2009 CPER Convening

CPER's 2nd Annual Convening entitled "New Opportunities for Achieving Systemic Education Reforms" was held at the Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on May 29th-30th, 2009.

Over 200 organizers, executive staff, parent leaders, student leaders, funders and invited guests from the four local CPER sites as well as Boston, California, Washington DC, Mississippi and Rhode Island were in attendance. Check out Video #1 below for highlights from this year's Convening!

Opening Plenary

The Opening Plenary featured a stimulating dialogue between Jo Anderson, Senior Advisor to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Dr. John Jackson, President of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, and Khalif Dobson, a Philadelphia Student Union Youth Leader who all discussed opportunities where community voices can play a role in shaping national education reform policies.

Site Visits

For the first time, this year's Convening offered participants the opportunity to attend site visits hosted by four CPER organizing groups in Philadelphia.

• At Philadelphia Student Union's (PSU) office, participants learned about PSU's use of new media as an organizing tool. PSU youth leaders guided participants through a virtual tour of its video, audio, and web tools giving participants the opportunity to blog on their website and sit through interviews on PSU's radio show OnBlast. (Check Video #2 below for highlights!)
  
• Visitors to Youth United for Change's (YUC) offices learned about its successful youth-led campaign for small schools at Kensington High School from conception to implementation. Participants heard firsthand how YUC engaged other partners in a youth-led campaign for high school reform.
  
• Participants attending the site visit hosted by Southeast Asian Mutual Assistant Associations Coalitions (SEAMAAC) and JUNTOS heard from Latino and Southeast Asian parent leaders engaged in a cross-ethnic, regional and district-wide organizing campaign to increase the number of bilingual-bicultural liaisons and to create a district-wide structure for adequately serving English Language Learner (ELL) populations.
  

Closing Plenary

To close the Convening, Wendy Puriefoy, president of the Public Education Network, gave an inspiring speech on the importance of this moment in our country's history and the power organizing to improve our schools. Henry Allen, CPER Consultant, left participants with their own words, reading out some of the most powerful comments to emerge from this year's Convening. To see their remarks, check Video #3 below!

Video #1: Highlights from 2009 CPER Convening

2009 CPER Convening - Highlights from PIP Videos on Vimeo.

Video #2: Philadelphia Student Union Site Visit

Philadelphia Student Union from PIP Videos on Vimeo.

Video #3: Closing Plenary - 2009 CPER Convening

2009 CPER Convening - Closing Remarks from PIP Videos on Vimeo.