Congressman Richard Gephardt Among Those Addressing Education Achievement Gap During Summer Policy Institute

Nearly 100 national leaders and practitioners will present new data and address the widening achievement gap among America’s public school students during the Yale Child Study Center’s School Development Program Summer Policy Institute, taking place July 25-27 in Washington, D.C.

The core theme of the conference will be the role of policy in providing support to close the achievement gap among ethnic minority students. This issue will be discussed during a dialogue session hosted by United States Representative Major R. Owens (11th, NY) on Capitol Hill on July 26. Representatives Elijah Cummings (7th, MD) and Richard A. Gephardt (3rd, MO), and members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce will also take part in the discussion.

“The root causes that result in fundamental problems such as the achievement gap are so deeply embedded in our society that they have never really been addressed at the national level,” said James P. Comer, M.D., the Maurice Falk professor of Child Psychiatry at the Yale Child Study Center. “This conference offers a unique opportunity for policy makers to come together to discuss viable solutions to this burgeoning problem.”

State education officials and representatives from a variety of educational and community organizations will join the leaders and practitioners from the School Development Program Network at the institute to address educational strategies and solutions.

The Yale School Development Program was developed in 1968 by Comer, an internationally recognized leader in education reform, who also serves as associate dean of the Child Study Center and of student affairs at Yale School of Medicine. The program works with nearly 800 schools in the United States and in Trinidad and Tobago. The team has been helping inner city and rural schools improve through research-based, child-centered practices. Through its work in schools, the program has recognized the need for policymakers to be aware of the obstacles and opportunities for sustainable reform.