Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center
Atrium Ballroom
Washington, D.C.
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Welcome

9:00 – 9:02 am

Master of Ceremonies

Frank Sesno
CNN Special Correspondent

9:02 – 9:10 am

Opening Remarks

Tim Russert
Managing Editor & Moderator, "Meet the Press"

9:10 – 9:40 am

The Youth Perspective

Sway Calloway
Correspondent, MTV News

Jynell Harrison
Winner of MTV's "Be the Voice" Competition

Youth Roundtable

Jynell Harrison
Graduate, Central High School in Providence, Rhode Island
 

Kristen Hignite
Senior, Shelbyville High School in Shelbyville, Indiana

Lyle Oates
Full-Time Student, YouthBuild Alternative School,
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Fallon O'Hagan
Left Lehman High School in the Bronx, New York
in 9th Grade

Dropout Rates, Causes & Promising Solutions

9:40 – 10:35 am

E.J. Dionne
Syndicated Columnist, The Washington Post

Christopher Swanson
Director, EPE Research Center, Education Week

Russell Rumberger
Professor, University of California Santa Barbara

Robert Balfanz
Research Scientist, Johns Hopkins University

Christopher Edley, Jr.
Dean & Professor of Law, UC Berkeley School of Law
(Boalt Hall)

Audience Q & A

10:35 – 10:45 am

Break

A Nation Responds

10:45 – 11:00 am

Keynote Remarks

Mrs. Laura Bush*
First Lady of the United States

Ballou High School Choir

Ballou High School, Washington D.C.

From Dropout Nation to Communities of Hope

11:05 – 12:05 pm

Nathan Thornburgh
Senior Editor, TIME Magazine

David Adams
Superintendent, Shelbyville Central School System

Beverly Hall
Superintendent, Atlanta Public Schools

Joel Klein
Chancellor, New York City Department of Education

Reginald Beaty
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Communities in Schools Georgia

Audience Q & A

12:05 – 12:20 pm

Lunch

12:20 – 12:45 pm

Christina Norman
President, MTV

12:45 – 1:00 pm

Gleendilys "Glendy" Inoa
Junior, Bronx Lab School in New York City

Dropout Chronicles (video)

Remarks by Patty Stonesifer

CEO, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Early College High School (video)

State of the States

1:00 – 2:00 pm

David Broder
National Political Correspondent, The Washington Post

Honorable Donald Carcieri
Governor, Rhode Island

Honorable Michael Easley
Governor, North Carolina

Honorable John Lynch
Governor, New Hampshire

Audience Q & A

2:00 – 2:45 pm

The Federal Role

Keynote Remarks

Honorable Margaret Spellings
U.S. Secretary of Education

Honorable Jeff Bingaman
U.S. Senator, New Mexico

Audience Q & A

2:45 – 3:00 pm

Break

3:00 – 4:20 pm

A Call to Action

Frank Sesno
CNN Special Correspondent

 
Wendy Kopp
Founder & President, Teach for America

David Levin
Co-Founder & Superintendent, KIPP

Alberto Retana
Community Coalition, South Los Angeles

Jazmin Roman
Freshman, Roosevelt High School & Activist,
Voices of Youth in Chicago Education

Arthur J. Rothkopf
Senior Vice President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Reg Weaver
President, National Education Association

Audience Q & A

4:20 – 4:40 pm

Closing Keynote Remarks

*Invited