Charter schools are quickly becoming a major force in public education, supported in part by the Obama administration’s education agenda. The administration is encouraging states to support the expansion of high-quality charter schools by offering states that lift caps on new charters a chance to win grants from the renowned Race to the Top competition. The administration has also singled out charter schooling as a key strategy to turn around 5,000 of the nation’s most troubled schools.

At the same time, Latinos and English language learners, or ELLs, make up an increasing share of the nation’s school-aged children. They are also disproportionately concentrated in the schools targeted by the administration’s school turnaround efforts. Charter schools that take on this challenge of turning around schools will therefore inevitably have to consider how they are going to improve the educational outcomes of Latino and ELL students in these schools.

Join us for a discussion about the role—both current and future—that charter schools have in the education of Latinos and ELLs. A new report by the Center for American Progress and the National Council of La Raza will launch the discussion. We will examine how both the large growth of the Latino and ELL student population and the potential expansion of charter schools will influence the educational landscape, and hear from two high-performing charter schools that have been recognized for their Latino and ELL achievement.

Education policymakers and reform advocates increasingly expect state governments to provide specialized assistance and support to districts and schools, especially those with the lowest levels of student performance. To fulfill this role, they must develop wise policies and operate effective programs. Yet it is quite clear that most state officials are not yet ready to execute the responsibilities that reformers have envisioned for them. Despite this, state education agency responsibilities have become clearer than ever. Among other things, they must operate a greatly expanded, several billion dollar program of federal funds to turn around low-performing schools.

Please join us as we examine the issue of state assistance to low-performing school districts. We will be releasing a paper by William Slotnik that analyzes state education agency efforts to date and recommends they use three levers for change—educational, organizational, and political—that if used together can achieve better results for students.

The Obama administration has mapped out an enhanced partnership with Pakistan that addresses Pakistan’s greatest development challenges, supports Pakistan’s democratic institutions, and assists Pakistan in battling militants. Despite this renewed U.S. commitment to Pakistan, little progress is apparent thus far on the ground.

Please join the Center for American Progress for an informative discussion on U.S. policy toward Pakistan, military-civilian dynamics in Pakistan, efforts underway by the Pakistani military and civilian government to root out militancy, and the disparities between the civilian and military responses to the floods. Panelists will discuss the Obama administration’s strategy toward Pakistan and what the United States can do to support Pakistan’s democracy and struggle against militancy.

Click here to watch the event live.

John D. Podesta of the Center for American Progress, Douglas Holtz-Eakin of the American Action Forum, and Jim Tankersley of the National Journal invite you to join us for a debate on policy responses to the U.S. budget deficit.

The previous decade began with record budget surpluses but ended mired in red ink, with larger deficits projected far into the future. With the economy now headlining public debate in Washington, progressives and conservatives are of very different minds on how and when to address our current and long-term fiscal challenges. As midterm elections and the expiration of the Bush tax cuts approach, what should policymakers do to help bring the federal balance sheet back towards the black?

Please join us as John Podesta, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress, and Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum, engage in lively discussion and debate on a sensible solution for U.S. fiscal policy.

The Center for American Progress will feature a panel discussion around the book Reshaping the Work-Family Debate: Why Men and Class Matter by Joan C. Williams, founding director of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. The revolution in gender roles has stalled—in the United States, women's workforce participation and men's household contributions both leveled off in the 1990s. Jumpstarting that revolution, Williams argues, requires opening up a national conversation about gender pressures on men. One key is to understand how men's identities are intertwined with the mandate of work devotion. Is this mandate required by competitive economic pressures, or is it the contemporary equivalent of the joust—a ritual that enables men to prove who is a "real" man?

Please watch the live webcast here.

Join Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree as he discusses his new book, The Presumption of Guilt: The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates and Race, Class and Crime in America, with Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Sam Fulwood III. The book highlights some of the perplexing issues that drew public scrutiny last year after Cambridge Police Officer James Crowley arrested Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. The arrest sparked countless private and public debates about the lingering impact of race on American society. The cacophony of conversations even engulfed President Obama, who felt compelled to invite the professor and the policeman to a highly publicized White House "beer summit."

In the immediate aftermath of the Crowley-Gates indicident, Ogletree provided counsel to Gates, his friend and colleague. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Ogletree was a senior advisor to his former law student and current president of the United States. Now, drawing upon an insider's knowledge of both men and vast experience as a criminal law and race law professor, Ogletree's new book places the Gates arrest and resulting fallout into a context framed by the nation's complicated racial and legal history. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing during the event.

TIME CHANGE: This event will now begin at 12:30 p.m. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Two months before the 2008 presidential election, Alan Khazei capped a 25-year career as a social entrepreneur by persuading Barack Obama and John McCain to appear together on national television to agree that national service was good for America. With their backing, he helped frame the Edward M. Kennedy Service Act, which was signed into law within 100 days of Obama's inauguration—an extraordinary example of effectiveness in action.

