Pitt Lecture on Nov. 9 to Focus on Race and Student Achievement In Middle Schools

PITTSBURGH—Philip Gleason, a senior fellow at Mathematica Policy Research (MPR), will deliver a free public lecture titled “Race, Class, and Student Achievement in KIPP Middle Schools” at noon Nov. 9 in Pitt’s Center on Race and Social Problems (CRSP), School of Social Work Conference Center, 20th floor, Cathedral of Learning, 4200 Fifth Ave., Oakland. Registration is not required and lunch will be provided. For more information, call 412-624-7382. 

Gleason’s talk is part of the Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC Fall 2010 Speaker Series at CRSP. 

An accomplished researcher at MPR, an organization that studies the impact of public policy, Gleason oversees an evaluation of charter schools for the U.S. Department of Education. His focus area is the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), a network of free college-preparatory schools in marginalized communities across the United States. Founded in 1994 and funded and developed by the KIPP Foundation, KIPP schools have a longer school day and a longer school year, school budgets established by the principals, and a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum. 

Gleason will be speaking about early findings in what will be a seven-year national evaluation of KIPP middle schools. He and his fellow colleagues recently released an updated report through MPR titled “Student Characteristics and Achievement in 22 KIPP Middle Schools.” 

Gleason has written numerous articles that have been published in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Evaluation Review, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, and Journal of Agricultural Economics, among others. He is also on the board of editors of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 

Gleason received his PhD in economics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He also served as visiting professor at Hobart and William Smith colleges in Geneva, NY. 

CRSP’s annual Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC Fall 2010 Speaker Series provides an opportunity for faculty, students, and members of the community to engage in race-related discussions of mutual interest. The fourth and final lecture of the series is scheduled for early December. For more information, visit www.crsp.pitt.edu. 

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