Postponed: Holy Cross to Host Panel on Urban Education and Accountability

Due to inclement weather, the Urban Education Panel tonight at 6 p.m. on campus will be postponed.  We will be in touch with a new date and time once it is available.  

The College of the Holy Cross will hold a panel discussion titled “Urban Education in the Era of Accountability,” on Monday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. in Rehm Library, located in Smith Hall, on campus. Panelists include Melinda Boone, superintendent of Worcester Public Schools; David Roach, vice chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and a member of the faculty at Holy Cross; and Ericka Fisher, associate professor of education at Holy Cross and author of “Educating the Urban Race: The Evolution of an American High School” (Lexington Books, Dec. 2014).  The panel, which is free and open to the public, will be moderated by Jack Schneider, assistant professor of education at Holy Cross.  Fisher’s book will be for sale at the event.

Sparked by the release of Fisher’s new academic book, the panel discussion will center around the state of urban education in the era of accountability and focus on student-teacher relationships, shifting demographics—including diversity and mobility—and the consequence of testing.

“Educating the Urban Race” is based on 10 years of research at urban schools. The book utilizes historical and quantitative data, interviews and observations, to provide a comprehensive view of the many factors at play that merge to create an urban high school. While the central case study focuses on Burncoat Senior High School in Worcester, Mass., the book takes a serious look at policy issues and urban education at a national level, and includes a broad survey of American public education dating back to the 17th century.

Melinda Boone has served as superintendent for the Worcester Public Schools since July 2009, a district with over 24,000 students and 44 schools. Prior to Worcester Boone was the chief academic officer for the Norfolk Public Schools, Virginia. Boone redesigned the organizational structure of the school district to align district departments and systems with school improvement. She was a 2012 Erskine Award Recipient sponsored by the YWCA, 2014 Recipient of the Order of Odd Fellows and the Rebekah Assembly of Massachusetts “Community Leadership Award”, and the Greater Worcester Chapter Hadassah “Woman of Distinction” Award. Dr. Boone received the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (MASS) President’s Award in May 2014 and the Life Leadership Service Award by the Institute for Global Leadership.

David Roach has been involved in education for the last 40 years, as an English teacher, assistant principal, principal, and spent 17 years a superintendent. Roach is currently vice chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and  chairs the budget subcommittee and the Board’s working group on strengthening civic learning. He also teaches the capstone seminar at Holy Cross and courses in school leadership at Worcester State. He serves on the board of directors of the Massachusetts Service Alliance (MSA), which oversees service opportunities in the Commonwealth including both AmeriCorps and the Commonwealth Corps.

A scholar in racial and economic equity in American education, Ericka Fisher’s work focuses on multicultural education, educational psychology, and academic achievement. Her published works examine the experiences of vulnerable populations in American secondary schools. Fisher earned her B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross and her Ed.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Jack Schneider is a leading scholar in education reform and the author of two books, “Excellence for All: How a New Breed of Reformers Is Transforming America's Public Schools” (2011) and “From the Ivory Tower to the Schoolhouse: How Scholarship Becomes Common Knowledge in Education” (2014).  He is currently at work on a new project, examining how school quality is assessed and communicated to the public.

The panel is sponsored by the Worcester Education Collaborative, the education department at Holy Cross and College Marketing and Communications at Holy Cross.

The Worcester Education Collaborative (WEC) is an independent advocacy organization working to ensure that students in the Worcester Public Schools are given the opportunity to succeed at the highest possible level and to acquire the skills and knowledge to master the challenges of the 21st century. The Collaborative is committed to supporting, facilitating, and developing a wide variety of partnerships among families, schools, organizations, and businesses that will both enhance the quality of public education in Worcester and the quality of our common life. As a non-profit education fund, the Collaborative’s independent voice speaks for the children and for the community to create a system of effective schools in which every child is prepared for success in college, career, and life.