Community Leaders and Educators Convene at Pitt to Examine Racial Disparities in Public Education

PITTSBURGH-Regional leaders, policymakers, and social workers will convene at the University of Pittsburgh's Center on Race and Social Problems (CRSP) May 21 for a free daylong institute that will explore the nature and extent of racial disparities in public education.

The institute, titled African American Parental Involvement in Public Education, will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the School of Social Work Conference Center on the 20th floor of the Cathedral of Learning, 4200 Fifth Ave., Oakland.

The guest speakers and the title of their presentations follows:

9:10 a.m.-M. Ann Levett, executive director, Yale University Comer School Development Program, "Public School Strategies to Improve African American Parental Involvement";

10:15 a.m.-Patricia Edwards, professor of teacher education, Michigan State University College of Education, "Interventions to Enhance Parental Involvement in Literacy"; and

11:20 a.m.-Mavis Sanders, associate professor, Johns Hopkins University School of Education, "Community Support for African American Parental Involvement in Education."

A 1 p.m. panel discussion will take place with representatives from the Pittsburgh Public Schools, the Beginning With Books Center for Early Literacy, and the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh.

Upcoming institutes at CRSP will look at the child welfare system, hunger, and racial diversity in corporate management; all are funded by the Pittsburgh Foundation.

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5/19/09/tmw