Funding Alert

“Are We There Yet? Moving All Children Forward in Public Education” is the title of the education forum sponsored by OC/OS on Saturday, October 17, at the Trenton Board of Education Offices at 108 North Clifton Avenue. The forum will run from 9 a.m. to noon, and will feature a panel discussion, as well as an opportunity for participants to talk about pressing issues in public education.

The event, which is free, will begin with registration and a light breakfast, as well as time for networking and viewing of several videos with education themes created by OC/OS and the Abbott Leadership Institute Youth Media Symposium.

The main portion of the morning will be devoted to a panel discussion. Panelists include Dr. Ross Danis, Associate Dean of Education at Drew University; Dr. Larry Leverett, Executive Director of the Panasonic Foundation and former NJ superintendent; and Rosie Grant, Program Director at the Paterson Education Fund and founding member of OC/OS.

After a brief period during which participants can ask questions of the panelists, everyone in attendance will break down into smaller groups to discuss education issues from the perspective of their own experiences, insights provided by the panel, and other useful vantage points.

Finally, all participants will come back together for a brief introduction by Dollar$ & Sense of the organization’s series of education policy briefs entitled “Solutions,” and a forum wrap-up by OC/OS.

The goal of the small group discussions is to provide participants with an opportunity to address the question, “Are we there yet?” With a number of challenges facing public education advocates and supporters, it is important to begin to understand the commonality of our experiences and the possibilities for moving forward together.

Much has changed over the past year in public education in NJ. The NJ Supreme Court sanctioned the new school funding formula (SFRA), but the NJ Legislature did not fully fund it for the current school year. The economic crisis has hit our school districts hard, though the federal stimulus money for education has helped somewhat. Preschool expansion has hit a roadblock, and secondary reform as proposed by the NJ Department of Education appears poorly thought-out. And these are just some of the challenges facing our schools.

OC/OS is convinced that we can and must address these and other issues to help ensure that all of our children are successful in school and beyond. The campaign has decided to take the first step on October 17 toward broadening the coalition for this purpose.

To help in this effort, please download and circulate widely the event flyer.

To register online before October 17 (recommended!), visit www.ourchildrenourschools.org or go directly to the registration form.