United to Counter The Common Core Agenda Through Mobilization

The Crisis in Our Schools

Community Collaboration

Wed Nov 19 at 7pm

East High School, Rochester

Announcing A Community Read of Diane Ravitch’s Reign of Error & A Community-Wide Discussion of Issues in Public Education in our Community

Writers & Books is pleased to announce an important community wide program, THE CRISIS IN OUR SCHOOLS: IS THERE A FUTURE FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION?, which will take place this fall in settings throughout our community.

Public education in our community and the nation faces enormous challenges. Through a community read of Diane Ravitch’s Reign of Error, we intend to initiate discussion, involving all sides of the political and educational spectrum, about those challenges, and potential solutions.

Diane Ravitch, former Assistant Secretary of Education under President George H.W. Bush, will kick off a series of forums with a keynote presentation on September 10th.  Our aim is to use the forums to both inform a wide spectrum of our community about current educational issues and motivate them to become more involved in shaping the future of public education in the greater Rochester area.

When & Where: Community Discussion Forum Events: 

Would a Metropolitan School District be Good for Monroe County— 7 p.m., November 19, Third Presbyterian Church.

What is the Role of the Community in Providing Early Childhood Learning? — 2 p.m., November 23, Kate Gleason Auditorium, Central Library.

What Makes a Good School? — 7 p.m., December 3, Eisenhart Auditorium, RMSC

All Events are Free and Open to the Public!

Intended Audience:

These important community discussions are open to the public and are intended to attract the widest possible audience to the forums, including: parents, students, teachers, administrators, business leaders, elected officials, the media, and anyone else with an interest in the future of our schools.

About Diane Ravitch:

Diane Ravitch is Research Professor of Education at New York University and a historian of education. From 1991 to 1993, she was Assistant Secretary of Education and Counselor to Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. She was responsible for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement in the U.S. Department of Education. As Assistant Secretary, she led the federal effort to promote the creation of voluntary state and national academic standards.

From 1997 to 2004, she was a member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the federal testing program. She was appointed by the Clinton administration’s Secretary of Education Richard Riley in 1997 and reappointed by him in 2001. From 1995 until 2005, she held the Brown Chair in Education Studies at the Brookings Institution and edited Brookings Papers on Education Policy. Before entering government service, she was Adjunct Professor of History and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Community Partners:

The Crisis in our Schools community partners: The Alliance for Quality Education; The Coalition for Justice in Education; Frontier Center for Urban Education at Nazareth College; Roberts Wesleyan College Department of Teacher Education; The Rochester Area Community Foundation; The Rochester Public Library; The RCSD Board of Education; The Rochester Teachers Union;The Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester; Writers & Books

More information on specified event dates to follow. For more details on the Crisis in Our Schools program, contact Lindsey Buck at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or click here.