Michael Klonsky and Pedro Noguera

Compelling research over the last thirty years suggests that small schools improve grades and test scores while also contributing to lower dropout rates.  These findings are particularly significant for female students and students of color.  In addition, small schools appear to be safer and more secure as violence and alcohol and drug use among students tend to decrease in small school environments.  While advocates of small schools date back to the 1960’s, today, small school initiatives can be found in every major city in the nation.  Noguera and Klonsky will discuss progress in bringing the small schools initiative to the Western New York community.  They will discuss how the small schools model will meet the specific education needs of the Western New York community, along with various practical issues that must be considered.  

Dr. Michael Klonsky - Dr. Klonsky is currently the executive director of the Small Schools Workshop at University of South Florida.  He has written extensively on the benefits of small schools as well as on broader school reform issues. He is also the author of Small Schools: The Numbers Tell a Story (University of Illinois Small Schools Workshop) and is currently co-editing Simple Justice: The Challenge for Teachers in Small Schools (Teachers College Press). 

Dr. Pedro Noguera - A professor in the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University and the Director of the Metro Center for Research on Urban Schools and Globalization, Pedro Noguera is also an urban sociologist whose scholarship and research focuses on the ways in which schools are influenced by social and economic conditions in the urban environment. He has served as an advisor and engaged in collaborative research with several large urban school districts throughout the United States. He has also done research on issues related to education and economic and social development in the Caribbean, Latin America, and several other countries throughout the world.  He is the author of numerous books and articles, the most recent being City Schools and the American Dream  (Teachers College Press). 

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23^RD, 2004
8:30 A.M. – 10:00 A.M. (registration and breakfast begin at 8:00 A.M.)
University at Buffalo – Amherst/North Campus Student Union, Room 145
To register by phone call (716) 645- 6642 OR by fax to (716) 645-2479
The $50.00 registration fee (students may attend for $20) includes a Continental Breakfast

*Free parking in Jarvis B lot – see www.gse.buffalo.edu/dc/ccpe/ for directions