Briefing for Re-Opening K-12 Schools from Dr. Tom Frieden and Former Secretaries of Education Duncan and Spellings
Resolve to Save Lives President and CEO, former CDC Director will be joined by former Secretaries of Education and current Philadelphia School District Superintendent Hite to discuss considerations for K-12 Schools to reopen.
What: Reporters are invited to join Dr. Tom Frieden and Former Secretaries of Education Arne Duncan and Margaret Spellings and Philadelphia Superintendent William R. Hite, Jr., Ed.D. for a discussion on how K-12 schools should re-open this fall.
Who: Dr. Tom Frieden, President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies and Former Director of the CDC
Dr. Arne Duncan, Managing Director, Emerson Collective and Former Secretary of Education
Dr. Margaret Spellings, Former Secretary of Education and Former President of the University of North Carolina
Dr. William R. Hite, Jr., Superintendent, The School District of Philadelphia
When: Wednesday, July 8, 2020
1:15 PM ET
Reporters can share their questions in advance to press@vitalstrategies.org.
**Reporters dialing in via phone will not have access to Zoom’s Q&A feature and therefore must submit questions via press@vitalstrategies.org.
Contact: Christina Honeysett, choneysett@vitalstrategies.org; +1.914.424.3356
Erin Sykes, esykes@resolvetosavelives.org; +1.646.612.0001
Dr. Tom Frieden is former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and former commissioner of the New York City Health Department. He is currently president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, a global non-profit initiative funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Gates Philanthropy Partners, which is funded with support from the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation. Resolve is part of the global non-profit Vital Strategies, and works with countries to prevent 100 million deaths and to make the world safer from epidemics. Follow Dr. Frieden on Twitter @DrTomFrieden.
Arne Duncan is a Managing Partner with Emerson Collective, where he is focused on reducing violence and unemployment and expanding opportunity and hope among youth living in Chicago. Arne also is a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. Prior to his work with these organizations, Arne was named U.S. Secretary of Education by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Jan. 20, 2009. Arne served in this position until December 2015. Prior to his appointment, Arne served as the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools from June 2001 through December 2008, becoming the longest-serving, big-city education superintendent in the country.
Margaret Spellings is president and ceo of Texas 2036, a non-profit organization focused on long-term, data-driven planning and public engagement to ensure Texas is the best place to live and work through Texas’ bicentennial and beyond. Previously, she served as the president of the 17-institution University of North Carolina System, leading the public university into a new period of performance, affordability, and growth with a focus on improving economic mobility, ensuring accountability, and advancing the public good. Prior to that, Spellings served as president of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, where she oversaw programs including economic opportunity, education reform and global health. From 2005 to 2009, Spellings served as U.S. Secretary of Education, leading the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, a bipartisan initiative to provide greater accountability for the education of 50 million U.S. public school students.
Dr. William R. Hite serves as Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, the largest public school system in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Since joining the School District in June 2012, Hite has worked to create a system of great schools in every neighborhood. Under his leadership, the School District has opened new innovative high schools, expanded successful school models, launched in-district turnarounds and redesigned schools in partnership with communities. Hite’s professional experience includes serving at every level – teacher, principal, central office administrator and Superintendent. He was previously Superintendent of Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland where his central work focused on enhanced access and rigor to ensure college- and career-readiness.
About Resolve to Save Lives
Resolve to Save Lives is a five-year, $225 million initiative funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Gates Philanthropy Partners, which is funded with support from the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation. Resolve received additional funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and the CDC Foundation for the COVID-19 response. It is led by Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is part of the global organization Vital Strategies.
To find out more visit: https://www.resolvetosavelives.org or Twitter @ResolveTSL.
Resolve to Save Lives created a website called PreventEpidemics.org that shows how prepared each country is for an epidemic. This site is also a resource for current coronavirus statistics and resources.
About Vital Strategies
Vital Strategies is a global health organization that believes every person should be protected by a strong public health system. We work with governments and civil society in 73 countries to design and implement evidence-based strategies that tackle their most pressing public health problems. Our goal is to see governments adopt promising interventions at scale as rapidly as possible. To find out more, please visit www.vitalstrategies.org or Twitter @VitalStrat.