FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Cindy Deppe, media relations, 641-269-4834

January 29, 2008

GRINNELL COLLEGE SYMPOSIUM TO EXAMINE "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND"

Why important: The "No Child Left Behind" federal funding legislation is intended to measurably raise educational standards and student achievement through regular, required assessments. The controversial mandate has significantly increased demands and accountabilities from states, local school districts, and individual teachers, while the legislation’s true measure of success remains in question.

GRINNELL, IA.--Grinnell College’s Rosenfield Program in Public Affairs will sponsor a symposium on "Public School Education Reform in an Era of Accountability Politics," Feb. 19-21, on the Grinnell College campus.

"In an election year, it’s important to examine education issues and raise their priority within the political platforms," said Wayne Moyer, professor of political science and director of the Rosenfield Program. "The No Child Left Behind legislation, which is up for renewal this year, has been particularly controversial, and this symposium opens an opportunity to question alternatives, accountabilities, and outcomes."

Symposium speakers will offer federal, state, and public school district perspectives on the progress and prospects for No Child as the legislation enters its eighth academic year. Jean Ketter, associate professor of education at Grinnell College and organizer of the symposium, said that speaker sessions will "raise awareness of the tension that exists between proponents of either local or federal control as a way of ensuring equitable and excellent education."

The three-day symposium schedule includes:

Feb. 19, 4:15 p.m.: Mary Cohen, the U.S. Department of Education regional representative for Iowa, will offer the federal perspective on No Child Left Behind in her talk, "Where Do We Go From Here?"

Feb. 19, 8 p.m.: Kevin Carey will discuss what the No Child initiative has accomplished, based on his research at Education Sector, an independent education policy think tank in Washington, D.C.

Feb. 20, 4:15 p.m.: Douglas Christensen, commissioner of education for the Nebraska Department of Education, will discuss Nebraska’s successful strategy to ensure that student assessment is locally, not federally, controlled.

Feb. 20, 8 p.m.: Judy Jeffrey, director of the Iowa Department of Education, will present "Education at a Crossroads," providing the state’s perspective on No Child legislation and funding allocations. Jeffrey, who has been involved in Iowa education for more than 40 years, was appointed director in 2004.

Feb. 21, 11 a.m.: Public school reform activist Deborah Meier will deliver the Scholars’ Convocation, "Is There a Connection Between Good Schooling and Democracy?" about her work in Boston and New York City to establish local school networks. Meier has more than 40 years experience in public education as a teacher, writer, learning theorist, and advocate.

Feb. 21, 4:15 p.m.: Christensen and Meier, who have been publicly critical of No Child legislation, will lead a panel discussion based on their alternative successes at the state and local levels.

Feb. 21, 8 p.m.: A panel of Grinnellians will discuss their teaching experiences and No Child relevance in inner-city schools: Erin Stutelberg, a 2003 graduate who teaches in Denver, Colo.; Abby Boehm Turner, a 1998 graduate who teaches in St. Paul, Minn.; Brian Stoffel, a 2004 graduate who teaches at a charter school in Washington, D.C.; and Chris Drake, who attended the College of Wooster and the University of Michigan, and teaches elementary school in inner-city Detroit.

The "No Child Left Behind" symposium is sponsored by the Rosenfield Program in Public Affairs, International Relations, and Human Rights and the college’s Department of Education. All symposium events, which are free and open to the public, will be held in the Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center, Room 101, located at 1115 8th Ave. in Grinnell. For more information, contact Wayne Moyer, moyer@grinnell.edu, 641-269-3176.

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