In Big Citizenship, Khazei shares his experiences founding and growing his City Year program, saving AmeriCorps, and creating the new national campaign called ServiceNation, offering inspiration as well as practical advice. He addresses how to balance private and public funding, work with all levels of government, build bipartisan support on even the most contentious issues, attract volunteers, and get young people involved.

For social entrepreneurs, activists, idealists, community leaders, politicians, and donors who support not-for-profit organizations, Khazei's story demonstrates not just how to fight for what you believe in, but how to turn ideals into effective institutions that make the world a better place.

On the six-month anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, much has already been accomplished: the Department of Health and Human Services has launched a new high-risk pool program, implemented a reinsurance fund for companies that provide retiree coverage, and provided financial help to more than 1 million Medicare beneficiaries with high prescription drug expenses. Additional components of the new health reform law will come on-line this month, and further steps are anticipated in the near future.

The cohort of health insurance experts who will join us helped shape these initiatives in their role as consumer representatives and staff to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Please join the Center for American Progress for a discussion with many of these representatives to examine why these new protections matter to millions of Americans, and what further steps will be needed to make sure they work.

Registration for this event is now closed. Please watch the live webcast here.

Submit a question to the panelists by posting to CAP's Facebook page, posting on Twitter with the hashtag #ccce, or sending an email to creativeeconomy@americanprogress.org.

The industries that make up the creative economy are a source of pride and global influence and a major engine of American growth at home and abroad. Keeping these industries and those who work in them creating and growing is important to the economic health of America and for job creation. They are a vital source of the creativity and innovation that is central to our society in the 21st century.

Join us for a discussion about the role—both current and future—that the creative economy has in fueling the American economy, our global competitiveness, and the creation of good jobs. The panel will be asked what steps policymakers can take to ensure that Americans gain the economic benefits, in jobs and growth, from the invention and entertainment for which America is world renowned.

Community schools exist in districts across the country and utilize a variety of partnerships and services. Yet many consider community schools to be a strategy that only works in urban areas. In fact, rural community schools exist and can advantage rural students in many significant ways. Likewise, while most community schools keep the building open longer than traditional schools, few community schools have formally extended the length of the school day for all students.

Join us for a discussion on two new ways to develop and grow community schools—as a rural education strategy and through the use of expanded learning time. The Center for American Progress will release two new papers on these topics. The papers and event will encourage policymakers and advocates to consider ways that the community school strategy can be applied in settings not traditionally associated with the model.

Join state and local policymakers, members of the Obama administration, and leaders from the business, academic, and philanthropic sectors for a conversation about the significance of regional innovation clusters to the future of the American economy.

Hear from CEOs and regional leaders who are leveraging the power of clusters—networks of interconnected, geographically concentrated businesses, and related actors in the same industries—to boost entrepreneurship and job growth. Also learn about new directions in federal policy aimed at tapping the potential of clusters to enhance regional and national economic performance.

With the passage of two key political milestones—the August 31 withdrawal of American combat forces from Iraq and Afghanistan’s September 18 parliamentary elections—please join the Center for American Progress for a discussion about U.S. leadership, the reliability of partners, and the role and utility of multilateral institutions. Our panelists will address how the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have impacted the legitimacy and effectiveness of the United Nations and other multilateral institutions, whether multilateral institutions are becoming more or less relevant in the promotion of U.S. national security, and how President Obama's aspirational references to international engagement and partnering play out in practice.

Over the last decade, Hezbollah has reshaped security and political dynamics in Lebanon and the broader Middle East as part of the self-proclaimed “axis of resistance” that includes Iran, Syria, and Hamas.

In his new book, A Privilege to Die: Inside Hezbollah's Endless War Against Israel, veteran Middle East correspondent Thanassis Cambanis offers the first detailed look at the surprising cross section of people who are willing to die for this movement’s apocalyptic beliefs.

Please join the Center for American Progress for a discussion on Hezbollah’s role in the Middle East, the challenge it poses to U.S. policy goals in the region, and the likelihood and potential fallout of another war with Israel. Elliott Abrams, deputy national security advisor handling Middle East affairs in the George W. Bush administration, will comment on the book and on Hezbollah's evolving regional role and its impact on U.S. national security.

The U.S.-Mexico border has become a symbol in the increasingly overheated debate about immigration. From a distance the border looks like a dividing line. In fact, it's a binational region, and for millions of Americans and Mexicans it is home.

Tyche Hendricks, author of The Wind Doesn't Need a Passport: Stories from the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, brings a fresh perspective to one of the most debated and least understood places. Reporting from emergency rooms and factory floors, farm kitchens and jail cells, Hendricks met American and Mexican ranchers, physicians, police, and naturalists whose lives intersect at the border. She argues that a better understanding of the region—and the way the United States and Mexico are connected there—is essential if policymakers are to reach lasting solutions that benefit both countries.

Join us for a conversation featuring Tyche Hendricks and Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan about the dynamics at play in the borderlands today and their implications for immigration policy and the future of U.S.-Mexico relations.