Tuesday August 12, 2014 I attended the Education Experts meeting.  I've uploaded a video I shot of the Tuesday meeting.  The meeting was good and many of the recomendations they made are in line with what we have heard over the past two years people such as Ralph Spezio, Robin Dettman and many others who have spoken at our SWCC education Committee Meetings.  It is also supportive of many of the goals that the FR=EE and the AQE/Metro Justice education committees are advancing.  Here is a link to the video:  http://youtu.be/hg9BR7OLbVQ.

This City Newspaper article by Tim Louis Macaluso does a great job of reviewing what was said at the meeting and then some.  http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/many-city-teachers-....  I did not hear Adam Urbanski say anything at the meeting.  Tim must have interviewed him before the meeting.  Tim was interviewing Caterina Leone-Mannino when I walked in and later he was sitting next to Adam before the meeting started.  I had talked to Adam as we were waiting to go in to the meeting.  I brought up Vision Quest but we did not get a chance to talk for long.

On Wednesday I attended the UR/East High meeting which went over the intentions this EPO (Educational Partnership Organization) has for reorganizing and operating East High School under the UR Warner School of Education.

The Wednesday meeting with the UR folks at the Danforth Center was very lightly attended.  There might have been 30 people counting presenters.  They also had held a meeting the day before at the Ryan Center.  They basically said they would have the detailed plan ready in December which was basically what we had heard from the papers.  Things they mentioned that were new to me were:

1. They are going to have grades 6 through 12 there.  The building will be divided in to three sections:
   1. Grades 6 through 8 - - {There was a lot of concern from some parents about including grade 6 in the high school.}
   2. Grade 9
   3. Grades 10 through 12
2. All students would be part of a family of five.  They would meet with their family each day to check in on how each was doing.  Each family would have one or two staff adults that stay with the family.
3. They will bring back evening school classes.  This would serve students that have gotten too old for fitting in well with the younger students and it would also expose them to the maturing effect of having older adults as their classmates..  The evening school would serve older adults who want to take continuing education classes to get a GED, learn a trade or whatever.  I suggested they contact OACES at 30 Hart Street which offers similar programs.  It might be beneficial for both organization to lean from each-other and complement each-others offerings. 

Apparently some folks the Warner School convinced Joel Seligman to accept the Superintendents EPO request which had initially been turned down.  Joanne Larson (Michael W Scandling Professor of Education Chair, Teaching & Curriculum Department) is the person to talk withabout the program.

Her Contact Info is:

478 LeChase Hall
P.O. Box 270425
Rochester, NY 14627-0425
585 275-0900
jlarson@warner.rochester.edu 

She vaguely remembered that the PLEX CAMPUS group had reached out to the Warner School.  She was not directly involved.  The reason they did not pursue that offer was that they have a very small number of students in their graduate-school-only program and they are all accommodated in the partnership they already have with another city school.  She thinks that contact with the District about working with East began in late March.

That's what I have for today on these topics.  Chime in if you have something to add.

John