Friends,
Just a reminder that we have a meeting next Thursday, February 10 from 7-9 in the conference room in Lenihan Hall.
We had about 13 folks at our first meeting of the semester and had an opportunity to begin evolving our action plan as an organization:
It appears we are moving forward with gathering some more information about becoming a limited liability corporation: PrESS Network, LLC? Bob informs us this is a relatively pain-free process (of about 6 months) and relatively inexpensive: $350-$400. It does require that we pull together a charter of sorts so we will probably have some work ahead of us as far as this goes.
In relation to this, we also began to try and articulate what our commitments are as an organization. This may be a good topic of conversation for our next meeting and some email chatter. What are we, as an organization, committed to?
We also discussed service opportunities for our organization. Rachel reported on the Study Buddies program at Volunteers of America. In the interim, Bob has also informed me of another possible service opportunity at VOA that we can talk about at the meeting. Beth is also investigating some possible service work with the Urban League.
Since our last meeting, Jon has entertained us with the interesting idea of beginning a PrESS Network WebLog, or blog. Many members have responded that they’re not sure what that is (or can spell it J). It seems this may be an excellent way to get our information out to a wider audience and to provide an environment of free exchange. Jon, could you talk to this a little more at the next meeting?
Finally, we also talked about some attending and presenting at some upcoming conferences. In terms of attendance, the Choices and Changes conference here in town is coming up on March 29-March 31 (www.kycid.org). Please bring your calendars along so we can talk about attending a few sessions together if you’re free any of those days or afternoons. We also talked about preparing presentations abut our group/work for the Rouge Forum conference in Syracuse this summer and for the American Educational Studies Association in Charlottesville, VA this fall. No info about these conferences is available yet.
For next weeks meeting, along with treating the above issues, why don’t we begin with your reactions to the reading material we’ve been trading over the last two weeks. Thanks, Angela and Mark, for already beginning this discussion!
See you soon. Peace. adam
1.
http://nationalcatholicreporter.org/fwis/fw012005.htm
2.
http://nationalcatholicreporter.org/fwis/fw012705.htm
3. Racial achievement gap 'a national tragedy'
Author, lawyer speak at U of L
By Nancy C. Rodriguez
nrodriguez@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
The achievement gap between whites and minorities is the most important educational and civil-rights issue in the United States, said Abigail Thernstrom, one of two members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights who spoke in Louisville yesterday.
And the problem can't be fixed by public schools alone, she said.
"When you look at the numbers, you want to cry," said Thernstrom, noting national test scores that show that African-American students graduate from high school with an eighth-grade education.
"You're talking about a national tragedy -- a tragedy for which there are no good excuses," she said.
Thernstrom and Peter Kirsanow, a Cleveland attorney, spoke at the University of Louisville's Louis D. Brandeis School of Law.
Their speeches were presented by the McConnell Center for Political Leadership, School Choice Scholarships and the Bluegrass Institute, a Bowling Green think tank.
Kentucky, like other states, has a persistent achievement gap among racial groups.
Overall scores from the 2004 Commonwealth Accountability Testing System show that black and Hispanic students trail white students at all grade levels. Asian students outscore whites at all levels.
Kentucky students performed at similar levels on the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress. For example, in eighth-grade math, 62 percent of African Americans scored below basic vs. 32 percent of white students.
Thernstrom is the author of a recent book, "No Excuses, Closing the Racial Gap in Learning," with her husband, Stephan Thernstrom, a Harvard University history professor. She also serves on the Massachusetts Board of Education.
During her talk at U of L, Thernstrom stressed her belief that public schools -- with their bureaucracies and contractual restraints -- cannot solve the achievement problem.
Rather, she said, charter schools, where principals have the latitude to extend the school day, manage budgets, hire and fire teachers, and make immediate curriculum decisions, are the answer.
"There is no way of running good schools without the freedom that accompanies choice," she said.
Kentucky and Alabama are the only two states that do not have a charter-school law.
Kirsanow agreed with Thernstrom, saying that without any competition through charter schools or voucher programs, the gap never will be closed.
"There isn't any true incentive to make sure that you get better and better and better," he said.
"Sending more money to a school that is performing poorly is a travesty."
