April 14, 2008 Keynote Address by D.C. School Official Michelle Rhee Headlines Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Events

Michelle Rhee, chancellor of the Washington, D.C., public schools, will deliver the keynote address for the Library’s 2008 celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7, in the Montpelier Room, located on the sixth floor of the Library’s James Madison Building at 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. With a national theme of “Leadership, Diversity, and Harmony – Gateway to Success,” the event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required. Michelle Rhee was appointed chancellor of the D.C. Public Schools by Mayor Adrian Fenty in June 2007. In this position, she leads a school district comprising 50,000 students in 144 schools. Rhee holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Cornell University and a master’s degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Her commitment to excellence in education began in a Baltimore classroom in 1992 through the Teach-for-America program, a national corps of recent college graduates and professionals who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools. In 1997, Rhee founded The New Teacher Project (www.tntp.org) an organization that develops innovative solutions to the challenges of hiring new teachers. In partnership with school districts, state education agencies, colleges and universities and other educational entities, the organization has recruited, prepared or certified approximately 28,000 high-quality teachers, worked with more than 200 school districts and established more than 55 programs or initiatives in 26 states. The Library is also sponsoring several other events for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. These events include a traditional Lao dance performance and Lao-American fashion show at 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 1, in the Mumford Room on the sixth floor of the Madison Building. The event is provided by the Lao American Women Association. At 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28, the Asian American Arts Center will provide a Korean Drum and Fan dance. The Library of Congress’s extensive holdings include millions of items pertaining to Asia and Asian Pacific Americans. A display featuring some of these items will be on view throughout May in the foyer of the Madison Building. On May 1, the Library will launch an online resource page at www.loc.gov/topics/asianpacific/.