Tomorrow, Feb. 22, 2012 from 3-4 p.m. ET, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation will join the U.S. Department of Education for a Twitter chat on increasing opportunities for vulnerable children in rural communities. Through our contribution to the Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) as well as our support of rural applicants in the grant competition through a $1.4 million grant to the Rural School and Community Trust, the foundation is committed to addressing the barriers that keep children living in remote communities from reaching their full potential.
WKKF’s CEO and president, Sterling Speirn, will join John White, the department’s deputy assistant secretary for rural outreach, for the Twitter chat and discuss partnerships, innovation and education reform in high-need rural schools.
Our commitment to supporting vulnerable children and families extends to rural areas, including communities in the Deep South and our priority state of Mississippi, Native American populations such as in New Mexico, and rural areas of our home state of Michigan. Especially in rural areas, the importance of community engagement and collaboration becomes more critical, and we are proud of our grantees that partner and network to solve rural issues. When families and communities work in partnership, education ideas and innovations are shared and we can work to propel vulnerable children to success. Speirn will discuss these issues, as well as the importance of early childhood education, attracting effective educators in rural areas and the need for family engagement, throughout the Twitter chat.
The chat will take place on Twitter using the hashtag #ruraled. If you have questions about rural education, please tweet them to #ruraled, and follow the discussion from the hashtag, WKKF’s Twitter handle, @WK_Kellogg_Fdn and John White’s handle, @RuralED.
For more information, check out the department’s blog about the chat, How Are You Increasing Opportunities in Rural Schools?
