News Alert
CER SALUTES EDUCATION REFORM'S UNSUNG HEROES
October 27, 1998, Washington, DC – The Center for Education Reform (CER) tonight honored six distinguished heroes in education reform.
The tribute to each winner was announced at the Center for Education Reform’s Fifth Anniversary Celebration and Salute to the Nation’s Unsung Education Reform Heroes.
“These awards were given to six individuals who represent some of the nation’s most effective and dedicated education reformers. While there are hundreds more working daily to bring about better opportunities for all children, these individuals stand out for daring to buck conventional wisdom, and succeeding in the face of enormous obstacles that a well-entrenched establishment manufactures almost daily,” said CER President Jeanne Allen. “Because of their efforts, our shared goals have been met hundreds of times in hundreds of ways in communities across the country.”
The awardees were honored for their accomplishments advancing better educational opportunities for children, by nationally recognized authorities and leaders in reform who gathered at The Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, DC. The award winners are:
The Honorable Dwight Evans – Representative Evans (PA) has been a commanding leader in inner city Philadelphia and has forged bipartisan coalitions to bring about real educational change.
Ms. Laura Friedman – Volunteers as Director of the Missouri Charter Schools Information Center and serves as an elected Democratic Township committeewoman in St. Louis County. Almost single-handedly, Ms. Friedman fueled citizens and state lawmakers to take on charter schools as a critical education reform to rescue children from failing schools.
Mr. Bill Manning – President, Red Clay Consolidated School District in Wilmington, DE. Because of his leadership, Delaware has realized charter schools, better standards and more accountability. His commitment to excellence is one reason that the charter school he fought to establish just achieved the highest average SAT scores of any public high school in the state.
Mr. Mike McKeown and Mr. Paul Clopton – Co-founders of Mathematically Correct! in San Diego, CA, a homegrown but nationally recognized ‘virtual’ organization that has challenged flawed math teaching in US schools and helped to restore integrity to math instruction and other subjects throughout California and in dozens of other states nationwide.
Dr. Howard Fuller – Dr. Fuller is a former Superintendent of the Milwaukee Public School District. He was a champion of reform before reform was a headline issue and has spiritedly engaged parents and educators alike to demand radical, fundamental change with school choice a critical piece of restoring excellence to urban education.
Mrs. Leah Vukmir – Founder, Parents Raising Educational Standards in Schools (PRESS). Under her leadership, PRESS grew from a band of ten parents to over 1,000 members statewide. This education reform group has demonstrated that parents can make a huge difference in educational policy.
The Center also paid tribute to its Chairman of five years, Mr. Jerry Hume. A leading businessman and native of San Francisco, Hume helped found the Center, and has spent more than a decade involved in major educational policy efforts. He was both a member of the California State Board of Education and the National Assessment Governing Board, which directs the “Nation’s Report Card,” (NAEP).
The Center for Education Reform celebrated its fifth anniversary with a special salute to the six award winners. The evening was capped off by a special musical presentation by the Colin Powell Academy of Detroit (a charter school) children’s choir and a pathbreaking speech by national scholar, author and education leader, E.D. Hirsch.
The Center continues its celebration Wednesday with an all day education reform conference, American Education: The Next 15 Years, also at The Four Seasons Hotel, in Washington, DC.
Founded in 1993, the Center has grown to become an authoritative voice for innovative education reform, an active broker for change, and a leader in the battles that have fundamentally altered the national debate on what true education reform means, how it can be achieved, and who is responsible for achieving it.
For a full report on CER's Fifth Anniversary Celebration and Salute to the Nation’s Unsung Education Reform Heroes and CER's National Conference "American Education: The Next 15 Years," read the Golden Anniversary Issue of the Monthly Letter to Friends.