Community Forum: How to Improve Our Children’s Education?

Black Studies Series beginning Oct. 13 focuses on better educating diverse students

The Black Studies Program Focus Week series at the University of Missouri-Kansas City will discuss how to better educate our next generation of students.

The Oct. 13 – Oct. 15 series – “Educating Diverse Students for SUCCESS in a Diverse World” – shares views on education through churches and research; a panel discussion based on a book by Steve Perry, Ed.D., and effective methods to educate diverse students; and a discussion regarding education through our charter schools. Perry’s book is entitled “Push Has Come to Shove: Getting Our Kids the Education They Deserve – Even If It Means Picking a Fight.”

“As educators, we wish to be a part of the solution to our nation’s challenge in educating its students, particularly its diverse students of color. The Black Studies Program has assembled experts who can address numerous ways to educate our students to actually learn their lessons and to prepare them to compete in a global arena,” said Prof. Adrienne Walker Hoard, MFA and Ed.D., director of the UMKC Black Studies Program. “We invite our community to attend the Social Justice Book lecture on Oct. 28 with Dr. Steve Perry and participate in our discussions this week, which lead up to his campus visit.”

The Focus Week events are listed below.

Panel discussion: “Education through African American Churches: Biomedical and Health Information Research:” 6 – 8 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 13, Health Sciences Building, Room 5301, 2464 Charlotte St., Kansas City, Mo. Free parking in surface Lot 28, directly opposite HSB. Panelists: Jannette Berkley-Patton, Ph.D., director, Community Health Research Group and associate professor, UMKC School of Medicine; Carole Bowe Thompson, project director, UMKC Community Health Research Group; and Rev. Eric D. Williams, senior pastor, Calvary Temple Baptist Church, and executive director, Calvary Community Outreach Network.

Social Justice Book Discussion: “Push Has Come to Shove …:” 3 – 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 14, Miller Nichols Library, iX Theater, 801 E. 51st St., Kansas City, Mo. Book discussion leader: Scott Curtis, learning and research librarian, Sciences and Engineering, Miller Nichols Library.

Panel Discussion: “Unboxing Charter Education: The Kansas City Model:” 4 – 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 15, UMB Bank Building Auditorium, first floor, 1010 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. Free parking in Walnut Street parking garage. Panelists: Phyllis A. Chase, Ed.D., moderator, director of the UMKC Charter School Center, School of Education; Marsha Chappelow, Kansas City Charter Schools field director, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; Edward Underwood, Ph.D., executive director, Institute for Urban Education & Kauffman Endowed Chair; Cornell Ellis, teacher, Ewing Marion Kauffman School; and Charles King, executive director, Kansas City Teacher Residency, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

The series will feature experts who can provide clarity on the public educational system for those wishing to better understand how to make a difference.

Since 2010, the Black Studies Program has offered an open house to educate students, faculty and community members about the program, and this is the second year of the Focus Week, through which they plan to engage more people in the community.

Black Studies partnered with the UMKC Libraries to expand their outreach. Ultimately, the goal is to inform the audiences about Black Studies as a discipline, which can provide a perspective on current events.

The event is free and open to the public. Advance registration is recommended at Libraries Event Registration.

 


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