Ravitch will discuss public education trends at Rice Oct. 14 Rice University | News & Media

Rice University | News & Media

Education leader to offer perspective on school reform
Ravitch will discuss public education trends at Rice Oct. 14

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

Diane Ravitch, one of the country's most respected scholars in education reform, will share her insight on school reform with the community and aspiring K-12 school leaders in the Rice Education Entrepreneurship Program (REEP) at 7 p.m. Oct. 14 in the Grand Hall of Rice Memorial Center. In her lecture, "Reflections on What I Have Learned About School Reform," Ravitch will discuss her career as an education historian and former assistant secretary of education and the trends in public education over the past 40 years.

	DIANE RAVITCH

In her critically acclaimed "The Death and Life of the Great American School System," Ravitch raises a dialogue on the purpose of education. Having recently reversed her long-standing support for accountability and charter schools, she questions the impact and motives behind education reform. Ravitch will answer questions posed by the audience and sign copies of her book after the lecture. Registration is required for the event, which is free and open to the public, and can be made at reep.rice.edu under "Upcoming Events."

A native Houstonian and graduate of Houston public schools, Ravitch is a research professor of education at New York University and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. From 1991 to 1993 she was assistant secretary of education in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. She was responsible for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement in the U.S. Department of Education. As assistant secretary, she led the federal