Thursday, March 04, 2010
OSU College of Education to Host Brock Symposium March 25
STILLWATER, Okla. (March 2, 2010) – On Thursday, March 25, the Oklahoma State University College of Education will host the 2010 Brock Symposium on Excellence in Education at OSU-Tulsa. The event features this year’s winner of the Brock International Prize in Education Geoffrey Canada, creator of the Harlem Children’s Zone, whose work has become a national model and been called “one of the most ambitious social experiments of our time.” The 2010 Symposium theme is “Communities Approach to Rebuilding Education.”
Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone project (HCZ) targets a 100-block area and aims to serve 10,000 children by 2011 by building an infrastructure of support through educational, social and medical services starting at birth and continuing until college. HCZ’s goal is to create a safety net that insures they benefit from a quality education.
Canada and the HCZ project have garnered national attention for their work. Author Paul Tough wrote the book “Whatever It Takes,” released in 2008, which provides a detailed look at the work of Canada and the Harlem Children’s Zone. Canada and HCZ have been highlighted by a number of national media outlets, including a piece that appeared on 60 minutes in December 2009.
Registration for the Brock Symposium begins at 9 a.m. with events continuing throughout the day. A noon session will highlight Canada’s work and include an informal conversation with Canada himself. Following breakout discussions and a closing activity, Canada will give a free public address entitled “The Promise of Education: Reaching Every Child” at 4 p.m. at the Tulsa Union Public Schools Multipurpose Activities Center, located at 6836 S. Mingo.
Since its inception in 2001, the Brock Prize in Education has annually recognized an individual for innovative and effective ideas in education that result in a significant impact on the practice or understanding of the field of education. The laureate is awarded a $40,000 prize at the Brock Symposium.
The award is named for John A. and Donnie V. Brock and is supported by the Brock Family Community Foundation. The Symposium rotates annually between Oklahoma State University, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa.
Online registration is available at www.brockprize.org. Cost for the event is $20 for professionals and $10 for students with lunch included.
