Grassley Invites Educators, Parents to Participate in Virtual Town Meeting on Rural Education


Manning Schools to Present Iowa Best Practices


? Sen. Chuck Grassley today invited teachers, administrators and parents to join a live discussion with U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige and to learn of best practices for implementing the reforms of No Child Left Behind in rural America. The meeting will be held Thursday, Sept. 25 from 2:30 ? 3:30 p.m. (CT).

The meeting will take place in Washington, DC and in four rural sites nationally and will be telecast live on the internet. The public is invited to watch the town hall meeting by registering at http://visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=17351.

"I encourage educators and parents to take advantage of this town meeting," Grassley said. "Rural America faces different challenges in implementing the No Child Left Behind. This is a nice opportunity for people to learn new ideas from other rural parts of the country."

Manning will host one of the four national sites. The Manning schools will demonstrate how rural schools in Iowa are taking classes using videoconferencing via the Iowa Communications Network. Schools in New Mexico, West Virginia and Montana will host the three other national sites.

Grassley is a member of the bicameral, bipartisan Rural Education Caucus. The caucus addresses issues of particular concern to rural states, including the inherent difficulties of implementing the No Child Left Behind Act in such states.