The Center for Education Reform
Cordially Invites You to

American Education: The Next 15 Years

A national reform conference
Wednesday, October 28, 1998
8:30 – 5:00
The Four Seasons Hotel
Washington, DC

        Fifteen years ago this spring, in April of 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education released a shocking and historic evaluation of the condition of American education. A Nation at Risk declared that "the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people." This past April 3, about thirty of the nation's most prominent reformers, business leaders and policymakers convened in Washington to explore how far we've come since the '83 shot across the bow. The evidence, and thus the conclusion, was clear: we're a nation Still at risk.

        What can we do during the next fifteen years to regain the post-Sputnik educational excellence that so captured and motivated a generation? Mixing party lines, ideologies and otherwise typical lines of cultural demarcation, the Center for Education Reform is pleased to hold this pathbreaking educational event on the eve of its own special 5th anniversary. You will hear from the nation's leading grass roots activists, choice and charter schools' authorities, and a host of others.

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Program includes:

The Case for Radical Reform
Howard Fuller, Institute for the Transformation of Learning
Introduction by Jerry Hume, CER Chairman

Stories from the Front
Jackie Rosswurm, Lighthouse Charter School
Ray Jackson, ATOP Academy
Norman Atkins, North Star Charter School
Chester Finn, Jr., CER Director, Moderator

The Quest for Better Schools in Three Cities
Michael Joyce, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
Mary Tanner, Lehman Brothers
Mirlanda Moreau Allende, African-American Council of Christian Clergy
The Honorable Pete duPont, CER Director, Moderator

Bringing About Charter Schools: Three Success Stories
Laura Friedman, Missouri Charter School Information Center
The Honorable Sally Perz, Ohio State Representative
Bill Manning, Red Clay Consolidated District
Jeannette Mitchell, Bader Foundation, Moderator

A View From Outside the Box
Christopher Whittle, The Edison Project
Introduction by Tim Kelly, Advisor to Michigan Governor John Engler

What are We Teaching Our Children?
Paul Clopton, Mathematically Correct!
John Murphy, ARVIDA
John Danielson, Community Education Partners
Leslye Arsht, StandardsWork, Moderator

Education and Choice: Taking It One School At A Time
Nina Shokraii Rees, The Heritage Foundation
John Morris, Hope for Ohio’s Children
Peter Hutchison, Landmark Legal Foundation
Louise Oliver, CER Director, Moderator

Now What? Going From A Nation Still At Risk To A Nation Strong
Yvonne Chan, Vaughn Next Century Learning Center
Leah Vukmir, Parents Raising Educational Standards in Schools
Reverend Ellis Smith, Colin Powell Academy
Michael Moe, Merrill Lynch, Moderator

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Click here for information on how to order audio tapes of the conference's eight sessions. For more information on American Education: The Next 15 Years, stay tuned for CER's forthcoming post-conference magazine profiling the day's sessions.

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The Center for Education Reform is a national, independent, non-profit advocacy organization founded in 1993 to provide support to individuals and groups who are working to bring fundamental reforms to their schools. CER is the leading authority for information on innovative reforms in education and works in states and communities across the country to advance the cause of educational excellence.

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