USC Kicks Off EdMonth
The inaugural USC Education Month kicked off Monday as the first national student-led movement to discuss the state of education in America.
Education Month, or EdMonth, is an initiative that will serve as a platform for examining America's school system. It will incoporate representatives and leaders from public platforms, both from the Los Angeles Unified School district and the government.
"I think we can all do our part to contribute to the conversation about education," councilmember Jan Perry said.
"If it's not after-school programs, building more schools or making sure parks are available for kids with recreational programs that are fully funded, everybody can bring something to the table on that," Perry added.
The opening news conference at noon on Monday took place in front of Tommy Trojan on the USC campus and included a confetti photo opp. Educators, policy makers, elected officials, engaged citizens, and students attended the conference.
A kickoff event will be held Monday night at 6pm in Bovard Auditorium, when Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will open a program titled "Transforming Education: Leveling the Playing Field."
"What you learn more and more determines what you earn and learning and earning are so interconnected now that schooling becomes much more important," USC Education Professor Guilbert Hentschke said.
The event will also feature Wendy Kopp, the CEO and Founder of Teach for America, and Monica Garcia, the LAUSD Board President.
Topics that will be covered include the effort to eliminate education inequity, strategies to put education at the forefront of our nation's agenda and the realistic progress education leaders hope to see in the U.S. within the next five years.
"We can't reasonably expect everybody to want to go out and do things right now," said Pierre Tasci of the EdMonth Organizing Committee. "But we want people to at least understand the problem and care about it. We just hope that students take these problems to heart and understand that they can be a part of the solution."
RELATED:
