Symposium will focus on educational success

 

What does it take to reach educational success? Educators and government representatives will discuss this topic and others at a symposium on Jan. 11 at the University of California’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education in Santa Barbara. Sponsored by the Division of Social Sciences, the first annual symposium will be in Corwin Pavilion at UCSB from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Distinguished faculty, and a panel of local, regional and state policy makers, will converge during the symposium to discuss “Policy Goes to School: Promoting Pre-K through Graduate School Educational Success.” All topics during the morning sessions will focus on exploring the best paths educators must take to help students reach educational success.

 

Panel discussions will highlight challenges that face public schools and review ways to promote policy that produces positive changes.

Speaking during the luncheon will be Dr. Roslyn Arlin Mickelson, professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Her topic, “Diversity, School Choice, and Opportunities to Learn Math and Science: Policy Changes in a Post-Seattle and Louisville Legal Landscape,” will examine case histories in two communities.

Working to eliminate the achievement gap and provide equitable and excellent education to all students, the panel topics will include the process of moving from research, to policy, to practice; how districts collect data and react to policy, and how best to strengthen connections between the schoolroom and the statehouse.

 

Panelists include Congresswoman Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara; Jane Close Conoley, dean of the Gevirtz School; Melvin L. Oliver, dean of the division of social sciences; Bill Cirone, Santa Barbara County superintendent of schools; Brian Sarvis, Santa Barbara School District superintendent; Kathy Boomer, Goleta School District superintendent; Paul Cordeiro, Carpinteria School District superintendent; Delaine Easton, distinguished professor of educational leadership, Mills College; Lorraine McDonnell, political science professor at UCSB; and Russell Rumberger, Rebecca Zwick, John Yun and Richard Duran, all professors at Gevirtz School.

The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Contact Suzanne Oliver at 893-2460 for more information.