Transforming Urban Schools: Whose Vision? was a successful conference with over 200 attendees across two days, November 14th and 15th, 2003.

The conference’s aim was to promote dialogue regarding the future of urban education which was organized around six topic strands, each representing a current reform strategy. Conference dialogues were coordinated by CUNY Urban Education faculty and invited facilitators: 

 Small Schools - Michelle Fine (CUNY Graduate Center)

Facilitators: (Friday) Olivia Lynch, Local Instructional Superintendent, Region 2, NYC Dept of Ed; Jackie Ancess, NCREST; Bernadette Anand, Bank Street College; Marilyn Gittell, Graduate Center. (Saturday) Bernadette Anand, Bank Street School of Education; Ginette Sosa, Brothas and Sistas United; Luis Delgado, principal, Vanguard High School; Jeremy Kaplan, teacher, East Side Community High School; Alfredo Matthew, teacher, Mott Haven High School

Testing and Evaluation – Joe Kincheloe (Brooklyn College) & Harold Wenglinsky (Baruch College)

Facilitators: (Friday) Alberto Bursztyn, Professor of Education, Brooklyn College (Saturday) Dean Deborah Shanley, Dean of Education, Brooklyn College University             

Technology – Stephen Brier (CUNY Graduate Center)

Facilitator: Bruce Lincoln, Senior Educational Technologist, Manger of Community Outreach, Institute for Learning Technologies, Institute for Urban & Minority Education, Teachers College, Columbia University

Teacher Education – Nick Michelli (University Dean for Teacher Education) & Ken Tobin (CUNY GC)

Facilitator: Penelope Earley, Director, Education Policy Center, George Mason University

Community-Based Reform – Jean Anyon (CUNY Graduate Center)

Facilitators: (Friday) Jackie Ancess, NCREST  (Saturday) Representatives from New Settlement Apartments' Parent Action Committee, Center for Immigrant Families, Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, Sistas on the Rise, Youth Poets from "Urban Word" and Justin Rosado from FIERCE!.

Federal Policies – Stanley Aronowitz (CUNY Graduate Center) Facilitator: Pepi Leistyna, University of Massachusetts-Boston

Student Organizers:

Small Schools: Lori Chajet, Janice Bloom and Mark Dunetz.
Testing and Evaluation: Regina Bernard and Joseph Valentin.
Teacher Education: Regina Bernard and Judith Hill.
Community Based Reform:  Madeline Perez, Carmen. Vargas, Jennifer Weiss, Eve Tuck, Roberto Martinez, Gregory Tewksbury, Kathleen Nolan and Benjamin Enoma.
Federal Policies: Polly Julia.

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Continuing Education and Public Programs provided the necessary administrative help to document those in attendance.

Lunch before the Opening Panel Discussions on November 14th, 12:00-1:00 PM.

Philip M. Anderson, Executive Officer of the Ph.D. Program in Urban Education, introduces the panel of facilitators after lunch.

Starting from the left: Stanley Aronowitz, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Urban Education; Jackie Ancess, NCREST; Alberto Bursztyn, Professor of Education, Brooklyn College; Bruce Lincoln, Senior Educational Technologist, Manger of Community Outreach, Institute for Learning Technologies, Institute for Urban & Minority Education, Teachers College, Columbia University; Penelope Earley, Director, Education Policy Center, George Mason University; Madeline Perez, student of the Ph.D. Program in Urban Education and staff parent organizer at Cypress Hills Community School; Jean Anyon, Professor of Social Policy and Pepi Leistyna, University of Massachusetts-Boston.

Small School breakout. Michelle Fine, Distinguished Professor of Psychology in right background.

Testing and Evaluation breakout with Harold Wenglinsky, Professor of Policy at Baruch at the head of the table and facilitator  Alberto Bursztyn, Professor of Education, Brooklyn College to the left, foreground.

Teacher Education breakout with facilitator Penelope Earley, Director, Education Policy Center, George Mason University in foreground.

Technology breakout  with facilitator Bruce Lincoln, Senior Educational Technologist, Manger of Community Outreach, Institute for Learning Technologies, Institute for Urban & Minority Education, Teachers College, Columbia University .

Federal Policies breakout with facilitator Pepi Leistyna, University of Massachusetts-Boston sitting at the head of the table.

Community-Base Reform breakout with facilitator representative from the Urban Word.

Michael Apple, John Bascom Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Policy Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, plenary speaker on November 14th.

November 15th:

Breakfast for early arrivals on November 15th.

Panel at lunch in the Dining Commons. Starting from the left:
Dean Nicolas Michelli, Teacher Education; Stanley Aronowitz, Distinguished Professor of urban education; Bernadette Anand, Bank Street School of Education; Associate Provost Steve Brier, U.S. Social History and New Media Technology and Harold Wenglinsky, Professor of Policy, Baruch College.

Lunch being served in the Dining Commons.

Lunch conversations on related topics to the conference over lunch.