For press inquiries, please contact Anne Sparkman via telephone at (212) 260-3401, extension 7251, or via e-mail at Anne.Sparkman@widmeyer.com.

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For Immediate Release

WNET.ORG Commemorates Five Years of the Celebration of Teaching & Learning during New York City’s First “New York Celebrates Teaching & Learning Week”

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Queen Latifah, Her Majesty Queen Noor, David Gregory, Lisa Henson and Bobby McFerrin Join THIRTEEN & WLIW21 to Inspire Educators

March 5, 2010, New York, NY – Today’s national leadership has made education a top priority, highlighting the need to prepare America’s students to successfully compete in the global economy. THIRTEEN & WLIW21, New York’s flagship public television stations, have continued in their five-year tradition of hosting the Celebration of Teaching & Learning, a professional development event where over 8,500 educators from all 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico and Canada come together in New York City at the Hilton New York to discuss these pressing issues and to help shape the future of our schools.

Over the course of two days, March 5-6, global experts, activists, academics, artists, thinkers and educators are being inspired by panel discussions, keynote addresses and hands-on workshops in subject areas including English Language Arts, Instructional Technology, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), Social Studies and Whole School Policies. This year’s Celebration was kicked off by the lighting of the Empire State Building Thursday night in the Celebration’s trademark colors of yellow, blue and red, and serves as the marquee event of New York City’s first annual “New York Celebrates Teaching & Learning Week,” as proclaimed by Mayor Bloomberg.

“Each year, public television hosts the Celebration to create an environment where knowledge meets inspiration. Educators share experiences, insight and creativity from the frontlines of increasing student achievement with unfortunately decreasing resources,” said Ron Thorpe, Vice President and Director of Education of WNET.ORG. “While these continue to be challenging times in our country, current leadership in education and the interaction I have with teachers from across the nation during the Celebration have me extremely optimistic about our future.”

The 2010 Celebration is welcoming unprecedented and unique combinations of talent from across the country and the globe including U.S. Secretary of Education ARNE DUNCAN who is addressing educators before being joined by The Honorable RICHARD W. RILEY for a rare and candid conversation; CEO of The Jim Henson Company LISA HENSON; Host of NBC’s Meet the Press DAVID GREGORY; ten-time Grammy Award winning composer, vocalist and conductor BOBBY MCFERRIN; musician and television & film actress QUEEN LATIFAH, who is appearing with an outstanding group of urban high school students; international public servant HER MAJESTY QUEEN NOOR; “the science guy” from the Ellen DeGeneres Show STEVE SPANGLER; acclaimed author and National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature KATHERINE PATERSON; former NASA astronaut FRANKLIN CHANG DIAZ; along with education leaders DAVID STEINER, DIANE RAVITCH, JEANNIE OAKES and JIM SIMONS.

“The Celebration affects educators and the teaching profession in a profound way,” said Neal Shapiro, President and Chief Executive Officer of WNET.ORG. “Public television is dedicated to delivering exceptional resources and content to teachers. The Celebration is a hallmark event in that effort, delivering a world-class conference that meets the needs of our nation’s PreK-12 educators, renews their passion for teaching and provides skills and content that can be brought directly into the classroom.”

The Celebration also includes an extensive exhibit hall featuring the latest in educational tools as well as the event’s first-ever social media room where attendees will gather to utilize their social networks and exchange ideas.

Follow the conversation on Twitter

Thirteen and WLIW21 gratefully acknowledge sponsorship support from –

Founding Sponsor: Chase;
Premier Sponsors: Adobe Youth Voices, The American Federation of Teachers (AFL-CIO), National Education Association (NEA), New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), SMART Technologies/Tequipment, United Federation of Teachers (UFT), Verizon Thinkfinity, Walden University;
Major Sponsors: The Council of School Supervisors and Administrators and Executive Leadership Institute (CSA/ELI), DELL, Inc., Educational Testing Service (ETS), Fordham University Graduate School of Education, Friends of Thirteen, Hilton New York, The McGraw-Hill Companies, New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), Pearson Education;
Presenting Sponsors: Adelphi University, Cisco, Hofstra University; Event Sponsors: Barnes & Noble, The College Board, EmblemHealth, New York State School Administrators Consortium (NYSSAC), Teachers College, Columbia University, William Paterson University; and
Media Sponsor: Education Week.

