Richard D. Kahlenberg, an expert in socioeconomics and school reorganization efforts, will be speaking to Derby parents at two forums scheduled for today (Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013).
The Derby Board of Education is considering whether to restructure its two elementary schools, which currently struggle with low-to-moderate test scores and a wide academic achievement gap between students from lower-income families and their middle-class counterparts.
The plan has been met with a mix of skepticism and outright opposition from parents at Bradley and Irving, the city’s two elementary schools.
Kahlenberg will be leading a discussion at the Derby Public Library at noon today (Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013) in the lower meeting room.
The second parent forum will be held at the Derby High School auditorium at 7 p.m. There will be free childcare service, along with coffee and cookies at the Derby High School forum.
Kahlenberg, Harvard-educated with a resume a mile long, has been called “the intellectual father of the economic integration movement” in K‑12 schooling.
He is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, a progressive, non-partisan think tank.
Click here to follow him on Twitter.
Kahlenberg has authored numerous articles showing that grouping kids of diverse economic backgrounds together provides better academic outcomes.