community leaders, and others--have come together to improve their local schools and help children learn more. One way these hundreds of communities are sharing ideas and keeping up-to-date with the latest information is through a unique service from the U.S. Department of Education: the Satellite Town Meeting.

On the third Tuesday of each month during the school year, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley hosts the Satellite Town Meeting, a free, live, interactive teleconference about community efforts to improve teaching and learning. Your community can join the Satellite Town Meeting!

The Partnership for Family Involvement in Education
The Partnership's Mission is to: increase opportunities for families to be more involved in their children's learning at school and at home, and to use family-school-community partnerships to strengthen schools and improve student achievement.

Use the Partnership as a way to bring your community together! Convene members of your school community to talk about what joining the Partnership means to you locally. Then hold an event highlighting schools, community and religious organizations, and businesses signing onto the Partnership.

The Millennium: A Special Opportunity to Connect Communities and Schools
The new millennium provides all Americans the opportunity to rediscover and reaffirm the role education plays in our lives. It provides a backdrop to stimulate conversation about how we have become the society we are at the close of the 20th century, and what we must do to ensure equal access to education that promotes academic excellence in the 21st century. It is in this spirit of honoring our educational past and imagining our educational future that the U. S. Department of Education will initiate and recognize national, state and local projects that commemorate the history of education; examine current forces shaping education; and encourage thoughtful planning for the future of education. Start thinking now about how your local community can begin to build toward the new millennium to ensure equity, access and excellence in education for your students.

The White House has already begun activities that reflect on our rich heritage and look toward the future. Hosted at the White House throughout the coming months and accessible to the public via broadcast and cybercast, "Millennium Evenings" are a series of lectures and cultural showcases that will highlight the creativity and inventiveness of the American people through our ideas, art and scientific discoveries. For more information on the Millennium commemoration, call 1-800-USA-LEARN and for updates on Millennium Evenings visit www.whitehouse.gov.