Education reformer to speak in Shreveport

Originally published in the Shreveport Times on October 17, 2011

Education reformer to speak in Shreveport

Written by: Mary Nash-Wood

Full article available at: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011110170315

Every child, regardless of income, race, creed or gender, can succeed.

That's the message world-renowned education reformer Geoffrey Canada will bring to Shreveport in a sold-out event sponsored by the Northwest Louisiana Community Foundation.

Canada's creation, the Harlem Children's Zone, has been acclaimed by The New York Times as "one of the most ambitious social-service experiments of our time." The project is a concept in which the community as a whole surrounds its children so that they can stay on track from birth through college and into the workforce. Harlem Children's Zone is the inspiration for President Barack Obama's Promise Neighborhoods program.

Canada has been named one of Time magazine's most influential people in the world and is featured in the education reform documentary "Waiting for Superman."

He will speak at a luncheon Thursday in First United Methodist Church's Bain Hall, in its Hunter Building, 500 Common St., Shreveport.

"The Community Foundation is very excited to bring ideas to our community on a variety of topics and to bring people that are not only talking about these ideas but are implementing them very successfully in their own communities," said Paula Hickman, executive director of the Community Foundation.

Hickman said while everything Canada did in the Harlem Children's Zone may not be applicable to Caddo Parish, this is an opportunity for community members to ask him questions on how to bring such a concept to North Louisiana.

"He is a powerful and innovative speaker who is so passionate about making a difference in the lives of children in both the education provided to students and making sure every student has access to the services they need both in and outside of school," Hickman said.

Canada's speech was made possible through private donations as well as contributions from the Davis Family Foundation, the Beaird Foundation, the Women's Philanthropy Network and the Alliance for Education.

"What Geoffrey Canada has done in Harlem by taking 100 square blocks and completely transforming the lives of the children within those blocks is nothing short of remarkable," said Scott Hughes, executive director of the Alliance for Education. "He didn't accept the status quo for Harlem's children and set out to change their lives, and he's been very successful in that."

Hughes said bringing Canada to Caddo could not have come at a better time.

"In Caddo Parish, many parents and people in the community want to look beyond the way we've been doing things for the last 30 years and see if there is another way, a better way of providing our children with a quality education," Hughes said. "Geoffrey Canada is a very powerful speaker with a very powerful message and the Alliance for Education is very happy to be able to assist in bringing him here."