Westmont Education Panel Still On!

Although the President's Breakfast talk by former Secretary of Education William J. Bennett on Feb. 11 was postponed due to Bennett’s health, the follow-up discussion, “What’s Right and What’s Wrong with American Education,” will take place as scheduled 5:30 p.m. Feb. 17, at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St.

The panel discussion, lead by local education specialists, is part of the Westmont Downtown Conversation series. Panelists include Peter MacDougall, former president of Santa Barbara City College; Gerri Fausett, superintendent of Hope Elementary School District; Lynne Cavazos, interim director of UCSB’s Teacher Education Program and director of the county Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program; and Westmont education Professor Andrew Mullen.  The event is free and open to the public.

Questions raised during the discussion will include: What are the real issues confronting American Schools? Are the challenges primarily technical or primarily matters of vision and values? Do we need more accountability or less? Is No Child Left Behind helping or hindering teaching and learning? In the half-century since Brown v. Board of Education, how much progress have we really made toward educational equity? In what ways do our local schools mirror key educational challenges at the national level?

For more information, contact the Westmont public affairs office at (805) 565-7057 or e-mail pubaffairs@westmont.edu.