Public schools and open records

Forum will address questions of public access to school information

A public forum, co-sponsored by Brown University's Taubman Center and ACCESS/RI, will discuss the rationale and methods for public access to public school information. Five panelists will make brief presentations beginning at 7 p.m. Monday, May 18, 1998, in Room 102 of Wilson Hall, located on the Brown campus.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Representatives of schools, parents groups, school departments and teachers unions will gather at Brown University Monday, May 18, 1998, for an open forum on public access to public school information. The forum, co-sponsored by the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions and ACCESS/RI, will begin at 7 p.m. in Room 102 of Wilson Hall, located on The College Green.

Participants in the forum will focus on the following questions:

• What information must school departments provide about student achievement and school performance?
• Can public access to assessment records increase public accountability and increase overall quality of the public schools?
• What are the best means to provide this information and other general information about school departments?
• How can school committee minutes and agendas be improved to provide more information to parents and the general public?

Who

Ron Wolk, founder and editor of Education Week
Trudy McKendry, president of the Narragansett Teachers Union
Jane Austin, former member of the Warwick School Committee
Robert Shapiro, superintendent of the Warwick School Department
A member of the state PTA board.

What

Public forum on public access to information from public schools

When

Monday, May 18, 1998, at 7 p.m.

Where

Room 102, Wilson Hall, located on The College Green at Brown University