Airick West
Kansas City school board member Airick West is meeting with President Obama today to discuss ways to improve urban schools.
The school district says West is part of a group of superintendents and leaders of the Council of the Great City Schools who are meeting with the President about ways to strengthen educational opportunities for students. The focus will be on the successes school leaders have seen and the importance of continued investment in reforms to help all children succeed.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will also attend.
Here’s more from the school district:
Mr. West was invited to the meeting because he is a member of the Council’s Board of Directors and because of the commitment made by Superintendent R. Stephen Green, to the President’s My Brothers’ Keeper initiative, which seeks to increase academic achievement among young men of color.
The investments made in education by KCPS and other members of the Council of Great City Schools are starting to pay off, with higher reading and math scores, high school graduation rates at all-time highs, and smaller achievement gaps. Graduation rates are improving not only overall, but also at even higher rates among minority students and other groups whose graduation rates have lagged. According to new data to be released today by the Department of Education, high school graduation rates for African-American students, American Indian students, Hispanic students, low income students, and students with limited English proficiency across the country have each increased by more than 3 percent over the last two years. Graduation rates overall have increased 2.4 percent over the past two years, to a record 81.4 percent.
At today’s meeting, President Obama is expected to discuss how states and federal government can invest in what is working in school districts like KCPS in order to amplify that success. He is also expected to urge Congress to restore funding to school districts with students who face significant economic, educational and social challenges, and to replace the No Child Left Behind law with one that reduces unnecessary testing while also holding school districts accountable.
Airick West is a fine representative of Kansas City where ever he goes and what ever might be discussed. This article certainly speaks to his effectiveness and leadership here in KC.