Sun Devils forEducation Reform

BRINING TO ASU

Students for Education

Reform want to close the

Achievement Gap...

What is the “Achievement Gap”?

By 4th grade, African-American and Latino students are, on

average, nearly three academic years behind their white peers. 

Only 10% of students at Tier 1 colleges (146 most selective) come from the bottom half of the income

distribution.

Barely half of African-American, Latino, and Native American students graduate from

high school, with African American students graduating at 54%, Latinos at 56%, Native

Americans at 51% and their white counterparts at 77%. 

WHAT IS SFER?a network of universities and individuals across the United States dedicated to educational equity

has a mission to “mobilize the next generation of leaders on college campuses to close the achievement gap and ensure an excellent education for all children.”

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=closing+the+achievement+gap&num=10&um=1&hl=en&biw=1188&bih=635&tbm=isch&tbnid=voRqOD5fft-VPM:&imgrefurl=http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/gap&docid=gH-Q66OEvhQMBM&w=2200&h=600&ei=ZlFoTs6MLMPniALZ2Nj8Aw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=303&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=53&tbnw=195&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&tx=122&ty=21

WHAT DO SFER MEMBERS DO?act as policy advocates: SFER members support pro-student state legislation while learning about the “politics of education reform”

raise campus awareness: SFER members host guest speakers, table, and host educational events such as film screenings and “dinner discussions” where members can discuss issues in ed reform and optional or assigned reading- often with invited professors, graduate, or undergraduate students

collaborate with other campus SFER groups as well as work with the national organization and its partners, the Done Waiting Coalition and National School Choice Week

visit schools at high performing schools in traditionally disadvantaged or low-performing districts including: Excel Academy, Roxbury Prep, KIPP RISE Academy, KIPP SPARK, North Star Academy, and Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy, among others.

help fix a broken system

WHAT DOES SFER BELIEVE?

SFER Believes in High Expectations

“We believe that all students, regardless of race or background, are capable of achieving at a high level. While we recognize the challenges of poverty, we believe that a great education is the first step for a student to succeed — a school must not abandon its primary mission of providing an excellent education for its students.”

http://www.studentsforedreform.org/about/what-we-believe/

SFER Believes in Quality School Options and Community Engagement

“We believe that parents and students should be able to select excellent schools that enable students to become active, informed citizens. Parents and students deserve access to meaningful information about the quality of their local schools, and school systems must provide parents and community members with avenues to participate in their children’s education.”

http://www.studentsforedreform.org/about/what-we-believe/

SFER Believes in Rigorous Standards and Meaningful Assessment

“We believe that students deserve clear, high standards and rigorous, meaningful assessment to accompany a culture of high expectations. We believe that transparent and effective use of data can give teachers vital information about how to meet individual student needs. However, we believe assessment should be a means, and not an end, to student learning.”

http://www.studentsforedreform.org/about/what-we-believe/

SFER Believes in Great Teachers and Leaders

“We believe that great teachers and leaders are central to a thriving school, and as students, we value our teachers enormously. We believe that great teachers deserve to be respected and recognized, and that teaching our nation’s children is a privilege, not a right. We believe that schools and school systems must have the ability to attract, support, and retain the best teachers possible.”

http://www.studentsforedreform.org/about/what-we-believe/

http://www.educationequalityproject.org/http://www.studentsforedreform.org/

http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/action/http://www.uncommonschools.org/

http://www.kipp.org/

BE PART OF THE MOVEMENT

CONTACT vmorrow@asu.edu FOR MORE INFORMATION

ON HOW YOU CAN BECOME A MEMBER OF SFER ASU!

Sun Devils for Education Equity!