"No Excuses" Schools and the Education of Impoverished Students of Color

What do we need to provide to students in poverty, many of them students of color, to enable them to succeed in school? One controversial answer to this question is found in "no excuses" schools, with their relentless focus on student attentiveness to instruction, strict codes of conduct and disciplinary practices, reliance on traditional pedagogy and curriculum, lengthy school days and years, and embrace of standardized exams as valid and essential measures of student learning. From a variety of perspectives and experiences, our panel will examine what this model of schooling entails and how well it meets the educational needs of impvoerished students of color.

Speakers:

Leo Casey, dxecutive director, Albert Shanker Institute

Leslie Fenwick, dean, Howard University School of Education; professor, education policy, Howard University

David Kirkland, associate professor, English and Urban Education, Department of Teaching and Learning, New York University’s (NYU) Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development; executive director, Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and The Transformation of Schools

Shantelle Wright, Founder and CEO, Achievement Prep Public Charter Schools

Moderator: Burnie Bond, Director of Programs, Albert Shanker Institute

Sponsored by the Albert Shanker Institute and the American Federation of Teachers, this conversation series is designed to engender lively and informative discussions on important educational issues. We deliberately invite speakers with diverse perspectives, including views other than those of the AFT and the Albert Shanker Institute. What is important is that these participants are committed to genuine engagement with each other.