Arne Duncan & Co. visit Ann Arbor, New Tech

Arne Duncan, our Secretary of Education, is on a Midwest tour. He'll be visiting Ann Arbor on Thursday, September 8th, 2011. 

As this note from Dean of the School of Education Deborah Ball states,

He, along with a faculty panel, will discuss ways to promote excellence in America's classrooms, particularly for underserved students, and the roles for different sectors—e.g., the Federal government, states, higher education, entrepreneurs—in leveraging effective improvement. This moderated discussion will be followed by plenty of time for Q&A from the audience.
The event will take place in the Prechter Laboratory (room 2202) from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. I hope you will come to hear from and share your thoughts with this important national education leader. Space will be limited, so please arrive early. (Emphases added.)

The good news is, this is open to the public! The Prechter Laboratory is in the School of Education building, 610 E. University, Ann Arbor. If you go, please share with Secretary Duncan your feelings about using tests as a primary means to assess children and teachers; about the failures of No Child Left Behind; about small class sizes; about supporting teachers. Tell him what you think about his version of "educational reform." And if you go, I would love it if you would write about the experience in the comments.

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Meanwhile, on the other side of our county (just a few miles away, really), his senior advisor--Greg Darnieder--will be visiting Ypsilanti's New Tech High School, which is housed in the former Ardis Elementary building. According to the Ypsilanti Schools press release,

In July 2011, the Ypsilanti New Tech @ Ardis site received National Demonstration Site Status—based on its high fidelity of implementation—making it eligible to host national attendees for Executive Tours for the New Tech Network, a non-profit organization that works with schools and communities to implement innovative high schools.

I understand that the state's Superintendent of Schools, Michael Flanagan, will also be at New Tech, along with several other dignitaries. 

If you are there, I'd encourage you to share your thoughts with the Superintendent of Schools and with Arne Duncan's senior advisor.