# # #

About WNET.ORG
New York public media company WNET.ORG is a pioneering provider of television and web content. The parent of THIRTEEN, WLIW21 and Creative News Group, WNET.ORG brings such acclaimed broadcast series and Web sites as Worldfocus, Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, Charlie Rose, Wide Angle, Secrets of the Dead, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, Visions, Consuelo Mack WealthTrack, Wild Chronicles, Miffy and Friends, and Cyberchase to national and international audiences. Through its wide range of channels and platforms, WNET.ORG serves the entire New York City metro area with unique local productions, broadcasts and innovative educational and cultural projects. In all that it does, WNET.ORG pursues a single, overarching goal - to create media experiences of lasting significance for New York, America and the world. For more information, visit www.wnet.org.

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View the above press release here ——————————————————————————————–

Media Advisory

PLENARIES

Friday:	Lisa Henson	David M. Steiner	Arne Duncan	Richard W. Riley	David Gregory
Saturday:		Queen Noor	Bobby McFerrin	Queen Latifah

FEATURED SPEAKERS

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Note: this list does not include Celebration’s workshop and classroom-style presentations. They are led by a wide variety of education practitioners and organizations, including Celebration sponsors. Each session provides hands-on access to specific and practical classroom applications, and interaction with presenter(s) and colleagues. To see them, click the following links: FRIDAY. SATURDAY.

Hilton New York
1335 Avenue of the Americas @ 53rd Street
New York, NY 10019

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Hilton New York for March 3, 2010 - March 7, 2010.

Special room rates have been arranged for this event, from $219 USD/night.

Making a Reservation
All reservations must be made directly with the Hilton New York by calling (800) HILTONS (mention Celebration of Teaching & Learning) or online at

http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/groups/personalized

The Chase Multimedia in the Classroom projects are collaborations between teachers and students showing how they can use technology to creatively enhance their learning experiences. It’s open to all K-12 teachers and their students in public and non-public schools in the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut).

Presentation of Awards:
Day: Friday 3/5/10
Time: 4 pm
Location: Chase Center

Congratulations to the 2010 Chase Multimedia in the Classroom Award Winners!

Ditmas I.S. 62, Brooklyn, NY
for their video: “Living Proof: The Holocaust Happened”

I.S. 77, Ridgewood, NY
for their video: “When Actions Spoke Louder Than Words: The Progressive Era”

Ward Melville H.S., East Setauket, NY
for their Web project: “The Phi Experiment”

Paul D. Schreiber H.S., Port Washington, NY
for their photography project: “The Glory & Demise of Our Environment”

Oceanside H.S., Oceanside, NY
for their video: “Technology Etiquette for Today’s Teens”

P.S. 124, Brooklyn, NY
for their video: “The Super Battery Fairy”

William McKinley I.S. 259, Brooklyn, NY
for their multimedia project: “A Mural of Mythic Proportions”

P.S. 108Q, South Ozone Park, NY
for their Web site: “The Great American Patent Caper”

Signal Hill E.S., Dix Hills, NY
for their multimedia project: “There’s an Animal in Trouble”

Mt. Pleasant Blythedale UFSD, Valhalla, NY
for their Web project: “Bronx River: Past, Present, Future”

To view these projects please stop by the Chase Awards Booth (#104) at the Celebration.

Dear Educator:

It’s hard to believe that March 5-6, 2010, will mark our fifth annual Celebration of Teaching & Learning! We’ve learned a lot over these years, and thanks to our Advisory Board and our partners, the Celebration has become one of the country’s premier professional development conferences.

Of course, we’ve also listened to those of you who have attended. We read every post-conference survey, eager to learn what works and most especially where we need to improve. In that way, I suspect we are a lot like each of you: proud of our successes but even more driven by the need to get better and better every year.

One thing that came out clearly in last year’s surveys is how much you care about the creative dimension of your work and how the Celebration contributes to that. Time and again, people commented on Sir Kenneth Robinson’s message about the central role creativity plays in our lives. One superintendent who attended that talk was so moved that she gave a copy of Sir Ken’s new book to every graduating senior in her district! Stories like that, combined with the survey comments, have convinced us to make sure that this year’s speakers and workshops help all of us think even more creatively about teaching and learning.

There was one other thing we heard in the surveys: how much you appreciate the learning from the other educators who attend the conference. Whether it’s getting the chance to meet new colleagues in the workshops, over lunch, at the exhibit booths or in the hallways, the Celebration’s greatest asset is the energy that comes from the 8,500 participants. Last year, all 50 states, D.C., and Canada were represented, and we expect the same in 2010.

