Teams of educators and policymakers from five states are expected to attend the U.S. Department of Education's first of seven regional summits Friday and Saturday at Montana State University in Billings, Mont., to examine America's high schools and the way they prepare students for higher education or the world of work.

The summits will focus on flexibility offered states under the No Child Left Behind Act—the landmark measure passed two years ago by Congress to promote excellence in American education. In addition, a No Child Left Behind/Rural Schools technical assistance conference will be held concurrently in Billings to discuss opportunities for improving rural education through the landmark No Child Left Behind Act.

Other summits will be held March 26-27 in Atlanta, April 16-17 in Phoenix, April 23-24 in St. Louis, May 7-8 in San Diego, May 14-15 in Cleveland and May 21-22 in Boston.

The conferences are a key part of U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige's "Preparing America's Future High School Initiative," aimed at bringing together state leaders, experts and teachers to share their knowledge about what works in the nation's high schools.

"Through these summits, we hope to generate a national dialogue on how we can restructure high schools as top-quality learning institutions," Paige said. "No Child Left Behind provides us with a good road map on how to get there. We want to ensure that all American high school students graduate with the knowledge and skills they need for good jobs or higher education."

Paige added, "We are pleased to be launching these conferences in Montana—a vast state with a rich frontier spirit that recognizes, as do we, the vital importance of building a rural education program second to none."

Attending Friday's meetings will be representatives from Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. Chief state school officers, working with their governors, selected teams to attend the summit.

Opening Friday's event will be Tom Luna, director of the Education Department's Rural Education Task Force, along with Montana Superintendent of Education Linda McCulloch, Billings Mayor Charles Tooley and Montana State-Billings Chancellor Ron Sexton.

Susan Sclafani, assistant secretary for the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, will address a general session on the topic, "No Child Left Behind: Rural Implications for Accountability and Flexibility."

Guest speakers during the two-day session will include nationally and locally recognized practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and representatives from the Education Department and elsewhere.

The High School Initiative regional event is co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Education, the Council of Chief State School Officers, National Governor's Association and the Council of Great City Schools. For more information on "Preparing America's Future: The High School Initiative," visit: www.ed.gov/highschool.

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