Archived: Back to School: Getting Your Community Involved

A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Family Involvement

Back to School: Getting Your Community Involved
Tuesday, September 17, 1996
8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (ET)

(note the new time)

The September Town Meeting will kick off the 1996-97 series with a special "Back to School" program. The discussion will explore how parents, educators, business people, and religious and community leaders can be actively involved in improving local schools, which is the theme of U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley's second annual America Goes Back to School initiative. Secretary Riley will welcome educators and local leaders from around the country who are working in successful community-wide partnerships to achieve comprehensive school improvement. Discussion topics will include:

Making schools safe, disciplined, and drug-free;
Encouraging parental and family involvement;
Helping America become a reading, literate society;
Achieving high standards and real accountability;
Bringing computers into the classroom;
Preparing young people for careers; and
Making college more accessible.

All you need to participate is to locate a facility with satellite downlink capabilities. Or, call your local cable access station and give them the satellite coordinates:


C-Band Galaxy 9 Transponder/Channel 1 Vertical Polarity Downlink frequency 3720 MHz Orbital location 123° West	Ku-Band SBS-6 Transponder/Channel 17 Horizontal Polarity Downlink frequency 12120 MHz Orbital location 74° West
Audio subcarriers: 6.2 (Spanish) and 6.8 (English)

Please note that satellite coordinates are subject to change. Register your participation to ensure you will be notified of any changes by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN. For technical assistance during or after the program please call 202-463-5912.

The Satellite Town Meeting is simultaneously closed captioned and translated in Spanish.

What is the Satellite Town Meeting?

Each month, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley hosts a live, interactive video teleconference for communities working to achieve the National Education Goals. National experts, community leaders and educators discuss current issues in education, offer practical advice for community action and interact with participants throughout the nation. Major national television outlets, including The Discovery Network, and Channel One, as well as public access stations and school board channels, carry the Satellite Town Meeting each month. Satellite Town Meetings are also available on many local Public Broadcasting System stations. Past topics have included: school violence, standards, arts in education, school-to-work, and parent involvement.

How can our community benefit from the Satellite Town Meeting?

The Town Meetings are an excellent opportunity to organize your community and involve new partners in your school improvement effort. You can also plan your own local community meeting prior to or after the Town Meeting to discuss your community's progress and challenges in relation to the month's topic. The Satellite Town Meeting brings together people from across the nation with the same commitment to building community partnerships for learning.

How do we participate?

Find a downlink facility
You can take part in the Town Meeting with a group or at home by contacting your local Public Broadcasting System member station or public access station. Call and give them the show's name and topic, date, time of the broadcast, and coordinates. Also, be sure to ask if the program will be aired live or rebroadcast at a later time. A number of national organizations encourage their local affiliates to serve as downlink sites for the Satellite Town Meeting. Contact your local Public Broadcasting System member station, Chamber of Commerce, or Johnson Controls branch office and ask if your group can use the facility. Your local school system, public library, or community college may also have the satellite equipment necessary to provide the downlink. Other possible sites are local cable television stations, universities and technical schools, local government offices, hospitals, businesses, hotels, or even private residences with backyard satellite dishes.
Make a list of invitees
Invite those who are working on your community's reform effort: parents, members of the business community, educators, members of the local chamber of commerce, and other key community leaders. In short, everyone who is interested in learning more about education and the National Education Goals. Notify participants as early as possible.
Call Us
A 1-800 number is provided during the program for participants to call-in and talk with the Secretary and his guests.

Call 1-800-USA-LEARN to register your participation.

The Satellite Town Meeting is produced in partnership with the National Alliance of Business and the Center for Workforce Preparation with funding from The Procter and Gamble Fund

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