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	Thirteen/WNET New York and WLIW21 Present The Biggest Education Event of its Kind in the Tri-State Area March 24-25 "Celebration of Teaching and Learning" To Attract Thousands of Educators and Members of the Public With Professional Development Workshops, Seminars by Renowned Experts, Performances, and More New Awards Program Recognizes Ten Area Schools For Outstanding Media And Technology Initiatives Thirteen/WNET and WLIW21 New York, the public television stations of the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut metropolitan area, are giving educators a leg up on the current mandate to improve America's schools with their presentation of the Celebration of Teaching and Learning. This unprecedented event for tri-state-area education professionals and members of the general public will take place at the UnConvention Center at Pier 94 in New York City, March 24-25, 2006. "There is no harder job in the world than being a teacher - and there's no more rewarding job, either," said U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings in a statement of support to Thirteen/WNET and WLIW 21. "Studies show that nothing helps a child learn as much as a great teacher, and our nation's teachers deserve to be celebrated and praised for answering the call to change lives, one student at a time." "As a one-time aspiring teacher myself, I am awed by the sheer magnitude of the offerings being planned for the Celebration on the Pier in March 2006," Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell wrote in a letter to Thirteen/WNET and WLIW21. "The participation by the best of the best in American education guarantees a unique, successful experience for everyone. It is a tribute to the unwavering support of our schools shown by public television that these luminaries are taking the time to share their ideas and their own commitments toward improving the lives of our children through a lifelong dedication to teaching and learning." Thousands of educators, including teachers, administrators and school board members, have pre-registered for this exciting event. The Celebration will provide dozens of hands-on learning opportunities with practical, interactive exercises covering all content levels for K-12 teachers. Special In the Classroom sessions will demonstrate the best examples using media in the classroom â€“ including such well-known Thirteen programs as Cyberchase, Colonial House, Nature,and Wide Angle â€“ as well as other workshops conducted by cultural and educational organizations and by teachers and students from area schools. Highlights will include: Two days of professional development sessions delivered by nationally recognized experts; A trade show and exhibit hall featuring several hundred organizations with an interest in teaching and learning; A Town Hall meeting with former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw moderating a discussion on education policy; A forum exploring global education issues facilitated by Gwen Ifill from The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and Washington Week in Review; Special address by film, TV and stage star Richard Dreyfuss; Remarks from Frank McCourt, author of Teacher Man and Angelaâ€™s Ashes. A panel presented by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills identifying the essential skills needed by students to participate fully in the global economy; Special appearance by Dancing Classroom student stars of the hit film Mad Hot Ballroom; Special appearance by the students featured in the PBS special The Hobart Shakespeareans, along with their award-winning teacher, Rafe Esquith; A special awards ceremony honoring effective and innovative teaching and learning projects using technology and media, sponsored by JPMorgan Chase. "One of public television's key missions is to use the power of electronic media to create innovative educational opportunities," said William F. Baker, chief executive of the Educational Broadcasting Corporation, licensee of Thirteen/WNET and WLIW21. "The Celebration of Teaching and Learning is an ideal collaboration between public television and the education community, and it couldn't have come at a better time as America's schools and its students strive to meet new, higher standards of achievement." United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said, "What could be more fitting than for the Educational Broadcasting Corporation to sponsor a major educational event that in its breadth and depth promises to be of signal importance to educators in this area: a veritable World's Fair of Education. I am happy to help launch an event that will do so much to help teachers and to focus attention on education." JPMorgan Chase, the Founding Sponsor of the event, will present "Multimedia in the Classroom" Awards - $1,000 cash awards to each of 10 schools in the tri-state area that have demonstrated innovation and excellence in using video and other multimedia technologies to spark student achievement. Student and teacher recipients of the JPMorgan Chase Award will be recognized at the Celebration and offered the chance to share their winning projects as the event. The Celebration of Teaching and Learning will offer professional development sessions focusing on primary and adolescent literacy; cognitive learning and scientifically-based