Pitt to Hold Symposium Feb. 24 on Academic Performance of African American Students, K-12

PITTSBURGH-Pitt's Department of Africana Studies will hold a free public symposium to explore the problems facing today's African American students.

The Winter Community Symposium, titled Pathways to Academic Excellence in African American Students K-12, will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Feb. 24 in the auditorium of the Frick Fine Arts Building, Schenley Drive, Oakland.

Jerome Taylor, Pitt associate professor of Africana Studies and executive director of the Center for Family Excellence, will serve as moderator. The six panelists and their perspectives on how to close the racial achievement gap include:

Stanley Denton (FAS '78, '85), assistant professor of education and a Diversity Fellow at Point Park University, on the role of desegregation and diversity;

Helen Faison (CAS '46, EDUC '55, '75), director of the Pittsburgh Teachers Institute, on how professional development workshops for principals and teachers can help;

Shirley Biggs, Pitt associate professor of education, on the role of literacy;

Mark Roosevelt, Pittsburgh Public School Superintendent, on the role of teacher reforms;

Kwame Botwe-Asamoah, Pitt assistant professor of Africana Studies, on the importance of cultural inclusion; and

Chalin Askew, 16, a junior at Taylor Allderdice High School and chair of the African American Executive Board of the Centers of Advanced Studies, on how reforms will impact gifted African American students.

For more information, call 412-648-7540.

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