Our schools are not currently up to the challenge of educating a large, diverse group of students, many of whom speak languages other than English, are from low socio-economic backgrounds and often have parents with limited education. What our future looks like depends on our ability to educate these children. The gap in academic achievement between the region's poor -- and predominantly minority -- students and their more affluent peers is not likely to be closed unless the quality of our teachers is improved and the community is more effectively engaged in the process of educating our children.

The Learning Curve: A Series on Education Reform - These public events address the critical challenges in closing the "achievement gap" between poor and minority students and their peers at more affluent schools. Educators, students, parents and other interested members of the community attend.

Previous programs of The Learning Curve

Partners for K-12 School Reform (1999 to early-2002)
Partners for K-12 Education was a county-wide collaboration comprising superintendents, union leaders, school board members and the County Office of Education, in addition to civic and business leaders. The focus of the Partners program was closing the achievement gap between students who attend schools in lower socio-economic areas and those in more affluent communities.

Dr. Stephen Weber, president of San Diego State University, and California State Senator Dede Alpert, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, served as co-chairs of the Partners for K-12 School Reform.