U.S. Education Secretary Concludes Education Drives America Bus Tour in Washington, D.C., with Wrap-Up Rally and Back-To-School Address

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and senior staff at the Department of Education will wrap up the 2012 back-to-school bus tour with a rally on the plaza at the Department’s headquarters building, 400 Maryland Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. The Education Drives America wrap-up rally will include a back-to-school address by Secretary Duncan and performances from musical artists Kids These Days (KTD); the Dance Institute of Washington’s award-winning Positive Direction through Dance group; GraceNotes, Georgetown’s all-female acapella choir; Meridian Public Charter School’s Meridian Step Team; and more. Ray Clark, Washington, D.C., youth mayor; LaVar Arrington, former Washington Redskin; and Destiny Michelle Welch, America’s Miss Teen 2012, will attend. The rally will get under way at 6:30 p.m., and Duncan will give his address at 7:30 p.m. The public is invited.

“America’s future is directly linked to the quality of education that we provide our children, young people and adults,” said Duncan, who began the tour on Wednesday, Sept. 12, in Redwood City, Calif. “Education is the key to a vibrant middle class, strong national security and our global economic competitiveness.”

This is the third annual back-to-school bus tour for Duncan and the Department of Education. In addition to Redwood City and Washington, D.C., additional stops on the tour included Sacramento, Calif.; Las Vegas, Reno, and Elko, Nev.; Salt Lake City; Rawlins, Rock Springs, and Cheyenne, Wyo.; Denver, Colorado Springs, and Limon, Colo.; Topeka and Emporia, Kan.; Columbia, Kansas City, and St. Louis, Mo.; Mt. Vernon, Ill.; Evansville, Ind.; Lexington, Ky.; Charleston and McDowell County, W.Va.; and Roanoke and Richmond, Va.

Follow the Education Drives America tour as it culminates on Twitter using the hashtag #edtour12, or visit the Department’s bus tour blog. To receive media advisories, press releases, notifications about postings to the blog, and other special updates during the tour, subscribe to the Department’s new Education Drives America e-mail updates by clicking here.