Vision for Children - Forum Series Overview

Forum Series Overview

A Public Dialogue on Public Education

Community Forums to Promote Constructive Dialogue and Develop Effective Strategies for Public Education

The St. Louis Metropolitan Children?s Agenda, a broad-based coalition of some 300 child advocates and children's services agencies, is initiating a year-long series of forums focused on public education in the City of St. Louis. The series was organized because of the belief of coalition partners that access to a quality education is central to the life-long well-being of the City's children.

Forums will be held approximately biweekly over the course of the 2006-2007 school year in two phases:

Phase I ? Information. The first phase will provide key stakeholders an opportunity to outline their perspectives on advancing quality education in the City schools and identify what they see as the critical issues that must be addressed.? The goal is to establish a common foundation of stakeholder positions, data, and policy information.

Phase II ? Strategy. The second phase will establish a stakeholder dialogue in which key community actors can work toward development and implementation of effective strategies to address the many problems confronting the public schools.

Goals for the forum series include:

1) Establishing a balanced, civil forum for dialogue on public education in the City;

2) Providing needed data and policy information to inform discussion about the schools;

3) Affording key stakeholders the opportunity to identify issues they see as critical to provision of quality education; and

4) Developing an informed community coalition committed to understanding and improving public education in the City of St. Louis.

The following forums have been/will be held in fall 2006:

?Engaging citizens in support of the schools.? National League of Cities teleconference on successful citizen engagement in other cities. (Sept. 21)

?What Data and Information Do We Need to Understand the Schools and Monitor Student Achievement?? Presentation audio conference featuring Daria Hall of The Education Trust reviewing the report Making Data Work; accessing SLPS data on the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Web site; and panel discussion with Joyce Dana of Saint Louis University and Eric Aplyn of UM-St. Louis on the use of school data. (Oct. 5)

?SLPS Plans and Goals for 2006 - 2007: Views of the School Board, Superintendent, and Teachers.? Presentations by SLPS superintendent Dr. Diana Bourisaw and teachers union president Mary Armstrong. (Oct. 19)

?Perspectives of Community Stakeholders: Business and Philanthropy.? Panel discussion by Tony Thompson of Kwame Building, representing the Regional Business Council; Linda Aitch of the Greater Saint Louis Community Foundation; and Deborah Patterson of the Monsanto Fund. (Nov. 2)

?Serving the Customers: What Students Need and Parents Want from Public Education, Plus Perspectives of City Residents.? (Nov. 16)

?Perspectives of Community Stakeholders: Government & Community Organizations.? (Nov. 30)

?Findings and Recommendations of Missouri's DESE-Appointed Advisory Panel on the St. Louis Public Schools.? (Dec. 14)

The dates and topics listed above are preliminary and may need to be modified as panelists for the sessions are scheduled. Specific dates, times and locations for each forum will be set to accommodate the logistical requirements of each session and the anticipated audience size.

You are advised to register for the forum series at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to ensure that you receive advanced notification of the final arrangements for each session in the series.

If you have questions, need additional information, or have suggestions related to the forum series, "A Public Dialogue on Public Education," please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (314) 534-6015.

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