research; mathematics, assessment, accountability, and school reform; bilingual education; and effective teaching. Confirmed speakers include: Donna Alvermann, a leading author, nationally known researcher, and speaker on adolescent literacy; Geoffrey Canada, president of Harlem's Children Zone; Milton Chen, president of the George Lucas Educational Foundation, and a specialist on educational media; James Comer, leading school reformer and founder of the Comer School Development Program at Yale University; Roger Farr, former president of the International Reading Association and nationally recognized advisor on assessment; Kathleen Leos, associate assistant deputy secretary and senior policy advisor to the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) in the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C.; Steve Leinwand, American Institutes of Research and an evaluator for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Pedro Nogera, author, professor, and national expert on urban education and reform; Diane Ravitch, noted historian, author, and NYU professor; David Rose, president of CAST; Cathy Seeley, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics; Peter Senge, an author and authority on leadership and leadership communities; Sally Shaywitz, professor of pediatrics and child study at the Yale University School of Medicine and a member of the National Reading Panel; Dorothy Strickland, State of New Jersey Professor of Reading at Rutgers University, former president of the International Reading Association, and a specialist in learning disabilities; Harry Wong, a popular speaker and best-selling author of The First Days of School on the subject of classroom management. The Celebration also includes a "Tri-State Leadership Summit," a special "conference-within-the-conference" presented in partnership with New Jersey Network and Connecticut Public Television. It focuses on issues of interest to district and building administrators, teacher leaders, BOCES and professional association staff, school board members, PTA/PTO leaders, and state-level policy makers. Panels will be led by Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, Microsoft's Schools of the Future, New Visions for Public Schools, and the production team from the PBS hit series Between the Lions with sessions exploring a wide variety of topics, from adolescent literacy to equity and excellence in urban schools to essential skills all students should develop to compete in our global economy. Since Thirteen first signed on the air in 1962, New York public television has had an enduring relationship with the education community and children in the tri-state area. Thirteen's National Teacher Training Institute has provided professional development for more than 145,000 educators across the country since it began in 1989, and its Ready to Learn Service has helped more than 113,000 young children learn the basics they need to succeed when they enter school. Also, in an average month, more than 1,640,000 children age 2-11 tune to Thirteen, which is more than 65 percent of all the children in the tri-state area. Founding Sponsor of the Celebration of Teaching and Learning is JP Morgan Chase. Premier Sponsors are the Prudential Foundation and the United Federation of Teachers. Major Sponsors are Pearson Education, McGraw-Hill Education, New York State United Teachers, Kumon Math and Reading Centers, and Friends of Thirteen. Presenting Sponsors are Borders, Scholastic, Library Video Company, and Fast ForWord by Scientific Learning. Media Sponsors are Edutopia, New Jersey Education Association, Education Update, Parent Guide, Jazz 88 WBGO, 90.7 WFUV, WNYC New York Public Radio, WSHU Public Radio Group, and WRC Media. Contributing Sponsors are Amtrak, The Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan, New York Post, and NYC & Co. Special thanks to BizBash and Widmeyer Communications. For more information and continuing updates on the Celebration of Teaching and Learning, log on to www.thirteencelebration.org. The site has information for educators, parents, students, exhibitors, and sponsors. About Educational Broadcasting Corporation Educational Broadcasting Corporation, headquartered in New York City, is the parent company of public broadcasters Thirteen/WNET New York and WLIW21 New York. Thirteen is America's most-watched public television station and WLIW21 has the fourth-largest public television audience in the nation. Both stations are major producers of programming for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) seen on public television stations across the country. In addition to its well-known analog channels, EBC is the provider of a number of digital public television services, including Thirteen HD, Thirteen World, Kids Thirteen, WLIW Create, and Thirteen On Demand. EBC also creates, manages and distributes a wide range of educational outreach and online programs, projects and services that extend the power and relevance of public television programming at the local, national and international levels. More information about Thirteen and WLIW is available at www.thirteen.org and www.wliw.org. # # # Press contacts: Lisa Batchelder Thirteen/WNET 212.560.2074 batcheld@thirteen.org Eddy Gregory Thirteen/WNET 212.560.3021 Gregory@thirteen.org Alex Camarda Widmeyer Communications 212.260.3401 Alex.Camarda@Widmeyer.com

