(Sacramento, CA) "Sounding the Alarm: Education Is A Civil Right," is the urgent call around which the California Association of African American Superintendents and Administrators (CAAASA) will hold their annual conference, February 22 through 24 at Sacramento's Hilton Arden West Hotel.
This year's assembly, in collaboration with the California Department of Education (CDE), California Coalition of Black School Board Members (CCBSBM) and the California Legislative Black Caucus, will feature panel discussions with noted educators, elected officials, and business and community leaders from throughout California. Concurrent workshops, designed to raise awareness of issues impacting African American educators, administrators and students will also be held..
"There is an urgent need to address the inequities faced by African American, K-12 students in public schools," said Pamela Short-Powell, Ed.D., CAAASA President "As educators and responsible community members, we must develop innovative strategies to improve academic achievement and student performance."
"Our sessions will provide stakeholders with opportunities to 1) assess strengths and weaknesses, 2) share "best practices" and proven models for educating African American students, 3) engage and enlist the support of policy-makers; and 4) develop strategies for future success," said Dwight Bonds, Executive Director, CAAASA.
This year's conference, open to registrants, includes:
Wednesday, February 22 - opening ceremonies; workshop, entitled, "How To Increase Parental Participation in School" and a Town Hall meeting with Senator Curren Price.
Thursday, February 23 - panel discussion entitled, "Research on Plotting the Path From Juvenile Detention to Academic Success for African American Males;" Dr. Charlie Mae Knight Luncheon, with education forum, entitled, "A Mayor's Perspective" with panelists, including Compton Mayor Eric Perrodin; Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis and Deputy Director of Sacramento, Dr. Aisha Lowe; workshop: "Teacher Effectiveness and Common Core Standards," with keynote address by Linda Darling-Hammond, Ed.D.; the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education, Stanford University. Additional workshops include: "Hope and Opportunity for Long-Term Academic Deficient Students – How They Can Achieve Academic Outcomes Cost Effectively;" "Parent Rights & Responsibilities Related to Public School Students in California;" Fostering Success for All Students, Particularly Young Black and Brown Boys;" "What Really Works For Our Students;" "Finally...Culturally Relevant Professional Development for Educators" and "Academic English Language Learners: Their Culture and Language." The evening will include the "Salute To Excellence" Awards Gala, (at the Double Tree Inn) with keynote address by Dr. Melba Pattillo Beals member of the Little Rock Nine. Additional honorees include Darling-Hammond; Hardy Brown, Chairman of Brown Publishing Company and co-publisher, Black Voice News; Assemblyman Mike Davis; L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, former State Superintendent of Public Instruction; Jack O'Connell; Oakland Unified School District Superintendent, Anthony Smith, PhD; and Moreno Valley Unified School District Superintendent Judy White, Ed.D..
Friday, February 24 – Dr. Rex Fortune Breakfast with session and panel discussion entitled, "Bridging the Achievement Gap – What Successful Educators and Parents Do;" Additional workshops include: "Writes of Passage: Unmasking Your Authentic Voice," "New/Aspiring Superintendents," "Images in Film and Life," "Standard English Learners (SELs) "Eliminating the Achievement Gap With Differentiated Instruction and Cultural Proficiency;" "African Americans Students' Mastery to Success: Preparing our Students for the Common Core and Beyond;" and "New ESEA Legislation and Its Impact on African American Students in California," with panelists: Congressman George Miller (D-CA); Dr. LaRuth Grey, NYU Professor; Carrie Jasper, Director, Outreach to Parents and Families, U.S. Department of Education, and Charles Love, Region 9 Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Representative.
Premier Sponsors for the conference include Kaplan, Pearson Education and AdvancePath.
[Organized in 1993, CAAASA's members include superintendents and school administrators of all levels. Serving as an informative link to the California Department of Education, CAAASA makes recommendations on issues such as curriculum and instruction, staff development, parent involvement, funding and gender specific issues. The organization partners with the 5,000 member National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) on several projects, including the "Education Is A Civil Right," initiative, which calls for the establishment of a national zero tolerance policy on illiteracy, dropping out of school and failure in education. More information may be found at www.caaasa.org.]
