Education Equality Project Announces Election of New Board Chairs

NEW YORK, February 3, 2010 - The Education Equality Project (EEP), a leader in the civil rights movement to eliminate the racial and ethnic achievement gap in public education, today announced that Joel I. Klein, Chancellor, New York City schools; Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D., President and CEO of UNCF; and Janet Murguía, President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza were unanimously elected as Co-Chairpersons of the EEP Board of Directors. Klein, Lomax and Murguía are all recognized as national leaders in advocating for education reform, working to provide equal access to a college education for low-income students and students of color, and advocating for civil rights and opportunity for all Americans. Together, the three bring an unparalleled commitment to ensuring equity in education.

“Our nation has yet to live up to the promise of equal educational opportunity for every child established in the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education,” said Joel I. Klein, Chancellor, New York City schools. “I am honored to join with Michael Lomax and Janet Murguía in the Education Equality Project’s efforts to eliminate the racial and ethnic achievement gap by creating an effective school for every child.”

“President Obama has committed the nation to regain world leadership in the percentage of citizens with a college education,” said Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D., UNCF President and CEO. “And we can’t create that strong pipeline of college graduates without starting early, on the first day of pre-school, to make sure every child has an education that isn’t complete until the day they graduate from college. It is that strong foundation that will enable the next generation of doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and teachers to get the college degrees they need – and that our nation needs them to have to help America compete globally.”

"It is important that the educational system uses its resources to ensure equitable educational opportunities for all of its students," said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. "The EEP brings together diverse stakeholders committed to addressing the educational needs of primarily low-income students of color and seeks policy solutions to make sure that these students can reach their potential."

The Education Equality Project focuses on closing the achievement gaps that separate low-income students and students of color from other youth. To accomplish this, EEP focuses its advocacy on education reforms that:

• Ensure an effective teacher in every classroom, and an effective principal in every school, by paying educators as the professionals they are, by giving them the tools and training they need to succeed, and by making tough decisions about those who do not;
• Empower parents by giving them a meaningful voice in where their children are educated including public charter schools;
• Create accountability for educational success at every level—at the system and school level, for teachers and principals, and for central office administrators;
• Commit to making every decision about whom to employ, how money is spent, and where resources are deployed with a single-minded focus: what will best serve our students, regardless of how it affects other interests;
• Call on parents and students to demand more from their schools, but also to demand more from themselves;
• Have the strength of our convictions to stand up to those political forces and interests who seek to preserve a failed system.

###

About Education Equality Project

The Education Equality Project (EEP) is a bipartisan advocacy organization that believes education reform is the most pressing civil rights issue of our generation. EEP is building a movement of elected officials, civil rights activists, educators, business and public policy leaders, parents, students, teachers, and concerned citizens dedicated to closing the racial and ethnic achievement gap in U.S. public education. Our mission is to close the education achievement gap for low-income and minority students in U.S. public schools and to increase academic opportunities and improve achievement for all students. For more information, go to www.edequality.org or http://twitter.com/EdEquality.

About UNCF

UNCF—the United Negro College Fund—is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, strengthens its 39 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 18 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized motto, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."® Learn more at www.UNCF.org

About NCLR

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) – the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States – works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. Through its network of nearly 300 affiliated community-based organizations, (CBOs), NCLR reaches millions of Hispanics each year in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. www.nclr.org

For more information:

Melissa Ratcliff

VA/R for the Education Equality Project

melissa@varpartners.net

310.429.2778

Joye Griffin

UNCF Press Secretary

Joye.Griffin@uncf.org

703-205-3480

Sherria Cotton

National Council of La Raza

scotton@nclr.org

202.785.1670

VIEW THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Categories: Press Releases