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American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Investing in Innovation, Securing America's Future - Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Time: 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM ET
Key Resources
The U.S. Department of Education's web site provides links to online publications, education resources and friendly, easy to understand information about the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Visit the ED Recovery Act web page as well as the new government-wide Recovery.gov web site to learn more about how ARRA will provide approximately $100 billion for education; create a historic opportunity to save hundreds of thousands of jobs; revitalize states and school district economies; and, advance reforms and improvements that will create long-lasting results for our students and our nation.
Created in 1996 by the nation's governors and corporate leaders, Achieve is an independent, bipartisan, non-profit education reform organization based in Washington, D.C. that helps states raise academic standards and graduation requirements, improve assessments and strengthen accountability.
The Florida Department of Education serves as the single repository of education data from school districts, community colleges, universities and independent postsecondary institutions—able to track student performance across time and varying education sectors. The Department serves more than 2.6 million students, 3,800 public schools and 318,000 full-time staff and more than 180,000 teachers in the state.
Wakefield High School, part of Arlington Public Schools, where 54 percent of the students are low-income and 70 percent are black or Hispanic, has won widespread recognition for its AP Network program. It includes an AP Study Seminar, which teaches study skills and introduces students to more demanding courses through a one-week summer program. Wakefield also offers extra counseling and support for minority males and females through its Cohort and United Minority Girls programs.
Seat Pleasant Elementary School, part of Prince George's County Public Schools, utilizes Title I funds to provide an innovative and cost effective after-school program that gives students in grades 3 through 6, two extra hours, two days a week, to work on reading and math. Although the program is not mandatory, over 80% of parents have signed up their students for the additional help.
The Harlem Children's Zone® Project is a unique, holistic approach to rebuilding a community so that its children can stay on track through college and go on to the job market. The goal is to create a "tipping point" in the neighborhood so that children are surrounded by an enriching environment of college-oriented peers and supportive adults, a counterweight to "the street" and a toxic popular culture that glorifies misogyny and anti-social behavior.
City Charter High School (City High), located in the Clark Building in downtown Pittsburgh, is currently in its sixth year of operation. The school is free and open to the public. City High serves approximately 520 ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade students. 81% of the students are from the Pittsburgh School district; the rest are from 23 area school districts.
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Participants
Arne Duncan is the U.S. Secretary of Education. In his confirmation hearings, Duncan called education "the most pressing issue facing America," adding that "preparing young people for success in life is not just a moral obligation of society" but also an "economic imperative." "Education is also the civil rights issue of our generation," he said, "the only sure path out of poverty and the only way to achieve a more equal and just society." Prior to his appointment as secretary of education, Duncan served as the chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools, a position to which he was appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley, from June 2001 through December 2008, becoming the longest-serving big-city education superintendent in the country. In seven and a half years, he united education reformers, teachers, principals and business stakeholders behind an aggressive education reform agenda that included opening over 100 new schools, expanding after-school and summer learning programs, closing down underperforming schools, increasing early childhood and college access, dramatically boosting the caliber of teachers, and building public-private partnerships around a variety of education initiatives. (Previously recorded)
Michael Cohen is the president of Achieve, an influential education policy organization working to ensure that states undertake high-quality, standards-based academic reform. Under Cohen's leadership, Achieve formed the American Diploma Project (ADP) Network, a growing network of states committed to improving preparation for postsecondary education and 21st century careers. Governors, chief state school officers, and state higher education and business leaders in the ADP Network have committed to align high school standards, curriculum, assessments and accountability with the knowledge and skills high school graduates need to succeed in postsecondary education and careers. Prior to joining Achieve, Cohen was a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute, where he spearheaded high school reform efforts and developed strategies for transforming urban high schools. He was formerly the Director of Education Policy at the National Governors Association, and served in various Executive Branch positions, including Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education, during the Clinton administration.
Eric Smith is the commissioner of education for the Florida Department of Education. He began his career in Florida more than 30 years ago as a classroom teacher. His commitment to affecting positive change in the field of education led him to several administrative positions in Florida school districts, and eventually to 16 years of service as a district superintendent in Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland. His mission has remained constant throughout his career: to increase the academic achievement of all students and to reduce the disparity in achievement among student subgroups. His success in consistently meeting these goals in individual districts bears testimony to his own passion to change students' lives, the urgency he brings to the challenges involved, and the leadership he demonstrates in ensuring the involvement of all stakeholders. Central to his work has been the expansion of Advanced Placement and the International Baccalaureate programs. His leadership has forged working relationships with the diverse communities he has served—the business community, the faith community and the elected officials—to cultivate a shared commitment to education of the highest quality.
Doris Jackson is the principal of Wakefield High School, part of Arlington Public Schools in Virginia. Ms. Jackson, with input and assistance from her dedicated staff, employs unique education strategies to engage and encourage students from diverse backgrounds to take the most demanding courses at Wakefield High School. Ms. Jackson emphasizes high-quality teaching; state-of-the art instructional facilities; and, challenging educational programs—such as Wakefield High School's Advanced Placement Network—in the effort to keep students in school and provide them with a world-class education.
Kasandra Lassiter has been employed by Prince George's County Public Schools for the past 16 years. She has served as a Special Educator, Work Study Coordinator, Pupil Personnel Worker and an Assistant Principal. She has been the Principal at Seat Pleasant Elementary for the past 5 years. During her tenure at Seat Pleasant, the Maryland School Assessment Scores have continuously improved and currently nearly 80% of the students have scored proficient or advanced in both reading and mathematics. Seat Pleasant Elementary has received performance recognition awards for several years and Ms. Lassiter works hard to provide daily evidence that all children can learn and achieve at high levels.
Rasuli Lewis has been the director of the Harlem Children's Zone's (HCZ) Practitioners Institute (PI) since July 2003. PI was designed to manage the requests from practitioners, funders and policy makers who desire to learn more about the Harlem Children's Zone's service model. To date PI has hosted delegations from over 100 U.S. communities and 35 countries. Mr. Lewis came to HCZ in 1993 to help find solutions to the violence that had already taken too many children (7 just within HCZ's programs) and was threatening the whole community. He helped to found the Peacemaker Program, which trains and supports young people who are engaged in service throughout HCZ and Central Harlem. The Peacemaker Program is an AmeriCorps funded program that currently works in 7 Central Harlem public schools and throughout the HCZ pipeline.
Richard Wertheimer is the Co-Founder, CEO and Principal of City Charter High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. City High, an accredited high school serving over 500 urban students, has been recognized as one of the leading charter high schools in the nation by New Leaders for New Schools, the US News and World Report, Schools that Can, and Good Morning America. The school has pioneered innovations such as four year looping, a proficiency-based staff compensation model, and a career development program that culminates in 130 hour student internships. He is a public school educator whose expertise is in mathematics, technology, school reform, curriculum, and staff development.
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