Leading Education Advocate to Deliver Lecture Jan. 15 at Pitt on Progress Made Towards Closing America's Achievement Gap

PITTSBURGH- Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, a nonprofit education advocacy and research organization based in Washington, D.C., will deliver a lecture at the University of Pittsburgh titled "Improving Achievement and Closing Gaps Between Groups: Lessons From Schools and Districts on the Performance Frontier." The lecture, part of the Learning Policy Center's (LPC) Excellence and Equity in an Era of Accountability colloquium series, will be presented at 2:30 p.m. Jan. 15 in Room 5604 Posvar Hall, 230 S. Bouquet. St., Oakland.

Haycock's presentation will focus on national statistics regarding the educational achievements of Black and Latino students from low-income families. While data show significant gains in reading and mathematics at the elementary level, they also suggest that major disparities still exist at the high school level. Haycock will share methods some schools and districts are using to close the learning gap in America's educational system.

One of the nation's leading advocates in the field of education, Haycock has served as executive vice president of the Children's Defense Fund, the nation's largest child advocacy organization, as well as the director of the Outreach and Student Affirmative Action programs for the nine-campus University of California system. She also is the founder and former president of the Achievement Council, a California-based organization that provides statewide assistance to teachers and principals in school districts with primarily underrepresented student populations.

Established in 1990 by the American Association for Higher Education, the Education Trust is an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to work towards the high academic achievements of students at all levels. The organization provides analysis and expert testimony on education policies, research statistics identifying achievement patterns, and instructional assistance to educational institutions across the country.

The mission of Pitt's LPC is to advance ideas that encompass both education policy and research on teaching and learning. The LPC utilizes Pitt's School of Education, Learning Research Development Center, Institute for Learning, and other regional assets to connect high-quality learning research with education policy decision makers.

Upcoming speakers in the 2008-09 colloquium series include Alan Lesgold, dean of Pitt's School of Education; Michael Cohen, president of Achieve Inc., a nonprofit education reform organization; and Richard Rothstein, a research associate for the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan economic think tank based in Washington D.C.

The event is free and open to the public, but an RSVP is required and can be made at the LPC Web site www.lpc.pitt.edu. For more information on this event or the LPC, contact Julia Kaufman at 412-624-7035.

###

1/5/09/amm