Educational Policy Series

Forum 3: Strategies for Local Action
March 22, 2007 • 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
James T.Dove Conference Center at Prairie Heart Institute
619 East Mason Street, First Floor, Springfield
(Ramp parking across the street between 6th and 7th)

PURPOSE: This is the third and concluding forum in a series designed to share information and stimulate dialogue on the far-reaching policy problem of the student achievement gap and its impact on our communities, our economy and our future. This forum will provide information on successful local action strategies across the country and generate ways we can work together to address the problem in our community. Participants will have an opportunity for dialogue with a national expert and with one another on strategies for action here
in Springfield.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Audrey M. Hutchinson, M.S.W., M.P.H., is Program Director of Education and Afterschool Initiatives at the National League of Cities (NLC), Institute for Youth, Education, and Families. She directs a multimillion dollar national education initiative, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, to assist mayors and city council members to use their leadership to improve the quality of K-12 education in urban districts.

Prior to joining the NLC, Ms. Hutchinson served in the Clinton Administration for eight years where she held several senior positions at the White House and U.S.Department of Education,working on key initiatives in school-to-work transition, higher education, and international education.

She is the author of Improving Public Schools, an action kit for municipal leaders, Rethinking Accountability: A View from City Hall, an article published by Brown University, and Stronger Schools, Stronger Cities and Afterschool Hours: A New Focus for America’s Cities, publications of the National League of Cities.

PROGRAM:
March 22, 2007 • 7:00-9:00 pm
• Welcome: Mayor Timothy J. Davlin and Chancellor Richard D. Ringeisen
• Keynote address: Audrey M. Hutchinson, National League of Cities
• Audience discussion
• Dessert Reception