Satellite Shows Highlight Early Childhood, After-school Programs

With the Education Department kicking off two new initiatives for promoting the importance of early learning, May's Satellite Town Meetingfocused on how communities, partnerships and school districts around the country are creating comprehensive early childhood programs to ensure that all children are prepared to learn. For a videotape of the May 21 broadcast, "Early Childhood Education: Ready to Read, Ready to Learn," contact the Department of Education's publications center at 1-877-4ED-PUBS.

The next Satellite Town Meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, June 18, will focus on local efforts to keep youths engaged in learning after school in an hour-long broadcast entitled "After-school and Summer Programs: Helping Kids Get Smart and Stay Safe."

To view live and archived Web casts of the Satellite Town Meeting, visit http://registerevent.ed.gov/downlink/NewServices.asp or call 1-800-USA-LEARN. To receive updates of satellite events, subscribe to the Satellite Town Meeting List by addressing an e-mail message to listproc@inet.ed.gov . Indicate "Subscribe STM-LIST" in the subject block and include both the sender's first and last names in the message.

The Satellite Town Meeting is produced by the U.S. Department of Education in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Alliance of Business, with support from the Bayer Foundation, the Procter and Gamble Fund, Target Stores and Riverdeep Interactive Learning.