Join host, Dr. Mike Robinson as he discusses the efforts taking place in the state of Maryland and across the nation to increase the inovlement and acceptance of parental engagement.

Dr. Robinson's guest is Mr. Curtis Valentine, Executive Director, MarylandCan. Curtis graduated from Morehouse College with a bachelor’s in English and then headed to South Africa, where he provided professional development to primary school educators as a Peace Corps volunteer. After returning to the States, Curtis taught eighth-grade language arts at a public middle school in Prince George’s County. He later went on to serve as regional field director in Prince George’s County for Obama for America and as a senior political advisor to the O'Malley 2010 re-election campaign.

The MarylandCAN story.

In many ways, Maryland has good reason to be proud of its public schools. On the 2011 Nation’s Report Card, our fourth-graders ranked fifth in math and third in reading. Last year, our state won $250 million in the federal Race to the Top grant competition and $50 million in this year's Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge for innovative plans to make our education systems even better. When it comes to our public schools, it’s clear that we’re doing some things right.