Fall Forum 2000 Featured Speakers

CORNEL WEST
Professor of Religion and Afro-American Studies at Harvard University, Dr. Cornel West has been described as one of America's most vital and eloquent public intellectuals. In ground breaking books such as Race Matters, Restoring Hope, Jews and Blacks: Let the Healing Begin, The War Against Parents, and The Cornel West Reader, he explores how the growing divisions in our society foster the despair and distrust that undermine our democratic process. By working to create an ongoing dialogue between the myriad voices in our culture, Dr. West pursues his vigilant and virtuous efforts to restore hope to America. Following the Opening Session, Dr. West will be signing his latest book, The Cornel West Reader, in Ballroom A of the Convention Center.

HOWARD GARDNER
A scholar of developmental psychology and neuropsychology, Dr. Howard Gardner is best known for his theory of multiple intelligences. During the past fifteen years he has been working on the design of performance-based assessments and the use of multiple intelligences to achieve more personalized curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Dr. Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor in Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The author of eighteen books and several hundred articles, his most recent works include The Disciplined Mind: What All Students Should Understand, and Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century.

AWELE MAKEBA
One of the brightest young talents in American storytelling, Awele Makeba has mesmerized audiences from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the San Francisco County Jail #8 with her timeless tales and a cappella songs of African-American history, culture, and folklore. Her stories teach us about life, character, social justice, cultural identity and pride, personal and social responsibility, and spirituality. Her award winning CD, Tell That Tale Again! received a 1999 Parents' Choice Silver Honor award. She is Storyteller In Residence for the Oakland Museum of California and has been commissioned to write and perform Trailblazers: African-Americans in California.

THEODORE R. SIZER
Founder of the Coalition, Ted Sizer recently served as co-principal, with his wife Nancy, of the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School in Devens, Massachusetts. He is Professor Emeritus at Brown University where he served as chair of the education department from 1984—1989. Three of his books, Horace's Compromise, Horace's School, and Horace's Hope, explore the motivation and ideas of the CES school reform effort. His most recent book, co-authored with Nancy Sizer, is titled The Students Are Watching: Schools and the Moral Contract. Ted will be signing his latest book, The Students Are Watching, from 12:30-1:30pm on Saturday in Ballroom A of the Convention Center.

DEBORAH MEIER
Deborah Meier is currently the principal of Mission Hill Elementary School in Boston. She has spent more than three decades working in public education as a teacher, writer, and public advocate. The founder and teacher-director of a network of highly successful public elementary and secondary schools in East Harlem and the founder-principal of Central Park East Secondary School, Meier is the author of The Power of Their Ideas. In her latest book, Will Standards Save Public Education?she offers a fresh and provocative take on standardized tests.

PATRICIA A. WASLEY
Dr. Wasley is the dean of the School of Education at the University of Washington School of Education. She was formerly the dean of the Graduate School of Education at the Bank Street College of Education in New York City. Dr. Wasley started her career as a public school teacher and administrator and has served as researcher for the Puget Sound Educational Consortium, for the Coalition of Essential Schools, and for the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. She worked on a recent research report on the relationship of school size to student achievement entitled Small Schools: Great Strides. She is the author of numerous articles and several books, including Teachers Who Lead, Stirring the Chalkdust, and Kids and School Reform.

DENNIS LITTKY
Dennis Littky, is nationally known for his 25 years of innovative leadership in middle and secondary education. His work at Thayer High School, one of CES's original schools, was featured in an NBC movie, "A Town Torn Apart." Littky currently serves as principal for the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center in Providence, RI and director of the Big Picture Company, a non-profit organization dedicated to catalyzing and supporting national school reform. In addition, he is the founding director of the Aspiring Principals Program, an alternative principal certification program that prepares aspiring educational leaders through school-based residencies with nationally recognized principals.