February 15, 2007
Strengthening Civic Constituencies for Excellence
and Equity in Schooling Outcomes

Wendy D. Puriefoy President, Public Education Network
Wendy Puriefoy and the Public Education Network (PEN) are collaborating with organizations in cities across the nation to mobilize and inform civic efforts to raise achievement in ways that promote both equity and excellence. Her presentation will highlight how PEN and various collaborators are blending research with public engagement approaches to strengthen public will and civic constituencies for raising achievement and closing achievement gaps.

March 20, 2007
Influencing Ways that Parents Raise Children:
A Journalist Studies in Harlem (video and audio)

Paul Tough Staff Editor, the New York Times Magazine
Paul Tough is the author of "What it Takes to Make a Student," published Sunday, November 26, 2006 in the New York Times Magazine. His talk will draw from the article and from a book he is writing on the Harlem Children's Zone, to be published in 2008. The presentation will address the role of parenting in the achievement gap; whether parenting can change; who can help; and the nature of efforts to influence parenting practices.

April 17, 2007
Can a Military Model for Adolescent Education Help
Close Achievement Gaps? (paper) (video and audio)

Hugh Price, Senior Fellow, the Brookings Institution
Former President/CEO, National Urban League
Hugh Price believes that the military has insights of great importance for helping low achieving and disengaged adolescents succeed academically and in life more generally. His presentation will discuss what he calls “the vast storehouse of knowledge and research, models and systems possessed by the military services that are potentially applicable to educating and developing youngsters who are at greatest risk of academic failure, economic marginality, and outright poverty.” He will argue that, “The key is to embrace and customize those attributes that strengthen the education and development of adolescents, while avoiding the characteristics and methods that do not belong in a civilian enterprise.”

November 20, 2007
Code-Switching: Teaching Standard English in African American Classrooms

Rebecca Wheeler Associate Professor of English Language and Literacy, Christopher Newport University.

Typically, when students write "My goldfish name is Scaley" or "Mama walk to the store," teachers correct student grammar. Yet student literacy suffers. With insights and strategies from applied linguistics, Rebecca Wheeler will detail how teachers can build on students’ existing knowledge, Everyday English, as a springboard to new knowledge, Professional English.Discussants will include: Catherine Snow, Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Education, and Rachel Swords, Title I Teacher in Newport News, VA.

Askwith Lecture Hall, Longfellow Hall. 5:30 pm-7:00 pm 
All Askwith Education Forums are free and open to the general public. Tickets are not necessary, unless otherwise noted. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.