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The New America Foundation presents provocative seminars on many topics 
ranging from foreign policy to a variety of domestic issues.  Bob Russell
Learning Experience Design
(202) 997-5539
[log in to unmask]

Fighting Fade-Out in Education:  The Need for Standardized Alignment in 
Teaching and Learning
Date/Time:       Thursday, January 19th, 2006                        12:15 
-1:45 p.m. 
                        Light refreshments will be provided
 Location:         New America Foundation              1630 Connecticut Ave., 
NW, 7th Floor
                        Washington, DC 20009
 
Opening Remarks:       Michael Dannenberg
Director, Education Policy Program
New America Foundation
 
Speakers:                    Diane Ravitch
Former Assistant Secretary of Education 
President George H. W. Bush
 
Andrew Rotherham
Former Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy
President Bill Clinton
 
                                    Kristie Kauerz 
                                    Ph.D. Candidate 
Teachers College, Columbia University
 
Every year, American children emerge from pre-kindergarten and kindergarten 
programs excited about learning and equipped with the skills to succeed, only 
to lose this momentum in elementary school.  While education experts agree on 
the value of high-quality early education, there is a real danger of losing 
those short-term academic gains as these children move through the primary 
grades.  As much as 60 to 80 percent of cognitive gains associated with 
pre-kindergarten can disappear by the end of 1st grade.  The “fade-out” phenomenon is a 
major reason critics dismiss early childhood programs, such as Head Start, as 
ineffective and a misallocation of precious resources.  What can be done to 
ensure that children retain critical literacy, mathematics, and language skills 
needed as they progress from one grade to the next? 
 Please join the New America Foundation for the second in a series of 
briefings about early education reform, specifically focusing on pre-kindergarten 
through grade three (PK-3).  New America will release a new policy paper 
examining “vertical, horizontal, and temporal” academic alignment as a solution to 
the fade-out problem and offering policy recommendations for associated changes 
at the national, state, and local levels.
To RSVP your attendance, please reply to this email 
([log in to unmask]).  If you have questions about this event, please call or email Soumya 
Bhat at (202) 986-2700, ext. 322 or [log in to unmask]
New America Foundation:  http://www.newamerica.net/


 


Robert L. Russell, Ph.D., Principal
Learning Experience Design
(202) 997-5539
[log in to unmask]

Science Advisor, Celebra la Ciencia
www.celebralaciencia.org

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