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Public Forums

At Achieve Hartford! we believe that the community is a vital part in establishing educational reform in public schools. Therefore, we sponsor a community event from time-to-time where we host a public forum for people to share, learn and get involved. It is a great opportunity for the entire community to deliberate on how they can support lasting, positive school improvement in Hartford.

Community Input Sessions on the Next Superintendent

To gather views from parents, educators, and other community members about what Hartford needs from its next superintendent, Achieve Hartford! held two Community Input Sessions in December 2010.  The summary report from these community dialog sessions and its appendix of additional comments have been given to the Board of Education Search Committee to help inform its process of selecting the successor to Dr. Steven Adamowski, who has announced his retirement effective July 31, 2011.

Connecticut Forum:  Our Great Education Challenge

This public forum is run by The Connecticut Forum, hosted by Travelers, and supported by a handful of organizations including Achieve Hartford!  The forum on November 11th, 2010 at the Bushnell featured Joel Klein, Chancellor of New York City Public Schools, Davis Guggenheim, Director of the film, “Waiting for Superman,” John Schnur, CEO and Co-founder of New Leaders for New Schools and a key architect of President Obama’s Race to the Top initiative, as well as Deborah Gist, Commissioner of Education in Rhode Island.  Read more about the forum here.

Public Forum with Karen Mapp

This public forum took place on September 28, 2010 with Professor Karen L. Mapp from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. The community forum entitled “Family engagement as a means to Sustaining Reform”.  Professor Mapp is a leading authority on the impact of family and parent engagement on student achievement and is co-author of the books, "Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships" and "A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family and Community Connections on Student Achievement."  The evening was a wonderful opportunity for parents, District staff and community members to learn, interact and share about family engagements and its importance to education reform.

Read more about Professor  Karen L. Mapp.  Click here for a copy of Dr. Mapp's presentation delivered on Tuesday, September 28, 2010.

Public Forum with Paul T. Hill
 
On March 25, 2010 in the first on a series of public forums, Dr. Paul Hill was invited by Achieve Hartford! to lead a discussion on “Engaging the Community to Create Better Schools.” Dr. Hill, a nationally known researcher from the Brookings Institution and a leading author on transforming urban public schools, emphasized that success is dependent on all aspects of the community. Hence it is significant that all members of the community- the school district, parents, teachers, the business community and policy makers – work together to achieve school improvement objectives.
 
This event was conducted at Classical Magnet School and was attended by a large gathering of community leaders, parents and stakeholders. It turned out to be a remarkable occasion for everyone to listen, learn and ask questions about how we can improve Hartford’s public schools. In fact one parent stood up and stated: “Now I understand what Hartford’s reform is doing.”
Achieve Hartford