Results of “Mayor and Superintendent Partnerships in Education: Closing the Achievement Gap” Committee Meeting

Thursday, July 17, 2008 the Committee heard from mayors and school superintendents of major U.S. cities, including New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Atlanta, at a hearing on their challenges and successes in working to improve public schools.

Chairman Miller’s Opening Statements pdf
Chairman Miller’s Opening Statements video

Hear Witness Testimony:

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg » video
and here
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg » pdf
New York City

Chancellor Joel I. Klein »
New York City Public Schools

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty » video
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty » pdf
District of Columbia

Chancellor Michelle Rhee »
DC Public Schools

Arne Duncan »
Chief Executive Officer
Chicago Public Schools

Beverly L. Hall »
Superintendent
Atlanta Public Schools

Highlights of witness testimonies.

New report shows mixed results for today’s children

From the chron.com School Zone A study released today shows that the quality of life U.S. children hasn’t improved much in the last six years. In fact, the report’s so-called Child Well-Being Indicator has only improved 3 percent since the last generation.

“The slow growth of recent years is troubling; we haven’t made enough progress to shield ourselves for the future,” stated project coordinator Kenneth Land, a sociology professor and director of the Center for Population Health and Aging at Duke University.

The report clearly shows that children were hurt by the economic slowdown after Sept. 11, 2001. They’ll be impacted by the current recession as well, he said.

For the full story.

Hearing on Innovation in Education through Business and Education STEM Partnerships

Today the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to examine how business-education partnerships can help drive innovation and strengthen math and science education in America’s schools.

A report released by the National Math Panel in March found that the nation’s system for teaching math is “broken and must be fixed” if the U.S. wants to maintain its competitive edge. In May, the Committee first examined the report’s findings and recommendations; this hearing will follow up on that hearing.

Witnesses:

Ramona Chang
Teacher
Torrance, CA

Melendy Lovett
Senior Vice President &
President of Education Technology
Texas Instruments

Tom Luce
President, CEO and Director
National Math and Science Initiative, Inc.

Phil Mickelson
Professional Golfer
Co-Founder
Mickelson Exxon Mobil Teachers Academy

Dr. Carlo Parravano
Merck Institute for Science Education

Sally Ride
First American Woman in Space
President and CEO
Sally Ride Science
San Diego, CA

Patty Sullivan
IBM Education Solutions Executive
IBM Corporation

Brian Wells
Chief Systems Engineer
Raytheon

At 2:00 p.m. today, LIVE WEBCAST (During Hearings)