Education Secretary Arne Duncan is in Pittsburgh Wednesday to kick off a three-day bus tour that will take him across the Rust Belt manufacturing region. He plans to promote a message that education can play a pivotal role in helping to revitalize the economy in ailing areas that had been dominated by industries such as coal, steel and the production of cars.

His scheduled events include stops at several schools and meetings with faith leaders and members of teachers' unions. He's scheduled to visit Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.