Panel on Closing the Educational Achievement Gap

This looks like a really interesting panel tomorrow evening:

Closing the Educational Achievement Gap: No Child Left Behind, De Facto Segregation and the Quest for Educational Equality

Wednesday, May 2, 2007, 6:30 - 9 pm

House of the Association, 42 West 44th Street

This is a critical time for one of the most important issues facing our democracy: how to close the achievement gap between low income children of color and more affluent white children and to provide equal educational opportunity for all children regardless of race, ethnicity or economic status. This year, Congress is slated to consider reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act ("NCLB"), the sweeping federal law that has become the framework for public education nationally. At the same time, in New York, Governor Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg have ambitious agendas for improving education, and the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether local school districts can voluntarily take steps to remedy de facto segregation.

With a particular focus on New York City, this evening forum will feature a panel of distinguished experts who will discuss whether NCLB is meeting its goal of closing the achievement gap; whether NCLB should be reauthorized and if so, what changes are needed; and what educational policies will work to close the gap. Key considerations will include whether those policies may discriminate against the low income, largely minority children they purport to help; and whether policymakers must address the de facto segregation of our urban schools as part of the effort to provide equality of educational opportunity.

Moderator:

ANTHONY DePALMA, The New York Times

Speakers:

ANDRES ALONSO, Deputy Chancellor for Teaching & Learning, NYC Department of Education

DENNIS D. PARKER, Director, Racial Justice Program, American Civil Liberties Union

EDWIN C. DARDEN, Director of Education Policy, Appleseed

SHEILA EVANS-TRANUMN, Associate Commissioner, New York State Education Department

DOUGLAS MESECAR, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation, United States Department of Education

MICHELLE BODDEN, Vice President, United Federation of Teachers

Sponsored by:

Committee on Civil Rights ,Sidney Rosdeitcher, Chair; Committee on Education and Law, Paul O'Neill, Chair

Members of the Association, their guests and all other interested persons are invited to attend. There is no fee for attending the program, however registration is recommended. You may register at http://www.nycbar.org/EventsCalendar/show_event.php?eventid=656