If Connecticut is to close the nation’s worst achievement gap between white and minority children, it must get at least 20,000 black and Latino boys and girls to read at advanced levels. On December 16, join the State of Black CT Alliance (the grassroots activist group that advocated for the nation’s second Parent Trigger law allowing families to restructure the schools that their children attend) in rallying Connecticut’s parents and leaders to make that a reality by helping to kick off its Building Blocks of Educational Excellence Campaign with an awards ceremony and fundraiser.

The event, which will be held in Stamford, Conn., at the Hilton Stamford Hotel, will rally parents, leaders and activists for improving education. Speakers include your Dropout Nation Editor, RiShawn Biddle, along with:

• Congressman Chaka Fattah: Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus
• Byron V. Garrett: The first African-American man to serve as CEO of National PTA
• Connecticut State Rep. Gary Holder: Co-author of the nation’s second Parent Trigger law
• Sonja Manjon: Wesleyan University Vice President of Diversity and Strategic Partnerships
• Stewart Hudson: President of the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation

The event will also honor individuals and groups that have helped build a strong Connecticut and nation, including: CNN commentator and Capital Prep Principal Dr. Steve Perry, John H. Jackson of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, California State Sen. Gloria Romero (who helped pass the nation’s first Parent Trigger school reform law) and Parenting Magazine. Education Trust Artist-in-Residence Brooke Haycock will also perform a documentary drama focusing on the critical need for education reform.

Building Blocks of Educational Excellence will be held at the Hilton Stamford Hotel, One First Stamford Place, Stamford, CT. Tickets to attend the event are $125. For more information on this event, contact Gwendolyn Samuel at gwen@stateofblackct.org or visit http://www.stateofblackct.org/events.html.

As you head into the weekend, listen in on this rebroadcast of this Dropout Nation Podcast on how to improve education for their children through a few simple questions. Even as school reform has provided new tools for parents, they still need ways to use them for the advantage of their children. Asking the right questions will give caring adults the ability to improve education for their child and for all children — and further sustain school reform.

You can listen to the Podcast at RiShawn Biddle’s radio page or download directly to your iPod, Zune, MP3 player or smartphone.  Also, subscribe to the podcast series. It is also available on iTunes, Blubrry, Podcast Alley, the Education Podcast Network,  Zune Marketplace and PodBean. Also, add the podcast on Viigo, if you have a BlackBerry, iPhone or Android phone.

Sunday’s Dropout Nation Podcast will focus on dealing with the reading challenges for our young men.

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On this week’s Dropout Nation Podcast, I take a look at the myth perpetrated by defenders of American public education’s status quo that poverty is the root cause of the nation’s educational failure and dropout crisis. Contrary to such arguments, poverty isn’t a factor in low student achievement; it is the systemic problems in education (including low-quality teaching and curricula) that has caused so much damage to our poorest kids.

You can listen to the Podcast at RiShawn Biddle’s radio page or download directly to your iPod, Zune, MP3 player or smartphone. Also, subscribe to the podcast series. It is also available on iTunes, Blubrry, Podcast Alley, the Education Podcast Network,  Zune Marketplace and PodBean. And the podcast on Viigo, if you have a BlackBerry, iPhone or Android phone.

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On this week’s Dropout Nation Podcast, I explore the culture of condescension among defenders of traditional public education — and even some school reformers — against parents, and their unwillingness to embrace families as king — and consumers — in education. Despite all the statements about the importance of parental engagement in education, what actually happens in classrooms, among policymakers and in think tanks is runs counter to embracing parent power and the true role of parents as kings — and lead decision-makers — in education. This culture against parent power must end.

You can listen to the Podcast at RiShawn Biddle’s radio page or download directly to your iPod, Zune, MP3 player or smartphone. Also, subscribe to the podcast series. It is also available on iTunes, Blubrry, Podcast Alley, the Education Podcast Network,  Zune Marketplace and PodBean. And the podcast on Viigo, if you have a BlackBerry, iPhone or Android phone.

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On this week’s Dropout Nation Podcast, I take a look at the Schott Foundation’s report on black males and offer reminders that the achievement gap is not just one of race. All males, especially black and white males, are failing badly, with major consequences for America’s economy and society. It will take the reform of how we teach reading to young men and Iron Men of all races to stem this aspect of the dropout crisis.

You can listen to the Podcast at RiShawn Biddle’s radio page or download directly to your iPod, Zune, MP3 player or smartphone.  Also, subscribe to the podcast series. It is also available on iTunes, Blubrry, Podcast Alley, the Education Podcast Network,  Zune Marketplace and PodBean. Also, add the podcast on Viigo, if you have a BlackBerry, iPhone or Android phone.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Photo courtesy of needsfoundation.org

As you continue flipping through the Schott Foundation’s new report on the low graduation rates of black males (and the educational crisis threatening the futures of our young black men), listen to this rebroadcast of April’s Dropout Nation Podcast on what black men must do to help their sons and the younger men around them. Older black men, raised by fathers and successful in life, must take on the roles of father figures (and champions in improving America’s education system) that these young men lack at home. These lessons also apply to white and Latino communities.

You can listen to the Podcast at RiShawn Biddle’s radio page or download directly to your iPod, MP3 player or smartphone. Also, subscribe to the podcast series. It is also available on iTunes, Blubrry, Podcast Alley, the Education Podcast Network,  Zune Marketplace and PodBean. Also, add the podcast on Viigo, if you have a BlackBerry, iPhone or Android phone. On Friday, I’ll have more to say about the Schott report and the black male achievement gap.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download