ED In '08 Partners With MTV to Host Roundtable Discussion With New Hampshire's First Time Voters

ED In '08 Partners With MTV to Host Roundtable Discussion With New Hampshire's First Time Voters

Community, School and Student Leaders to Call on Presidential Candidates to Offer Comprehensive Plans for Strengthening America's K-12 Schools

With presidential primaries around the corner, Strong American Schools' ED in '08 campaign will join MTV News Correspondent John Norris and high school seniors for a roundtable discussion about how America's high drop-out rate affects them and why they want presidential candidates to create comprehensive solutions to address the problem at New Hampshire's oldest public high school, Manchester Central High on Thursday, November 15.

From now until the first presidential primary, more than 200,000 students will drop out of school nationwide. In New Hampshire, nearly one in four students will not graduate with their class this academic year. The roundtable participants will call on the presidential candidates to make education reform a priority.

The Strong American Schools' ED in '08 campaign, a project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and calls on all presidential candidates to improve America's public schools.

MTV has been committed to amplifying the youth voice for over 25 years, most recently through its Think community located at think.mtv.com -- an effort to engage, educate and encourage young people to take action on some of the biggest challenges facing their generation. Think and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently launched an ongoing effort to use MTV's reach and credibility with young people to provide them the tools, resources and media platform to graduate from high school prepared for college, career and life.

Date: Thursday, November 15, 2007

Time: 10:15 a.m.

Location: Manchester Central High School
207 Lowell Street
Manchester, New Hampshire 03104

Note: Media set up begins at 9:45 a.m.; mult. box will be provided.

Strong American Schools, a project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, is a nonpartisan campaign supported by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation promoting sound education policies for all Americans. SAS does not support or oppose any candidate for public office and does not take positions on legislation.

thinkMTV is the umbrella for the network's on-air, off-air and online "pro-social" campaigns that engage, educate and encourage young people to take action on some of the biggest challenges facing their generation, including the Break the Addiction campaign on global warming, the Choose or Lose campaign on the presidential election, and ongoing efforts with the Kaiser Family Foundation on sexual health and HIV/AIDS. thinkMTV and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have also joined in an ongoing effort aimed at using MTV's reach and credibility with young people, particularly low-income and minority youth, to provide them the tools, resources and media platform to graduate from high school prepared for college, career and life. The campaign consists of long-form documentaries such as the Dropout Chronicles and Think Over Your School, PSAs featuring high school students talking candidly about their aspirations for college and beyond; MTV News reports on young people and their educational aspirations; and online tools at http://think.mtv.com/ , including resources to prepare themselves for graduation, college, and the workplace.

CONTACT: Elizabeth Snyder of Strong American Schools, +1-202-384-5330, Elizabeth.Snyder@StrongAmericanSchools.org

/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- Nov. 15/

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: ED in '08

Web Site:

http://think.mtv.com/

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