Today, in a classroom in one of our nation’s top 100 school districts, ten out of thirty students live in poverty. Three out of thirty live in extreme poverty. One will be homeless and seven will have experienced abuse and trauma in their life. And the schools in the neighborhoods in which these students live receive $1,800 less per student in funding than their better off contemporaries. Still, giving these students “equal” funding does not begin to compensate for the unique set of challenges poverty imposes upon them nor does it give them the additional support they require to succeed in the classroom and beyond. This conversation, featuring some of our nation’s leading voices in education, will explore the policies and practices required to create a system that is equal, equitable and just for all students.
Moderator: Jack Lynch, CEO, HMH*
Panelists/Participants:
Alberto Carvalho, Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Lisa Herring, Superintendent, Birmingham City Schools
Henry Hipps, deputy director on the K-12 Education team for the Gates Foundation