Here is the first of a series of expansions on my report
from General Synod. It came to me as an
e-mail from the UCC minister dedicated to Public Education. I once sponsored an adult education program
at Christ Church on Public Education.
This is the follow up to that program. Although they did not look at New
Jersey schools our urban schools follow the same pattern as the schools they
did look at. New Jersey education has
been sited to be the most segregated,
more than in the south because of our housing pattern.
For those of you who may not have Internet, I have two
copies of the report that I will place in the Christ church library. Enjoy.
Jeannette Brown
UCC Representative
____________________________________________________________________
You may be interested in the electronic link (below) to
Whose Child Left Behind? Why? A new resource released at the United
Church of Christ's recent General Synod. It is the final report of the
UCC's Public Education Task Force.
The United Church of Christ's Public Education Task Force was charged by
General Synod 23 to "identify systemic barriers to excellent public
education and to recommend strategies to address those barriers." For the
past four years, this intentionally diverse Task Force has visited schools and
deliberated on these experiences. After site visits to schools in greater
Cleveland, Ohio; Phoenix, Arizona; Hartford, Connecticut; and
Wartburg, Tennessee, the Task Force shares its reflections. The members brought
their eyes, ears and life experiences with them, and their reflection weaves a
tapestry of many points of view.
In the summer of 2001 when the Task Force was given its charge, there was not a
federal No Child Left Behind Act, whose mechanisms were to command that
achievement gaps be eliminated and to punish the schools and school districts
unable to raise achievement quickly as measured by standardized tests.
While the members of the Task Force would affirm the important goals of the No
Child Left Behind Act --- that educators hold high
expectations and envision a bright future for children in all demographic
groups and that achievement gaps be closed --- the members of the Task Force
challenge our society to set about far more than merely demanding that schools
improve, testing students to see if they are improving, and punishing the
school districts that cannot seem to improve. The systemic barriers that
have been so apparent to members of our Task Force continue
to matter. We must confront them as a church and demand that society
address them as well. There are no shortcuts.
A report was produced .
Please contact me for hard copies. One copy of this resource was
mailed in September to all UCC congregations and Conferences.
Jan Resseger
Minister for Public Education and Witness
United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
700 Prospect Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44115-1100
216-736-3711
<>
