Addressing the Achievement Gap

Cal State Fullerton Hosts Oct. 2 Summit on Education

September 22, 2009 :: No. 027

What:

Addressing the Achievement Gap Summit, hosted and sponsored by Cal State Fullerton, is a free, public symposium that aims to discuss the academic achievement gap and address ways to mitigate it in difficult budget times.

When:

Friday, Oct. 2
8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Where:

Titan Student Union, Portola Pavilion

The Gap:

The U.S. Department of Education describes the achievement gap as the difference in academic performance between different ethnic groups. In California, it’s more than socioeconomic status; the achievement gap exists between students of different minority groups, as well as with English learners, students in poverty and students with disabilities.

Why:

“Our educational system serves as the vital building block in preparing the educated workforce needed to compete in an increasingly global economy. However, data demonstrates that an academic achievement gap exists and it threatens our ability to do so,” said Fullerton City Councilwoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, the summit’s committee chair. “To address this important issue, I, in partnership with Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, California Sen. Lou Correa, California Assemblyman Jose Solorio and Santa Ana City Councilman Sal Tinajero, have been working closely with Cal State Fullerton to help create this important dialogue in Orange County. The goal is to discuss the achievement gap and address ways to mitigate it without additional financial resources. We believe this is a timely discussion given the fiscal crisis and decreased resources for education.”

Summit Highlights:

8:30 a.m.: Jack O’Connell, California superintendent of public instruction, will speak on “Closing the Achievement Gap in California” and Wallace Walrod, vice president of economic development and research for the Orange County Business Council, will discuss “Workforce Trends 2009.”
9:45 a.m.: Lucy Dunn, president and CEO of the Orange County Business Council, will moderate a legislative panel discussion. The panelists: state Sen. Lou Correa, California Assemblyman Jose Solorio and Santa Ana Councilman Sal Tinajero. The session will include videotaped messages from Rep. Ed Royce and Rep. Loretta Sanchez.
11:30 a.m.: Juan Sepúlveda, director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, will deliver the keynote address. Sepúlveda was appointed to his position in May by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Sepúlveda is responsible for directing the efforts of the White House Initiative in engaging Latino students, parents, families, organizations and anyone working in or with the education system in communities nationwide as active participants in improving the academic achievement of Hispanic Americans. Sepúlveda had been president of The Common Enterprise, which he founded in 1995 as an outgrowth of a national Rockefeller Foundation initiative to help build stronger communities across America by making nonprofits, philanthropic organizations, governments, businesses and communities more effective as they tackle critical social issues.
2:30 p.m.: Jack Bedell, CSUF professor of sociology and chair of anthropology, will moderate a panel on “Community Conversations on the Gap.” The panelists: Alicia Berhow, director of workforce development for the Orange County Business Council; Orange County Department of Education Superintendent William M. Habermehl; Rosa Harrizon of Padres Promotores de la Educación; Pablo Jasis, CSUF assistant professor of elementary and bilingual education; Kim-Oanh Nguyen-Lam, Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education trustee; Dawn Person, CSUF professor of educational leadership; Debbie Schroeder, principal of Melbourne A. Gauer Elementary in Anaheim; Laura Schwalm, Garden Grove Unified School District superintendent; and Michael Stone, California Teachers Association Board member.