NYC Outward Bound to Honor U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at Annual Gala, June 4

    LONG ISLAND CITY, NY, May 21, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On Thursday evening, June 4, New York City Outward Bound will honor United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at a gala event at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine celebrating both the achievements of its growing network of schools and its more than two decades of work in the City's public schools. NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein will present Duncan with the organization's Educational Leadership Award.

"We are delighted to be presenting our 2009 award to Arne Duncan, a man who believes not only that education is 'the most pressing issue facing America' but that it is also 'the civil rights issue of our generation, the only sure path out of poverty and the only way to achieve a more equal and just society'," said Richard Stopol, NYC Outward Bound president.

"At the same time, we applaud the successes of our Expeditionary Learning schools in New York and the accomplishments of the more than 50,000 City students our educational programs have reached since 1987," he added. Expeditionary Learning is a nationally-recognized model for school excellence.

Duncan, who has visited several Expeditionary Learning schools in the U.S., was appointed United States Secretary of Education by President Obama in January, 2009. Prior to his appointment, he served as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools from 2001 through 2008, becoming one of the longest-serving big-city education superintendent in the country. Earlier, he ran the Ariel Education Initiative which helped fund a college education for a class of inner-city children under the "I Have A Dream" program and started a new public elementary school built around a financial literacy curriculum, the Ariel Community Academy, which today ranks among the top Chicago elementary schools. An avid basketball player, Duncan graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1987.

Chairs of this year's gala are: Tim Armstrong,-AOL, Barry Diller-IAC, Lee Klingenstein, Mark Newhouse-Advance Publications, Brad Raymond-Thomas Weisel Partners, Arthur Sulzberger Jr.-The New York Times Company and Virginia and Geoffrey F. Worden. More than 500 students, educators, local officials and supporters are expected to join in this recognition of excellence in public education. Proceeds from the event will support NYC Outward Bound's network of Expeditionary Learning schools and its customized programs for other public schools throughout the City.

A national school creation /transformation model, Expeditionary Learning emphasizes real world learning, engaging instruction, rigorous curricula, and character development. Students learn their core academic subjects through in-depth projects that often use the City itself as a classroom. NYC Outward Bound provides extensive professional development to each of its network schools around implementation of the Expeditionary Learning model, and is involved in all aspects of their schools, including school design, governance and evaluation, staff recruitment, teacher professional development, and student support.

About NYC Outward Bound
Now in its third decade in the City, New York City Outward Bound is an independent non-profit organization that brings the educational philosophy and expertise of Outward Bound to New York City's public schools. Since 1987, NYC Outward Bound has conducted in-school and after-school programs for students in literacy, leadership and character development for more than 50,000 students at over 250 schools, and has trained faculty, administration, parents and staff in classroom management, literacy instruction, curriculum planning and diversity; and organizational development. In 2003, while continuing to provide these programs, the organization undertook its most ambitious venture--to build and operate a network of small schools, in partnership with the City's Department of Education, that incorporate the Expeditionary Learning curriculum inspired by Outward Bound founder, Kurt Hahn. New York City Outward Bound schools opened to date are: Bronx Expeditionary Learning High School, Expeditionary Learning School for Community Leaders, The James Baldwin Academy, Kurt Hahn Expeditionary Learning School, The Marsh Avenue Expeditionary Learning School, The Gaynor McCown Expeditionary Learning School, The Validus Preparatory Academy and Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School. In addition, an existing school--Humanities Preparatory Academy--joined NYC Outward Bound's network of small Expeditionary Learning Schools in 2005. There are currently over 140 Expeditionary Learning schools in the country. For further information, visit our website, www.nycoutwardbound.org.

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