Dear Colleague,

You may have recently heard about a conference, entitled “Reclaiming the Conversation on Education,” that will be held at Barnard College in NYC, on May 4^th, from 9 am – 7pm.  We wanted to tell you a bit about the conference in the hope you’ll attend in person or host a group where you can join us online. 

The conference is focused on organizing resistance to the educational “reforms” that, as you know, are transforming K-16 education. Whether it’s high stakes testing, new teacher education requirements, the reliance on quantitative outcomes, the standardization of curriculum, or the overwhelming corporate involvement in all these reforms, the neoliberal assault on education continues to gain ground. We intend the conference as a step in stopping that assault.

The conference will bring together 200 teachers, parents, administrators, education activists and academics to build coalitions and strategize actions.  Participants come from all over the country, although primarily from the tri-state area and New England.  Your presence at the conference or your willingness to host a group would be enormously helpful. This is the first time that members from all levels of public education will have the opportunity to network and develop action plans, and you can contribute to that effort. 

As Deborah Meier, who is on the steering committee has said, “The conference is a critical step in the growing movement to say no to corporate education ‘reform’ with its testing, data and surveillance, and say yes to public education as a place where we grow democracy and support the development of the whole child.” Help us take that step!

The day will consist of two panels with speakers including Juan Gonzalez, Susan Ohanian, Carol Burris, Barbara Bowen Zakiyah Ansari, Barbara Madeloni and Brian Jones. Each panel will be followed by a two-hour facilitated discussion at one of the twenty round tables.  Breakfast, lunch and snacks will be available. The conference will be streamed live throughout the country, and if you are unable to attend because you are far away, you might be interested in hosting a small group to discuss the issues we will be raising. If you are, please let us know, and we will send you protocols and information about how to stream the conference. If you attend in person, registration is free and will open up on March 22 on a first come first serve basis. Here are the details:

Registration: http://reclaiming.eventbrite.com/#  

Contact: reclaimingconversation@gmail.com

Live streaming: http://totalwebcasting.com/live/columbiatc/20130504/

Conference blog: http://reclaimingconversation.blogspot.com/ 

“Like” us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReclaimingtheConversationonEducation?fref=ts 

Follow us on Twitter @EdReclaim

We hope you’ll be a part of this effort. 

Thanks,

Steering Committee for the Conference on Reclaiming Education

Arnold Dodge, L.I.U. 

Lisa Edstrom, Barnard College

Julie Gorlewski, SUNY New Paltz

Barbara Madeloni, Can’t Be Neutral

Deborah Meier, NYU

Janet Miller, TC, Columbia University

Rena Rice, Bank Street College

Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, TC, Columbia University

Doug Selwyn, Parent Organizer

Alan Siege, Teacher Organizer

Ruth Silverberg, College of Staten Island

Tim Slekar, United Opt Out

Debbie Sonu, Hunter College

Janine Sopp, Change the Stakes

Daiyu Suzuki, Edu4

Peter Taubman, Brooklyn College

Barbara Winslow, Brooklyn College

Yen Yen Woo, L.I.U.

Jack Zevin, Queens College