Thirteen/WNET New York and WLIW21 Present The Biggest Education Event of its Kind in the Tri-State Area

March 24-25 "Celebration of Teaching and Learning" To Attract Thousands of Educators and Members of the Public With Professional Development Workshops, Seminars by Renowned Experts, Performances, and More

New Awards Program Recognizes Ten Area Schools For Outstanding Media And Technology Initiatives

Thirteen/WNET and WLIW21 New York, the public television stations of the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut metropolitan area, are giving educators a leg up on the current mandate to improve America's schools with their presentation of the Celebration of Teaching and Learning. This unprecedented event for tri-state-area education professionals and members of the general public will take place at the UnConvention Center at Pier 94 in New York City, March 24-25, 2006.

"There is no harder job in the world than being a teacher - and there's no more rewarding job, either," said U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings in a statement of support to Thirteen/WNET and WLIW 21. "Studies show that nothing helps a child learn as much as a great teacher, and our nation's teachers deserve to be celebrated and praised for answering the call to change lives, one student at a time."

"As a one-time aspiring teacher myself, I am awed by the sheer magnitude of the offerings being planned for the Celebration on the Pier in March 2006," Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell wrote in a letter to Thirteen/WNET and WLIW21. "The participation by the best of the best in American education guarantees a unique, successful experience for everyone. It is a tribute to the unwavering support of our schools shown by public television that these luminaries are taking the time to share their ideas and their own commitments toward improving the lives of our children through a lifelong dedication to teaching and learning."

Thousands of educators, including teachers, administrators and school board members, have pre-registered for this exciting event. The Celebration will provide dozens of hands-on learning opportunities with practical, interactive exercises covering all content levels for K-12 teachers. Special In the Classroom sessions will demonstrate the best examples using media in the classroom â€“ including such well-known Thirteen programs as Cyberchase, Colonial House, Nature,and Wide Angle â€“ as well as other workshops conducted by cultural and educational organizations and by teachers and students from area schools.

Highlights will include:

Two days of professional development sessions delivered by nationally recognized experts;
A trade show and exhibit hall featuring several hundred organizations with an interest in teaching and learning;
A Town Hall meeting with former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw moderating a discussion on education policy;
A forum exploring global education issues facilitated by Gwen Ifill from The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and Washington Week in Review;
Special address by film, TV and stage star Richard Dreyfuss;
Remarks from Frank McCourt, author of Teacher Man and Angelaâ€™s Ashes.
A panel presented by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills identifying the essential skills needed by students to participate fully in the global economy;
Special appearance by Dancing Classroom student stars of the hit film Mad Hot Ballroom;
Special appearance by the students featured in the PBS special The Hobart Shakespeareans, along with their award-winning teacher, Rafe Esquith;
A special awards ceremony honoring effective and innovative teaching and learning projects using technology and media, sponsored by JPMorgan Chase.

"One of public television's key missions is to use the power of electronic media to create innovative educational opportunities," said William F. Baker, chief executive of the Educational Broadcasting Corporation, licensee of Thirteen/WNET and WLIW21. "The Celebration of Teaching and Learning is an ideal collaboration between public television and the education community, and it couldn't have come at a better time as America's schools and its students strive to meet new, higher standards of achievement."

United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said, "What could be more fitting than for the Educational Broadcasting Corporation to sponsor a major educational event that in its breadth and depth promises to be of signal importance to educators in this area: a veritable World's Fair of Education. I am happy to help launch an event that will do so much to help teachers and to focus attention on education."

JPMorgan Chase, the Founding Sponsor of the event, will present "Multimedia in the Classroom" Awards - $1,000 cash awards to each of 10 schools in the tri-state area that have demonstrated innovation and excellence in using video and other multimedia technologies to spark student achievement. Student and teacher recipients of the JPMorgan Chase Award will be recognized at the Celebration and offered the chance to share their winning projects as the event.

