The Nation's Voice for Urban Education
March 2023 • Vol. 32 No. 2
Legislative Conference to Feature Award-Winning Journalist, Actor, and Education Secretary 
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Harwood will speak at the Council of the Great City Schools’ Legislative/Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., March 18-21. Harwood has served as White House correspondent for CNN and chief Washington correspondent for CNBC, and has offered political analysis for The New York Times, NBC, MSNBC, NPR, and PBS.
AJ Crabill to School Boards: Put the Focus on Student Success 
AJ Crabill, the director of governance for the Council of the Great City Schools, is author of a new book that aims to set local school boards on a path of continuous improvement to the benefit of student achievement.
Portland School Celebrated as Winner of the Richard M. Robinson Literacy Champion Award 
Oregon’s Portland Public Schools was recently selected as the recipient of the Richard M. Robinson Literacy Champion Award, sponsored by Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education, and media company, in partnership with the Council of the Great City Schools.

Four Urban School Teachers Receive $25,000 Milken Educator Awards 
Growing up, Esther Kwon, an assistant principal at Daniel K. Inouye Elementary in Honolulu located on an army barrack, attended 10 different schools in three countries.
Tracking the Use of ARP Funds 
 
Nevada’s Washoe County School District in Reno received more than $70 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding. Learning facilitators also have been hired so that every elementary school has an experienced instructional leader working directly with teachers and students to improve learning outcomes.

Detroit Improves Graduation Rate; Baltimore Makes Strides in Kindergarten Readiness
Detroit Public Schools Community District recently received some good news about its high school graduation rates. According to the Michigan Department of Education, high school graduation rates in the state’s largest school district increased by 6.5 percentage points, from 64.5 percent to 71.1 percent.

Legislative Column
The Council of the Great City Schools sent the following letter to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and the Workforce prior to the markup of H.R. 5, the Parents Bill of Rights Act.
Upcoming Events
Bilingual, Immigrant, and Refugee Education Directors Meeting
When:
May 2 - May 6, 2023

Where:
Greensboro-High Point Marriott Airport
Greensboro, NC
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Executive Director
Ray Hart
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Editor
Tonya Harris
Staff Writer
Joanne Coley
Staff Writer
Kalin Hicks
Chair
Kelly Gonez
Board Member, Los Angeles
Chair-elect
Guadalupe Guerrero
Superintendent, Portland
Secretary-Treasurer
Darrel Woo
Board Member, Sacramento
A newsletter published by the Council of the Great City Schools, representing 78 of the nation’s largest urban public school districts. Click here to learn more. All news items should be submitted to Tonya Harris ([email protected]).