April 25: What's Next for Chicago Public Schools?

Linda Lutton (Moderator), reporter for WBEZ's education desk, covers the Chicago Public Schools, suburban schools, regional and state education issues and the No Child Left Behind Act. Linda also has led a successful freelance reporting career and was the lead education reporter for the Daily Southtown, where she covered trends and education stories across 85 school districts in Chicago's south suburbs and provided selective coverage of the Chicago Public Schools. Her work has earned her numerous awards, including a 2005 National Education Writers Association first prize for investigative journalism and the Chicago Headline Club's 2005 Watchdog Award.

Josh Anderson was appointed Executive Director of Teach For America in Chicago in February 2007. He previously worked as a Teach For America corps member in New York City. He graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 2004, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and was a 2005 Rhodes Scholar finalist.

Dominic Belmonte was named Golden Apple Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer in 2006. He had previously served as Director of Teacher Preparation. Belmonte, a former English teacher and department chair at York Community High School in Elmhurst, received the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1987.

Miguel del Valle is the first Latino to hold the office of City Clerk of Chicago. Prior to being elected City Clerk in 2006, del Valle was elected the first Hispanic Senator in the Illinois General Assembly, where he served for 20 years. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Advance Illinois and Chairs the Illinois P-20 Council, which studies and makes recommendations on education initiatives for students in pre-K through grade twenty.

Karen Lewis is the President of the Chicago Teachers Union and a chemistry teacher at Martin Luther King College Preparatory High School. Lewis is a National Board Certified teacher and has advanced degrees in Inner City Education and Film & Video Fine Arts.

Pauline Lipman is a Professor of Educational Policy at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Dr. Lipman's research focuses on race and class inequality in schools, globalization, and the political economy and cultural politics of race in urban education.

Reverend Calvin Morris was named Executive Director of Community Renewal Society in 1998. Prior to Community Renewal Society, Morris served 16 years at the Howard University School of Divinity as Director of Field Education and Director of Ministries to Church and Society, as well as Executive Vice-President of Academic Services and Academic Dean at Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in Atlanta, Georgia.

Ted Purinton is chair and assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at National-Louis University. He is the recent author of Six Degrees of School Improvement: Creating a New Profession of Teaching (IAP Press).

May 9: What Keeps School Reformers Going?

Alison Cuddy (Moderator) is the host of WBEZ's award-winning weekday newsmagazine "Eight Forty-Eight." Prior to becoming the full-time host of the program, Alison served as the senior producer of "Chicago Matters," the year-long series examining various topics of broad interest to the region. Prior to joining WBEZ, Alison worked in the Immigration Department of ThoughtWorks, Inc. in Chicago and was an adjunct professor at DePaul University, as well as a teaching fellow at the University of Pittsburgh.

Ky Adderley is the founder and principal of KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) AMP (Always Mentally Prepared) Public Charter School in Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Adderley earned his bachelor’s and master's degree in Education Policy from Georgetown University, as well as a Degree of Advanced Studies in Administration & Supervision from National Louis University, where he is currently pursuing his doctorate. Prior to KIPP AMP Academy, Mr. Adderley joined Teach For America and taught sixth grade at Bruce-Monroe Elementary School in Washington, DC. In his first year of teaching, Mr. Adderley was awarded the prestigious Outstanding New Teacher of the Year Award for 2001–02.

William Ayers, author, Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago (retired), and founder of both the Small Schools Workshop and the Center for Youth and Society, taught courses in interpretive and qualitative research, urban school change, and teaching and the modern predicament.

Melissa Barton is currently finishing a one-year teaching residency at Chicago Academy High School, a CPS school partnered with the Academy for Urban School Leadership. She is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of English at The University of Chicago, and has worked with several venerable South Side institutions, such as the DuSable Museum of African American History, and the South Side Community Art Center. Upon completing her residency year, she plans to continue teaching English in CPS.

Eve Ewing is a Language Arts teacher at Pershing West Middle School in the Bronzeville community. Prior to her position at Pershing West Middle School, Ms. Ewing worked as an After School Matters writing instructor and an aide in first- and second-grade classrooms. Her commentary on the arts, media, politics, and urban life has appeared on NPR’s Morning Edition and in publications such as In These Times, Newcity, Time Out Chicago, and AREA Chicago.

Elizabeth Kirby is the principal at Kenwood Academy High School. In 1999 she began her career at Kenwood Academy as a history teacher, winning a Golden Apple Award during her second year. A member of the second cohort of New Leaders for New Schools, Ms. Kirby worked as an assistant principal at Kenwood Academy from 2003 to 2005 and became the principal in 2005. Ms. Kirby is currently serving as a member of Mayor-Elect Rahm Emanuel’s Education Transition Team.

Harold Levy is Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Kaplan, Inc., a leading provider of educational and career services. Levy was the New York City Schools Chancellor for approximately three years beginning in January 2000. In that role, he served as chief executive and instructional leader of a public school system with 1.1 million students, 100,000 employees and a $14 billion budget.

Ignacio Lopez is an assistant professor of Education at National Louis University. Dr. Lopez has been a high school English teacher, reading teacher, AVID teacher, and administrator in the Chicago Public Schools. His local and national work focuses on teacher education, school turnaround, and community-school relationships. He is the author of Why Are the Latino Students Late for Class?

Deborah W. Meier is currently at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education, as senior scholar a as well as Board member and director of New Ventures at Mission Hill, director and advisor to Forum for Democracy and Education, and on the Board of The Coalition of Essential Schools. Meier has spent more than four decades working in public education as a teacher, writer and public advocate.

Sonia Nieto is Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy, and Culture, School of Education, University of Massachusetts. Dr. Nieto has taught students at all levels from elementary through graduate school, and continues to speak and write on multicultural education, teacher preparation, the education of Latinos, and other culturally and linguistically diverse student populations.

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