Thinking Big About How to Close the Gap
At TC's Fourth Annual Symposium on Educational Equity, a star-studded cast of researchers, educators and policymakers argued for nothing less than a full-scale attempt to combat poverty and its attendant ills. Michael A. Rebell, Executive Director of TC's Campaign for Educational Equity, which organized and hosted the symposium, argued that access for children and families to what he calls "comprehensive educational equity" -- in essence, a full range of services -- should be viewed as a moral, statutory and constitutional right.

Rebell Op-Ed: Slashing the city schools budget is illegal, unfair and unwise
Michael Rebell has written an opinion article in response to New York State's move to cut education funding to address the state's looming fiscal deficit. In it, Rebell asserts budget cuts for New York City's schools is in violation of the compliance order in the state's school funding suit. He presents a solution with national implications, linking school funding shortfalls with a national agenda to stimulate the economy.

Obama and Comprehensive Educational Equity
While on the campaign trail, President-elect Barack Obama pledged to revise and improve the quality of education in the United States. In July 2007, he announced a plan to address simultaneously the problems of poverty and education by creating twenty "promise neighborhoods" based on the model of the Harlem Children's Zone. This announcement was a significant step in advancing the concept of comprehensive educational equity, i.e. the notion that to overcome the achievement gap, the broad needs of children from poverty backgrounds in areas like the health, nutrition, and early childhood education must be met.

In the News on January 6, 2009
Education headlines from around the nation.