Guess who will be speaking in Newark

You really can't make this stuff up – guess who will be speaking in Newark on the 17^th?  RAVITCH!  Let's pack the hall with reformers!

 

The Coalition for Effective Newark Public Schools presents nationally acclaimed author
Diane Ravitch, author of the book

" THE DEATH AND LIFE OF THE GREAT AMERICAN SCHOOL SYSTEM", at a forum entitled, "Wake Up Newark: Pushing Back to Save Public Education", to be heldat Bethany Baptist Church, 275 West Market Street, Newark NJ on May 17, 2011, from 6 to 8pm.  

 

Diane Ravitch is Research Professor of Education at New York University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.  From 1991-1993 she was Assistant Secretary of Education and Counselor to Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. President Clinton appointed her to the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees federal testing.  She is the author or editor of over twenty books and her articles have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines. 

Diane Ravitch will speak about her views on education reform. Writing in the Wall Street Journal (March 9,2010), in an article entitled "Why I Changed My Mind About School Reform", she concluded, "What we need is not a marketplace, but a coherent curriculum that prepares all students. And our government should commit to providing a good school in every neighborhood in the nation, just as we strive to provide a good fire company in every community.

"On our present course, we are disrupting communities, dumbing down our schools, giving students false reports of their progress, and creating a private sector that will undermine public education without improving it. Most significantly, we are not producing a generation of students who are more knowledgeable, and better prepared for the responsibilities of citizenship. That is why I changed my mind about the current direction of school reform".

The Coalition For Effective Newark Schools is an organization that advocates school reform emphasizing the needs of all children in Newark through improved teacher training, improving curriculum to make it interesting and less tied to standardized tests, more parent and student engagement in schools, and more accountability from school officials.  Members of the Coalition include the City-Wide Parents Organization, Abbott Leadership Institute, Secondary Parents' Council, Teachers as Leaders in Newark, One Newark Education Coalition, NAACP – Newark Chapter, Newark Teachers Union, Education Law Center, City Association of Supervisors and Administrators, and People's Organization for Progress.