A Message from Education Action: Toronto November 16, 2010 The "Achievement Gap" Debate and the Continued Underfunding of Canadian Education Dear Friends, The Inner City Advisory Committee of the Toronto District School Board (ICAC) is reaching out to a broad constituency of “students, parents, community agencies, post-secondary institutions, teacher federations, trustees and representatives from (Board) advisory committees” to engage in two questions: What is the meaning of the official “achievement gap” in our schools? How can we get beyond the current emphasis on standardized test scores and introduce a much deeper understanding of equity in the education of marginalized students.
The committee hopes that as many members of the public as possible will become involved in this discussion. Click here to download "Achievement Gap Task Force (Draft Report)" Click here to download "Achievement Gap Critique" Click here to download "What Are We Teaching Our Kids" We are also attaching, from Doug Little’s always informative and thoughtful blog (www.thelittleeducaitionreport.com), a summary of Hugh Mackenzie’s latest figures on the underfunding of Canadian education. Once again, Mackenzie’s analysis shows a dramatic decline in provincial support for education, especially when compared with many American states. Click here to download "Underfunding Canadian Education" Both these issues – the “achivement gap” and underfunding – demand our closest attention as well much more intensive organizing than progressive forces in our city and province have so been able to manage. Now that the trustee election is over, we hope this analysis and organizing will move up to a new level of purpose and energy. In solidarity,
George
Martell and Faduma Mohamed
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