San Diego State Symposium to Tackle Revitalizing
Urban Education

May 5-6 Event Features Presentations by Some of Nation's Top K-12
Educators

Contact: Gina Speciale
SDSU Marketing & Communications
Tel: (619) 594-4563 office; (619) 813-3581 cell
speciale@mail.sdsu.edu

SAN DIEGO – (Tuesday, April 18, 2006)– San Diego State University will launch a new yearly symposium May 5-6 designed to help show school administrators, teachers and parents how to overcome barriers to high achievement in urban school settings.

The symposium, Lessons from High Performing Urban Schools and Districts , is sponsored by SDSU's National Center for Urban Transformation (NCUST) and takes place at the Doubletree Hotel San Diego in Mission Valley.

“A lot of educators look at the enormous challenges facing urban schools and think academic success is as good as its going to get, but it is possible to get better results,” said Joseph Johnson, executive director of the NCUST. “We're going to examine best practices in place at a number of high-achieving urban schools around the nation and discuss what we can learn from those situations to see what can be applied to help more schools become successful.”

Along with Johnson, keynote speakers at the symposium are: Hugh Burkett, director for The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement, Washington D.C.; Kati Haycock, director of The Education Trust, Washington D.C.; and Warren Simmons, executive director for the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University.

As part of this effort, the NCUST will also recognize nine highly successful urban schools from around the nation as finalists for its first Excellence in Education award. Representatives from each school will make presentations at the conference. The schools being honored include:

•  Community Day Charter Public School in Lawrence , Mass.

•  Ginter Park Elementary in Richmond , Va.

•  Linwood Elementary in Oklahoma City , Okla.

•  Muller Elementary in Tampa , Fla.

•  Revere High School in Revere , Mass.

•  South Avenue Elementary School in Beacon, N.Y.

•  Taft Middle School in Oklahoma City , Okla.

•  Walbridge Elementary in Toledo , Ohio

•  Whittier Primary School in Peoria , Ill.

Johnson said the Excellence in Education Award finalists prove how urban schools can perform at a high academic level and still make learning exciting and fun, evidenced in part by their excellent attendance. As a finalist, the schools have at least a 92 percent average daily attendance. The Excellence in Education Awards will be presented at the conference during a luncheon, Saturday, May 6 at noon.

“The reason these urban schools are so successful is because they have a relentless focus on getting their students to achieve at high levels,” said Johnson. “They assume all students have the ability to learn challenging material, even when they come from difficult or disadvantaged home situations."

The NCUST was founded as part of the QUALCOMM Institute for Innovation and Educational Success at San Diego State University . The mission of the NCUST, part of SDSU's College of Education, is to help urban school districts around the country and their partners transform into institutions where all students achieve academic proficiency, evidence a love of learning, and graduate well-prepared to succeed in post-secondary education, the workplace, and their community.

Educators interested in attending the symposium, are encouraged to visit http://edweb.sdsu.edu/ncust/events/symposium.html or call (619) 594-7905.

SDSU's College of Education is the second-largest college of education in the state and the 10th-largest nationwide. The mission of the College of Education is to prepare teachers, administrators, resource specialists and support personnel for opportunities in various educational settings. Through preparation programs, such as the Compact for Success and the San Diego Literacy Initiative, and the City Heights Educational Collaborative the university also influences the education of tens of thousands of K-12 urban students each year.

SDSU is the oldest and largest institution of higher education in the San Diego region. Founded in 1897, SDSU offers bachelor’s degrees in 81 areas, master’s degrees in 72 and doctorates in 16. SDSU’s nearly 33,000 students participate in academic curricula distinguished by direct faculty contact and an increasingly international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.

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