On behalf of my colleagues at Thirteen, WLIW21, PBS, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and member stations throughout the country, I thank you for all you do for our nation’s schools and for your interest in the Celebration of Teaching & Learning. I hope you’ll visit this site often and share it with your colleagues as our speaker and session lists grow. Most of all, I hope you’ll be able to join us at the Hilton New York on March 5-6 for Celebration 2010, where knowledge meets inspiration.

Sincerely,

Ronald Thorpe
Vice President and Director of Education
WNET.ORG

The Colors of Teaching and Learning

Look who’s Celebrating with us! Be sure to look to the New York skyline on Thursday, March 4, as the Empire State Building shines its world-famous tower lights in yellow, blue and red to honor the fifth annual Celebration! What a great way to kick-off the weekend’s activities!

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Professional education associations, organizations, colleges and public TV stations play an important role in getting the word out about the Celebration. We want to thank them for putting links on their websites, mentioning us in their newsletters, distributing information at events and more.

The Celebration of Teaching & Learning is a NYSED Co-Ser aidable professional development opportunity presented in partnership with BOCES of Eastern Suffolk, Western Suffolk, Nassau, Southern Westchester, Putnam/Northern Westchester and Rockland Counties. To register for the event for Co-Ser aid through BOCES, please visit the Celebration’s BOCES registration page.

The Celebration of Teaching & Learning is presented in collaboration with NYS Teacher Centers.

To find out more about the Celebration’s sponsors, please click on the links below.

FOUNDING SPONSOR

• Chase

PREMIER SPONSORS

• Adobe Youth Voices

• The American Federation of Teachers (AFL-CIO)

• National Education Association (NEA)

• New York State United Teachers (NYSUT)

• SMART Technologies

• United Federation of Teachers (UFT)

• Verizon Thinkfinity

• Walden University

• CSA-ELI

• DELL, Inc.

• Educational Testing Service (ETS)

• Fordham University Graduate School of Education

• Friends of Thirteen

• Hilton New York

• The McGraw-Hill Companies

• New Jersey Education Association (NJEA)

• Pearson Education

PRESENTING SPONSORS

• Adelphi University Ruth S. Ammon School of Education

• Cisco

• Hofstra University

EVENT SPONSORS

• Barnes & Noble

• The College Board

• Emblem Health

• NYSSAC (New York State School Administrators Consortium)

• Teachers College, Columbia University

• William Paterson University

MEDIA SPONSOR

• Education Week

Registration

For information about registering for the Celebration of Teaching & Learning, please visit our Registration Overview page.

If I have purchased a ticket but am unable to attend, what is the cancellation policy?
Cancellations, revisions or changes of any kind must be submitted in writing to registration@thirteencelebration.org and received before February 15, 2010. Phoned-in notifications will not be accepted. There is no penalty for cancellation before the February 15, 2010 deadline. Refund requests for emergency situations only (subject to WNET.ORG approval and at its sole discretion) must be submitted in writing by March 15, 2010. No refund requests will be accepted after March 15, 2010.

General Information

What takes place at the Celebration?
Thirteen brings the world to Pre-K-12 teachers at the Celebration of Teaching & Learning. The world’s leading experts, activists, academics and thinkers come together to expose teachers to international and national trends in instruction, education policy, and the latest research. Attendees have access to Plenary Sessions, Featured Speaker sessions, hands-on In The Classroom sessions, and exhibit space.

When is the 2010 Celebration of Teaching & Learning?
The Celebration will be held on March 5th & 6th, 2010. The Celebration begins at approximately 8:00am and ends at around 5:00pm. Onsite registration opens at 7:00 a.m. on both days.

Where does Celebration take place?
The Celebration takes place at the Hilton New York in New York City, located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas (at 53rd Street), New York, NY, 10018.

Who can attend the Celebration?
Our conference is primarily for Pre-K-12 educators, including teachers, administrators, policy makers, parents, and anyone who is interested in learning about best practices in the world of Education.

Can I earn academic credit for attending?
Each school system in the tri-state metropolitan area has its own procedure and requirements for approval of teacher training for local professional development credit. In order to get professional development credit through your local school, district or region for taking part in the Celebration of Teaching and Learning Professional Development Conference, you will need to get your local supervisor or administrator’s approval.

Please use the printable letter to help your administrator to decide whether this conference will qualify for approval in your school system. This letter for your administrator provides information about the Celebration’s Professional Development Conference and presents the possibility of obtaining credit.