The Celebration of Teaching and Learning will offer professional development sessions focusing on primary and adolescent literacy; cognitive learning and scientifically-based research; mathematics, assessment, accountability, and school reform; bilingual education; and effective teaching. Confirmed speakers include:

Donna Alvermann, a leading author, nationally known researcher, and speaker on adolescent literacy;
Geoffrey Canada, president of Harlem's Children Zone;
Milton Chen, president of the George Lucas Educational Foundation, and a specialist on educational media;
James Comer, leading school reformer and founder of the Comer School Development Program at Yale University;
Roger Farr, former president of the International Reading Association and nationally recognized advisor on assessment;
Kathleen Leos, associate assistant deputy secretary and senior policy advisor to the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) in the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C.;
Steve Leinwand, American Institutes of Research and an evaluator for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation;
Pedro Nogera, author, professor, and national expert on urban education and reform;
Diane Ravitch, noted historian, author, and NYU professor;
David Rose, president of CAST;
Cathy Seeley, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics;
Peter Senge, an author and authority on leadership and leadership communities;
Sally Shaywitz, professor of pediatrics and child study at the Yale University School of Medicine and a member of the National Reading Panel;
Dorothy Strickland, State of New Jersey Professor of Reading at Rutgers University, former president of the International Reading Association, and a specialist in learning disabilities;
Harry Wong, a popular speaker and best-selling author of The First Days of School on the subject of classroom management.

The Celebration also includes a "Tri-State Leadership Summit," a special "conference-within-the-conference" presented in partnership with New Jersey Network and Connecticut Public Television. It focuses on issues of interest to district and building administrators, teacher leaders, BOCES and professional association staff, school board members, PTA/PTO leaders, and state-level policy makers. Panels will be led by Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, Microsoft's Schools of the Future, New Visions for Public Schools, and the production team from the PBS hit series Between the Lions with sessions exploring a wide variety of topics, from adolescent literacy to equity and excellence in urban schools to essential skills all students should develop to compete in our global economy.

Since Thirteen first signed on the air in 1962, New York public television has had an enduring relationship with the education community and children in the tri-state area. Thirteen's National Teacher Training Institute has provided professional development for more than 145,000 educators across the country since it began in 1989, and its Ready to Learn Service has helped more than 113,000 young children learn the basics they need to succeed when they enter school. Also, in an average month, more than 1,640,000 children age 2-11 tune to Thirteen, which is more than 65 percent of all the children in the tri-state area.

Founding Sponsor of the Celebration of Teaching and Learning is JP Morgan Chase. Premier Sponsors are the Prudential Foundation and the United Federation of Teachers. Major Sponsors are Pearson Education, McGraw-Hill Education, New York State United Teachers, Kumon Math and Reading Centers, and Friends of Thirteen. Presenting Sponsors are Borders, Scholastic, Library Video Company, and Fast ForWord by Scientific Learning. Media Sponsors are Edutopia, New Jersey Education Association, Education Update, Parent Guide, Jazz 88 WBGO, 90.7 WFUV, WNYC New York Public Radio, WSHU Public Radio Group, and WRC Media. Contributing Sponsors are Amtrak, The Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan, New York Post, and NYC & Co. Special thanks to BizBash and Widmeyer Communications.

For more information and continuing updates on the Celebration of Teaching and Learning, log on to www.thirteencelebration.org. The site has information for educators, parents, students, exhibitors, and sponsors.

About Educational Broadcasting Corporation

Educational Broadcasting Corporation, headquartered in New York City, is the parent company of public broadcasters Thirteen/WNET New York and WLIW21 New York. Thirteen is America's most-watched public television station and WLIW21 has the fourth-largest public television audience in the nation. Both stations are major producers of programming for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) seen on public television stations across the country. In addition to its well-known analog channels, EBC is the provider of a number of digital public television services, including Thirteen HD, Thirteen World, Kids Thirteen, WLIW Create, and Thirteen On Demand. EBC also creates, manages and distributes a wide range of educational outreach and online programs, projects and services that extend the power and relevance of public television programming at the local, national and international levels. More information about Thirteen and WLIW is available at www.thirteen.org and www.wliw.org.

# # #

Press contacts:

Lisa Batchelder
Thirteen/WNET
212.560.2074
batcheld@thirteen.org

Eddy Gregory
Thirteen/WNET
212.560.3021
Gregory@thirteen.org

Alex Camarda
Widmeyer Communications
212.260.3401
Alex.Camarda@Widmeyer.com