An invite from Former Sen. Tom Frist:

An invite from Former Sen. Tom Frist: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 13, 2011 Contact: David Mansouri 615.727.1545

FORMER SEN. FRIST AND SCORE TO HOST SOUTHEAST REGIONAL RURAL EDUCATION SUMMIT

Focus on Improving Rural Economic Development Through Education Strategies

(Nashville) - The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is hosting the Southeast Regional Rural Education Summit, which will be held on July 19-20, 2011 at Lipscomb University in Nashville. The summit will bring together rural educators, administrators, policymakers, and other education stakeholders to highlight best practices in rural public education, influence regional and national education policy, and improve rural economic development in the Southeast through education strategies. The summit will inform a Roadmap to Improving Rural Education, which SCORE and its summit partners will release following the event, that outlines the needed steps to significantly improve rural education throughout the Southeast. The entire summit is open to the press, but members of the media are encouraged to attend during the morning sessions on Tuesday, July 19 when the speakers will include former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Chairman, SCORE; Kevin Huffman, Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Education; John White, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Rural Outreach, U.S. Department of Education; Bill Hagerty, Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development; Jamie Woodson, President and CEO, SCORE; and Michael Marshall, Alternate Federal Co-Chairman, Delta Regional Authority. Other featured speakers include Crissy Haslam, First Lady of Tennessee; Dave Spence, President, Southern Regional Education Board; and John Morgan, Chancellor, Tennessee Board of Regents. WHO: The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), in collaboration with the Rural School and Community Trust, the Niswonger Foundation, the Ayers Foundation, and the Tennessee School Boards Association WHAT: The Southeast Regional Rural Education Summit WHEN: Tuesday, July 19 and Wednesday, July 20, 2011 WHERE: Collins Auditorium, Lipscomb University, 1 University Park Drive, Nashville, TN 37204 A full summit agenda is available here. For more information contact David Mansouri, Director of Communications at SCORE, at david@tennesseescore.org or 615.727.1545. The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with state and local governments to encourage sound policy decisions in public education and advance innovative reform on a statewide basis.