Printable Letter (pdf)

What are the Chase awards? How can my school participate?
Please see our Awards page for details.

How do I make arrangements for special needs/disabilities?
If any attendees require special accommodation for disabilities, please inform us at info@thirteencelebration.org or 212-560-4900 by February 1, 2010 so we may make every effort to provide suitable services.

Can I bring my children/students?
The Celebration of Teaching & Learning is not designed for children. There is no discounted rate for children.

Exhibiting

How can I become an exhibitor at this event?
For exhibitor information, please contact Colleen Boyden at colleen@cckevents.com.

Presenting

Whom should I contact regarding proposal questions?

We do not formally solicit proposals for presenters. However, we’d be happy to entertain suggestions. To suggest speakers, please submit a brief paragraph or two to info@thirteencelebration.org, and we’ll get back to you to let you know if we’re interested.

Other questions? Contact us at info@thirteencelebration.org.

To qualify for Co-Ser aid, districts/schools must register attendees through their local BOCES contact. Registrations purchased in this way entitle the district to partial reimbursement based on need, and as a NYSED CoSer-approved event, Celebration registration qualifies for this aid. Please ask your local BOCES representative for more information if necessary.

(Please note: Educators/schools/districts from other New York State BOCES regions may be able to register for this event through a BOCES cross-contract process. Please contact any of the BOCES contacts provided to explore this option.) We encourage attendance by teachers, coaches, curriculum and department heads, media specialists and administrators.

To register through BOCES, please scroll down to see and contact your local BOCES registration contact listed below.

BOCES Registration Rates

For registration through the BOCES CoSer aid process, the registration rate will remain at $175 per person per day, $300 per person for a 2-day ticket (tickets are nontransferable) through the event date. Please note that the Super Early Bird rate will not apply for registrations through BOCES offices. To take advantage of the Super Early Bird rate, please register online before the posted deadline.

To register, please contact your local BOCES contact listed below.  For all other questions, please call 212-560-4900, or email info@thirteencelebration.org.

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations, revisions or changes of any kind must be submitted in writing to registration@thirteencelebration.org and received before February 15, 2010. Phoned-in notifications will not be accepted. There is no penalty for cancellation before the February 15, 2010 deadline. Refund requests for emergency situations only (subject to WNET.ORG approval and its sole discretion) must be submitted in writing by March 15, 2010. No refund requests will be accepted after March 15, 2010.


BOCES Registration Contacts

• Nassau BOCES:
  Nassau BOCES provides online registration through My Learning Plan:Friday, March 5, 2010, 1-day only ticket
  https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?D=10056&I=635597&H=1

  Saturday, March 6, 2010, 1-day only ticket
  https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?D=10056&I=635606&H=1

  Friday/Saturday, March 5th & 6th, 2010, 2-day ticket
  https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?D=10056&I=635612&H=1

  Julie Taylor - jtaylor@mail.nasboces.org
  Phone: (516) 608-6603
  www.nassauboces.org

• Eastern Suffolk BOCES:
  Cindy Hodun - chodun@esboces.org
  Phone: (631) 288-9568
  http://webreg.esboces.org
  Registration questions can be sent to Cindy Hodun at chodun@esboces.org.

• Western Suffolk BOCES:
  Debbie Kennedy - dkennedy@wsboces.org
  Phone: (631) 595-6813
  My Learning Plan: http://www.wsboces.org/webreg

• Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES:
  Louise Dutra - ldutra@pnwboces.org
  Phone: (914) 248-2331

• Rockland BOCES:
  Marilou Fullon - lfullon@rboces.org
  Phone: (845) 627-4841

• Southern Westchester BOCES:
  Helaine Fried - hfried@swboces.org
  Phone: (914) 345-8500 x125

The Celebration of Teaching & Learning will take place at the Hilton New York. It is located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas (53^rd Street at 6^th Avenue), New York, NY.

Public Transportation
The Hilton New York is easily accessible by subway. The nearby subway stations include: F at 57th Street; E, V at 53rd Street; B, D, E at 7th Avenue; Q, R, W at 57th Street.

For more detailed information about how to get to the Hilton New York from your location, please see HopStop.com.

Maps
For a map of the area surrounding the Hilton New York, click here.
For the New York City subway map, please refer to the MTA New York City Transit map.

Driving and Parking Information
For driving and parking directions, please refer to the Hilton New York’s website.

For Airport Transfers
Click here: