An Exclusive Interview with Dr. Ellen Bassuk of The National Center on Family Homelessness

The Journey Begins radio for the engaged parent and dedicated educator presents an exclusive interview with Dr. Ellen Bassuk founder and president of The National Center on Family Homelessness.

Dr. Bassuk is a leading clinician, researcher, and advocate on behalf of homeless families and individuals. At the forefront of homelessness for three decades, she has pioneered some of the seminal work on the role of violence, trauma, and mental illness in the lives of homeless families and children. Dr. Bassuk has served in leadership positions in the Worcester Family Research Project, National Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness, National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative, and Chronic Homelessness Initiative. In addition to The National Center on Family Homelessness, she is founder and Manager of the Center for Social Innovation.

Dr. Bassuk is a board certified psychiatrist and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She is a graduate of Brandeis University and Tufts University School of Medicine, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Northeastern University. She served as Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.

A View of the Landscape

A glimpse of the educational landscape reveals educational systems at all levels are facing significant economic challenges which jeopardize their ability to deliver quality education. Many educational institutions are ushering in new eras as leadership changes and mission statements shift.

• Prince George's Board of Education to eliminate 120 full-time parent liaisons next year to save money.....Read More at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/05/AR2010030503028.html
• New Morgan State University president intends to be an agent of change.....Read More at http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.wilson15dec15,0,171495.story
• More choices for Baltimore 8th-graders: New, smaller high schools attract high achievers…..Read More at http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.highschools03jan03,0,364803.story
• The former president of the Chicago Board of Education has been tapped to chair the City Colleges of Chicago Board of Trustees.....Read More at http://www.chicagodefender.com/article-7277-former-cps-president-picked-for-city-colleges-board.html
• Literacy Rates Rapidly Improving in St. Louis Public Schools…..Read More at http://www.stlouisargus.com/Education%20Page.htm
• St. Louis Post Dispatch reports "Parents as Teachers faces Missouri cuts in its model".....Read More at http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/missouristatenews/story/ACC2C697EE854CA0862576DE0013D940?OpenDocument

A DISCUSSION WITH DR. REGINALD S. AVERY, PRESIDENT OF COPPIN STATE UNIVERSIY ON COPPIN’S ROLE IN THE COMMUNITY

The Journey Begins radio for the engaged parent and dedicated educator presents a discussion with Dr. Reginald S. Avery, President of Coppin State University on the role of higher education and community involvement.

Dr. Reginald S. Avery officially assumed the presidency of 109-year-old Coppin State University, on January 14, 2008. Dr. Avery, who was serving as Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of South Carolina Upstate, became Coppin’s fifth president, succeeding Dr. Stanley F. Battle. Dr. Avery brought more than 35-years of experience in higher education to Coppin State University and a strong allegiance to its mission and a pledge to advance excellence and effectiveness.

Dr. Avery had served as Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Professor at the University of South Carolina Upstate (USC) since 2003. In 2006-07, he served as the institution’s Acting Chancellor while the Chancellor was on sabbatical. Previously, he was Provost at Alma College in Michigan, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Kentucky State University and Founding Dean of the School of Professional Programs at Benedict College in South Carolina. He served on the faculty of the University of Tennessee and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. While holding leading posts at USC Upstate, Dr. Avery served on several boards, including those of the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, Urban League of the Upstate, and 100 Black Men.

Dr. Avery holds a Ph.D. from the Florence Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, an M.S.W. from the George Williams College of Aurora University, and a B.S. in sociology from North Carolina A&T State University. He and his wife Esther have three adult children and two grandchildren.

A DISCUSSION ON THE ROLE OF PARENTAL ENGAGEMENT WITH DR. ANDRÉS ALONSO, CEO, BALTIMORE CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The Journey Begins radio for the engaged parent and dedicated educator presents a discussion with Dr. Andres Alonso, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools on the role and importance of parental engagement.

At the age of 12, Dr. Andres Alonso emigrated to the United States from Cuba with his parents. Originally speaking no English, he attended public schools in Union City, New Jersey, and ultimately graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University. Dr. Alonso went on to earn a J.D. from Harvard Law School and practiced law in New York City before changing course to become an educator. In 2006 he was awarded a Doctorate in Education from Harvard University.

