Chris Belcher, superintendent, Columbia Public Schools
Steve Calloway, president, Minority Men’s Network
Sarah Horn, reporter, Columbia Missourian (joining the program by phone)
A persistent difference in test scores among students from various racial or socio-economic groups has become a central point in discussion about education nationwide. Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Chris Belcher says he wants the Columbia school district to be one of the first in the country to solve this problem of an "achievement gap," and he's reaching out to the community to improve student performance from outside the school walls. In this conversation, we look at what exactly needs fixing, and how Belcher and others believe the community can help. Panelists:
Chris Belcher, superintendent, Columbia Public Schools Steve Calloway, president, Minority Men’s Network Sarah Horn, reporter, Columbia Missourian (joining the program by phone)
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From ragtime to swing to fusion and funk, jazz music has a rich heritage. In this discussion we find out what’s happening with jazz music in mid-Missouri – both as performance and as part of music education. Panelists:
Jon Poses, executive director of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series Arthur White, director of jazz studies and assistant professor, University of Missouri School of Music Steve Williams, former band director and current Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education consultant for fine arts, health and physical education, and driver education With a tough economy and increasing availability of images and information online, art museums are trying to find innovative ways to make visiting your favorite art gallery more of an experience. Panelists discuss what museum curators and directors are doing to keep their collections and galleries relevant in our changing world. Panelists: Mary Pixley, associate curator of European and American art, Museum of Art and Archaeology at the University of Missouri Marc Wilson, former director, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City Bill Appleton, director of education, St. Louis Art Museum (joining the program by phone) Related links:
Google Art Project: http://www.googleartproject.com/ Explanation of the Google Art Project from the official Google Blog A movement is afoot -- and Columbia is part of it -- to address what many call a serious problem: meeting the emotional needs of children. Today's conversation looks at how Columbia administrators, business leaders, community leaders and families are working together to address the emotional needs of the children in our community. It also gives some practical ideas about how parents can be more effective with their parenting. Link to information/schedule of related events in Columbia this week (PDF file) Panelists:
Jack C. Jensen, executive director, First Chance For Children Gerald Newmark, author of "How to Raise Emotionally Healthy Children" and founder of The Children’s Project Peter Stiepleman, assistant superintendent for elementary education, Columbia Public Schools We follow up on our previous discussion with a look at what is -- or should be -- done within the local school systems to limit the chances that any student in mid-Missouri might get bullied, either on campus or online. Panelists:
Tracey Conrad, Hickman High School principal Cherisse Thibaut, Missouri KidsFirst prevention specialist and Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children liaison Morgan Keenan, Missouri Safe Schools coordinator (joining the program by phone) Many involved in education say that what happens to a child before entering kindergarten can have profound effects on the rest of the child's academic career. This discussion takes a look at what is being done in mid-Missouri and elsewhere to help children get off to a good start. Panelists:
Jack Jensen, director of First Chance for Children and former assistant superintendent for elementary education at Columbia Public schools Wayne Mayfield, senior research analyst at MU’s Center for Family Policy & Research Mernell King, early childhood programs director for Central Missouri Community Access; also runs the Early Head Start and Head Start programs for the region (joining by phone) A string of recent suicides has prompted nationwide concern over bullying of gay teens. In this discussion, we explore what the climate is like for gay teenagers growing up here in mid-Missouri. Panelists: Christy Hutton, therapist who works with LGBT college students in Columbia Megan Lee, board member for Prism, a group that supports LGBTQ youth in mid-Missouri Yuki White, Moberly Area Community College student who grew up in Columbia and experienced bullying in middle and high school Dan Savage, Seattle-based syndicated columnist and creator of the "It Gets Better" video project (joining the program by phone) Richard Blount, founder of Open Door Ministries (joining the program by phone, not pictured) Related links:
The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention advocacy group and suicide hotline for gay and questioning youth Coverage of Columbia’s candlelight vigil for the suicides on October 20 (from the Columbia Missourian) Coverage of Spirit Day, organized by GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) -- Students at both Hickman High and Rock Bridge formally participated. (from the Columbia Missourian) Young and Gay in Real America (four-part series by The Washington Post, published in 2004) While the primary focus at MU over the past weekend was success on the football field, Intersection got ready for Homecoming by taking a look at what is being done to ensure that more than 500 student athletes at MU are also successful in the classroom. What kind of resources are devoted to helping MU athletes succeed academically? How does that compare to what other students get? And how well is it all working? Panelists:
Joe Scogin, MU assistant athletic director for academic services Kim Martin, MU assistant athletic director for life skills Larry Ganong, MU professor and chair of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee Kevin Rutland, defensive back, MU football team Nationwide -- and in Columbia -- there are significant disparities in test scores among students from various racial and socio-economic groups. But with more children growing up in poverty and with statewide cuts in funding for programslike Parents as Teachers, addressing this "achievement gap" is becoming more difficult. What does the achievement gap mean for us as a community? Why is it such a difficult thing to tackle? And what actually works in getting all students closer to the same level of academic proficiency? Panelists:
Wanda Brown, assistant superintendent for secondary education, Columbia Public Schools Sally Beth Lyon, chief academic officer, Columbia Public Schools Joining the program by phone: Chris Guinther, president, Missouri National Education Association Cathy Koelher, president, Little Rock Classroom Teachers Association Rumors have been swirling around that the Big Ten conference might be courting MU. If so, what would it mean for the university, for the fans, and for mid-Missouri? This discussion covers the latest developments, looks at what might happen with the Pac-10 and Big 12 conferences, and helps sort out all the speculation. Panelists:
Greg Bowers, Columbia Missourian sports editor and associate professor of journalism at MU Darren Hellwege, KBIA sports director |