ED in '08 Partners With MTV News to Host Roundtable Discussion With Iowa's First Time Voters

ED in '08 Partners With MTV News to Host Roundtable Discussion With Iowa'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 the Iowa caucuses just around the corner, Strong American Schools' ED in '08 campaign will join MTV News Correspondent Sway Calloway and high school seniors, who will be first time voters, for a roundtable discussion about how they are affected by the nation's school drop-out epidemic and what the next president can do to help raise student achievement, on Tuesday, December 18.

Annually, over 1.2 million students will drop out of school nationwide and in Iowa one out of five students drop out. 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, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, calls on all presidential candidates to improve America's public schools. Included in the event will be a recent Johnston High School graduate, ED in '08 spokesperson, and Iowan, Abby Bowman, 18, who will cast her first vote in a presidential election next year.

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:
Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Time:
9:30 a.m.

Location:
Des Moines North High School
Library
501 Holcomb Ave
Des Moines, IA 50313

Note: Media set up begins at 9:00 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: Angela Landers (202) 306-7568 - cell, Angela.Landers@StrongAmericanSchools.org

/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- Dec. 17/

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: ED in '08

Web Site:

http://think.mtv.com/
http://www.edin08.com/

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