Zesty Louisiana Education Politics
Rising Tide Conference this weekend
Posted on September 9, 2014
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Leveraging the power of bloggers and new media, the Rising Tide Conference is a launch pad for organization and action. Our day-long program of speakers and presentations is tailored to inform, entertain, enrage and inspire.
We come together to dispel myths, promote facts, highlight progress and regress, discuss recovery ideas, and promote sound policies at all levels. We aim to be a “real life” demonstration of internet activism as we continue to recover from a massive failure of government on all levels.
Past featured speakers have included David Simon (creator of The Wire and Treme), Richard Campanella (author of Geographies of New Orleans and Bienville’s Dilemma), Mac McClelland (blogger and writer for Mother Jones) Harry Shearer (writer, actor, host of the weekly radio show Le Show), John Barry (author of Rising Tide), Dave Zirin (author of Welcome to the Terrordome) and authors Christopher Cooper and Robert Block (Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security).
Rising Tide started in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding of the city when a small group of New Orleans-based bloggers decided to expand their on-line advocacy for the rebirth of New Orleans into a public event.
Participants are encouraged to Blog, Twitter, Facebook and otherwise connect and share with others in attendance and around the world. The goals of Rising Tide are numerous, but are briefly:
- We seek to protect and preserve the cultural qualities of New Orleans that make our city unique.
- We resolve to root out and expose the corruption and incompetence that harms us all.
- We work to enact a vision of a restored and resilient community that respects traditions and reaches for a sustainable future for all citizens.
Join us as we map out the course of this great city now and into the future!If anyone is interesting in checking out this event with me the info about it is included below:
Here’s the site risingtidenola.com
the schedule http://risingtidenola.com/conschedule.php
twitter: @risingtide
hashtag: #RT9
The Panels cover a wide range of topics including a keynote speech on education topics at 2pm by the Keynote speaker Dr. Andre Perry. (P.S. I’m not really sure I get that whole “reform rake” metaphor either but maybe it will make more sense in personJ )
Keynote: Andre Perry, Ph.D. Founding Dean of the College of Education at Davenport University, former Associate Director of the Loyola Institute for Quality and Equity in Education (New Orleans) and former CEO of the Capital One-University of New Orleans Charter Network.
‘Education is like water; put down your reform rake’
Rakes don’t organize water very well. Likewise, charter schools, vouchers and lotteries aren’t the proper tools to deal with the root problems of New Orleans education. New Orleans public schools must become a “unified school district” if the needs of children, families and communities are to be met. Getting, private and parochial school parents to believe we’re all in this together has been and will be the essential problem that needs solving.
About Dr. Perry
Dr. Andre Perry is currently the Founding Dean of Urban Education at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, MI and is responsible for planning and launching Davenport’s new teacher and educational leadership programs. Prior to moving to Michigan, he was a resident of New Orleans and served as the CEO of the Capital One-University of New Orleans Charter Network, which was comprised of four charter schools in New Orleans.. Dr. Perry is a regular contributor for the Washington Post is also a columnist for the Hechinger Report, a nonprofit news organization focused on producing in-depth education journalism out of Columbia University. Perry’s views, opinions and educational leadership have been featured on NBC, CNN, National Public Radio, Al Jazeera America and The New Republic.
<
p style=”margin-left:36pt;”>A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Perry earned his Ph.D. in education policy and leadership from the University of Maryland College Park. His research and teaching interests are college access and retention, charter schools and immigrant educational rights. In 2011, UNO Press released his book, The Garden Path: The Miseducation of the City. In his book, Perry uses non-fiction narrative to illustrate the real life tensions in post-Katrina education reform in New Orleans. In addition to The Garden Path, Perry co-authored the chapter “Resilience and Opportunity: Lessons from the U.S. Gulf Coast after Katrina and Rita “published by the Brookings Institution Press. He also co-authored a chapter in the publication Between Public and Private: Politics, Governance, and the New Portfolio Models for Urban School Reform published by Harvard University Press. Along with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Perry co-authored the report, PLACE MATTERS for Health in Orleans Parish: Ensuring Opportunities for Good Health for All.I was assured that the lunches are always fantastic by one of the founders, so I intend to hold him to that claim.
I’m told there are two options for paying/attending. You can pay for just half a day (10$) and come for the keynote or come early and pay the extra 10 bucks for the “fantastic” lunch.
I have not been asked to present at this conference so I will be free to mingle, heckle, and we can even plot to overthrow some corrupt governments and officials together if you if you choose to come and hang out with me. I hope some of my New Orleans contacts will consider going as well. Let me know if you are already attending or thinking of attending so I know to be on the lookout for you. Of course my Twitter handle is @crazycrawfish if you didn’t already know. My e-mail iscrazycrawfish@yahoo.com and I hope you know where my blog is if you are reading this.
If you think you might know someone who would be interested but doesn’t read my blog regularly please pass this invite along.
Thanks!
