WASHINGTON, April 16, 2011 - This Wednesday and Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will travel to Platteville, Wis. and Waterloo, Iowa to host White House Rural Council events with local producers and stakeholders to discus Administration efforts to spur economic development through education and workforce development.
On Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will host a White House Rural Council event with agriculture teachers from across Wisconsin to discuss the RESPECT (Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence and Collaborative Teaching) project. RESPECT is an Administration proposed initiative to make teaching America's most important and respected profession. The Secretaries will discuss how important agriculture educators are to the nation's economy and future, the need to provide better support for current teachers, and how to inspire the next generation to teach. This event will be live streamed at www.uwplatt.edu, and viewers can participate in question-and-answer via Twitter, hashtag #ruraled.
On Thursday, Agriculture Secretaries Vilsack and Education Secretary Arne Duncan will travel to Waterloo, Iowa where they will be joined by Jay Williams, executive director of the Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers at the U.S. Department of Labor, and local students, faculty, and business leaders, to host a White House Rural Council workforce training roundtable discussion. The discussion will focus on improving rural economies by training and retraining workers for in-demand careers.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012
WHO: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
Wisconsin Agriculture Teachers
WHAT: White House Rural Council Town Hall on the Teaching Profession
WHEN: 12:25 p.m. to 1:25 p.m. CT
A media availability will be held from 1:35 p.m. to 1:50 p.m. CT
WHERE: University of Wisconsin-Platteville's Pioneer Farm, 29200 College Farm Rd., Platteville, Wis.
THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012
WHO: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
Executive Director for the Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers Jay Williams, U.S. Department of Labor
Principals
Waterloo Community Schools Superintendent Gary Norris
WHAT: White House Rural Council Roundtable on Workforce Training
WHEN: 9:10 a.m. to 10:10 a.m. CT
A media availability from 10:20 a.m. to 10:35 a.m. CT
WHERE: Hawkeye Community College's Fennemen Center Farm Lab, 5503 Hammond Ave., Waterloo, Iowa
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