I am eagerly awaiting our watch party tonight at Ohio State University of the NBC Education Nation broadcast entitled “Supporting Our Students, It Takes Everyone,” sponsored by the NBC Parent Toolkit and Pearson Education. FutureReady Columbus and Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology are partnering to host our local gathering of 200 parents and community leaders. The purpose of the event is to raise a national conversation in concert with local conversations about how parents can be involved in their child’s education, support healthy development, prepare for higher education and constructively address issues of income, racial and cultural divides and the impacts on children’s success. Resources for parents will be shared to help them best support their children through

– engaging in the school and community
– promoting healthy physical development
– supporting social and emotional development
– teaching equity and inclusion
– promoting higher learning

NBC News Education Nation is convening parents, thought leaders, policy makers, teachers and students for a live, two-hour forum in Baltimore, to rally communities nationwide in supporting students’ education in the classroom and beyond. Produced by NBC News Education Nation with Baltimore affiliate WBAL-TV, and supported by Pearson, this event will be live-streamed on ParentToolkit.com, NBCLearn.com, NBC News, MSNBC and broadcast on WBAL-TV. Coinciding around the one-year anniversary of Freddie Gray’s death, the event will touch on last year’s civil unrest and the impact on students in Baltimore, as well as broader issues faced by students across the U.S., such as access to healthy food options for low-income families, closing the achievement gap, and how to encourage students to pursue higher education. Each panel discussion will be moderated by NBC News Chief Education Correspondent Rehema Ellis, and will be kicked off by a video or TED Talk-style presentation. While there are invited guests, the program will be beneficial for families across the country who watch the live stream of the event and join the conversation on social media platforms. Watch the live streaming of the event on the Parent Toolkit site tonight, Thursday, April 14, 2016 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. EST.