From 1987 to 1998, Dr. Alonso taught emotionally disturbed special education adolescents and English language learners in Newark, New Jersey. He worked at the New York City Department of Education from 2003 to 2007, first as Chief of Staff and then as Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, working closely with the Chancellor in planning and implementing the reform of the largest educational system in the nation.

On July 1, 2007, Dr. Alonso was named CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools), and immediately launched a series of innovative programs. In the first two years of his tenure, Baltimore City students reached their highest outcomes in state exams, across all categories of students. After elementary students made Adequate Yearly Progress across all No Child Left Behind subgroups for two consecutive years, City Schools exited “Corrective Action” status in 2009. The district also made significant steps toward disengagement in its 25-year-old special education lawsuit, and enrollment in City Schools increased for the first time in decades.
In his reform agenda, Dr. Alonso moved resources and autonomy to principals and school community leaders, while streamlining central office to provide guidance, support and accountability for schools. He also implemented an ambitious program to create 24 new secondary schools over four years, expanded alternative options and closed low performing schools, while focusing on increased student support. Under his leadership, City Schools aggressively enlarged the role of parents in the school decision-making process.

Dr. Alonso’s achievements have been recognized by newspapers and other prestigious organizations in the community. Among many other awards, in 2008 he was granted the “Audacious Individual Award” by the Open Society Institute Baltimore, and named “Innovator of the Year” by The Daily Record. In 2009 he was named “School Superintendent of the Year” by the Fullwood Foundation, and recognized as a “Hispanic Hero Award” winner by U.S. Hispanic Youth Entrepreneur Education. In May 2009 Dr. Alonso was named as only the third recipient of the “Howard Pete Rawlings Courage in Public Service Award” by the Greater Baltimore Committee. In August 2009 Dr. Alonso was appointed to the prestigious No Child Left Behind Committee for the Aspen Institute, a bipartisan effort to improve federal education policy to spur academic progress and close the achievement gap.

Part Two of an Exclusive Interview with Dr. Susan Aldridge

An Exclusive Interview with Dr. Susan Aldridge
President, University of Maryland University College

In a two part series, Dr. Susan Aldridge, President of the University of Maryland University College responds to eight questions from Education The Natural Bridge (ETNB).

ETNB: What role does business and industry have in the development of your academic programs and have you partnered with local and national organizations to enhance the academic achievement of UMUC students?

Dr. Aldridge: Every UMUC degree program is developed to meet the needs of our nation’s workforce, so that students can easily apply a degree to a career.

To ensure the quality and real-world application of our academic programs, UMUC has created a worldwide learning network, which includes a growing number of collaborative relationships with other institutions of higher education, federal, state and local governments, and corporations. One example is a recent collaboration with Booz Allen Hamilton, which inspired the university to launch the first-ever comprehensive higher education initiative to meet the growing demand for knowledge leaders in cybersecurity. This fall, UMUC is launching bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in cybersecurity, which were also created in response to calls from Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley to establish Maryland as a cybersecurity hub. UMUC’s new programs will help fill the critical need for thousands of cybersecurity professionals in the months and years ahead.

ETNB: How has technology allowed UMUC to expand internationally?

Dr. Aldridge: UMUC has had an international presence since 1949, providing education to military service members in Europe. Since then, UMUC’s online courses and student services have allowed the university to serve students no matter where they are, as long as they have access to the World Wide Web.

ETNB: Share with us how student services is delivered through technology and does student services look different to students in Distance Education?

Dr. Aldridge: Online and on-site students all benefit from the same commitment to outstanding student services. As a university with operations on three different continents and nearly 90,000 students located across 25 time zones, it is essential that we have a system in place to streamline student services and provide access 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our student records have all been digitally uploaded through UMUC’s Singularity Suite, which enables student services to access student information quickly and efficiently. This technology, which was implemented in 2008, has helped streamline student services for both online and on-site students.

ETNB: If I say this statement, "Technology has further democratized education". Would you agree? If so, what would you add to that statement?

Dr. Aldridge: I would absolutely agree. Technology has made education more attainable and flexible for students looking to pursue a bachelor’s degree or advance their careers while working full-time and/or raising a family. It has “broken down the walls” of many brick-and-mortar schools, with 97 percent of two and four-year institutions offering some degree programs online. In fact, a recent survey showed that fall 2008 online enrollments were up 17 percent nationwide over the previous year, with about 4.6 million students taking at least one class online.

Especially in this economy, it is all the more important for institutions to offer more online opportunities for students to change or enhance their careers.