| 2008 Midwestern Regional Forum |
Despite below-freezing temperatures outside, a heated discussion about the future of America’s changing education landscape took shape inside the Renaissance Chicago Hotel, nestled in the heart of downtown Chicago and just a few short blocks from the iconic “Magnificent Mile.”
While it may have been too cold to shop, attendees didn’t let the weather disrupt the affable mood at the forum. Kati Haycock, president of The Education Trust, kicked off the welcome and opening session, offering insight into the challenges facing today’s students — from the widening achievement gap between white students and African-American and Hispanic/Latino students to the decline in American students’ performance in core subject areas compared to that of their international peers.
 (Left to right) Pamela Horne, assistant vice president for enrollment management and dean of admissions at Purdue University; Midwest Regional Chair Ted Spencer, associate vice provost and executive director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Michigan; and Gaston Caperton, College Board president
Regional council member Mary F. Hill,
co-director of college counseling at St. Paul Academy and Summit School in St. Paul, Minn.
Despite these challenges, Haycock did offer glimmers of hope. She spoke about the many strides being made at the K-12 level, noting great improvements in elementary students’ skills. She presented several case studies of schools in which minority and low-income students are thriving, which speaks to a point she reinforced throughout her presentation: “Ask more of your students, and you will get more in return.”
College Board President Gaston Caperton took the stage at the luncheon and town hall Q&A to relay a message of hope and optimism, citing the novel “Cry, the Beloved Country” as a prime example of how hope can help us overcome our fears, reveal the goodness in humankind and take the first steps toward improving our nation’s well-being.
Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education at Stanford University, led the discussion at the closing brunch, urging attendees to unite with their K-12 and higher education counterparts — along with those who work within politics, the legal system and health care — to close the opportunity gap. “We need to join hands, because this is probably our last opportunity as a society to take the steps that are needed to reclaim our democracy,” she said, “I think we can make that difference together.”
Attendees work together in a
break-out session.
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Utica (Mich.) Community Schools Holds Academic Blitz |
| More than 2,000 eighth- through 11th-grade students and parents from Michigan’s Utica Community Schools were treated to the system’s first Academic Blitz to learn more about preparing for higher education. Held on a January evening at Henry Ford II High School in Sterling Heights, the event offered attendees the chance to investigate Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) courses and their place in the high school curriculum, specialized classes offered by the district’s comprehensive Career and Technical Education program and how to plan for post-high-school educational and training experiences. Information was also presented regarding scholarships, financial aid and the Michigan Promise Scholarship.
“There is a growing expectation that all students will continue in school beyond their graduation from high school,” said Christine M. Johns, superintendent of schools. “That is because some type of education after high school is essential in order to be successful in the 21st century. The job that a student could get with a high school diploma not so many years ago now requires at least some postsecondary experience in order to even get an interview.”
In addition, student-selected AP teachers from the district’s four high schools and math, science and technology center were honored for excellence in teaching. The keynote speaker was Michael Rao, president of Central Michigan University, who emphasized to students the importance of continuing their pursuit of excellence after high school graduation.
Parents in attendance remarked on the importance of their children learning about global competition and how to prepare for it, renewing optimism for the future in light of our country’s current economic concerns.
Utica Community Schools seeks to offer its 30,000 students a rigorous K-12 academic experience and to encourage additional study and training after high school. The Academic Blitz is the first of a three-pronged approach to further support the academic achievement of the district’s students. A career expo, scheduled for March 11, will allow students and parents to meet with career representatives to learn about educational requirements, job duties and the employment outlook following high school, and a college fair is set for April 30 to introduce students to representatives from more than 60 colleges and postsecondary educational opportunities to discuss admissions policies, financial aid and scholarships.
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| Illinois Teacher Wins Bob Costas Grant |
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Katherine Plager of Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Ill.
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| Katherine Plager, a science teacher at Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Ill., is the Midwestern Region’s 2008 recipient of one of six College Board Bob Costas Grants for the Teaching of Writing. The grants recognize extraordinary teachers who use innovative methods to inspire their students to write.
Plager teaches her students how to write formal laboratory reports following the scientific method. Her rubric for constructing laboratory reports has made writing accessible to students who were previously uncomfortable with writing. “Scientific writing is analytical and naturally provides structure for students to write about ideas using higher-level thinking skills,” Plager said. “It forces students to consider a history of ideas and their time and place in the metamorphosis of those ideas.” With the help of the Costas grant, Plager will create a science writing lab in which students not only will continue to write formal laboratory reports, but also write science articles in the style of The New York Times “Science Times” section. Both types of writing, along with creative and informal science writing, will be included in a science journal that the class will publish twice a year.
The College Board created the grants in 2006 to support teachers and to thank Bob Costas, the Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and author, for his generous public service work on behalf of the National Commission on Writing. Each winner receives an award of $3,000. Plager was honored at the Midwestern Regional Forum on Feb. 11 at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel. Visit www.collegeboard.com/costasgrants for more information about the grants.
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The 2008 "AP® Report to the Nation" included participation and performance data for each state within the context of its population and racial/ethnic demographics.
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