This morning at the Council of Urban Board of Education’s (CUBE) Issues Seminar in Chicago, one of the unsung and behind the scenes gurus of the education world spoke to an audience of urban school board members, superintendents, and other education leaders about college readiness and how America needs to make some changes to its education system. Greg Darnieder lead the office of college readiness program for Chicago Public Schools and like many Chicago staff, was asked by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to take some of Chicago’s ideas to the national level. When Mr. Darnieder was in Chicago, his programs brought in over $150 million to Chicago students for scholarship opportunities. A few comments that stuck with the attendees:
- He advised all school board members to check the Department of Education’s web site often, daily if possible, since changes and opportunities are announced on an ongoing basis. He especially encouraged attendees to go to the section “what works” to find solutions to problems that are facing districts now.
- 1.2 millions students a year drop out of high school. That’s too many, by anyone’s standards and all educators need to focus on solutions to this epidemic.
- We are in a unique time in our history regarding public education. This is a chance that we haven’t seen in our lifetime, and the Secretary of Education views the opportunities in education as the Civil Rights Issue of our time.
And finally, we’ll leave with a quote from the president that Mr. Darnieder shared about education: “In a global economy where the most valuable skill is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity it’s a prerequisite” – President Barack Obama, February 24, 2009
CUBE continues to discuss the issues, share what is happening around the country and bring it back home to local districts. For more information, check out CUBE’s web site.
