Alabama State University News November 11, 2014 Steve Perry Challenges Montgomerians to Lead in Literacy, Education Dr. Steve Perry, nationally known education advocate, author and commentator, spoke during a special luncheon at Alabama State University today, stressing the importance of literacy and education and challenging the audience to renew Montgomery's leading role in social justice. The Education Leaders' Luncheon, held in the ballroom of the John Garrick Hardy Student Center, drew a mix of community members as well as ASU students and employees. Perry is best known as the principal and founder of Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford, Conn., a school that year after year has maintained a 100 percent college acceptance rate for the predominantly low-income, minority students it serves. He told the audience that Montgomery's citizens must stand up and take the lead on solving problems in the city's school system. "Your children are as brilliant and as beautiful as any others, but if you keep feeding them to the wolves of failed schools, then it looks like you are doing it on purpose," he said. "If a quarter of Alabama's adults are functionally illiterate, then I struggle to believe that you believe in education at the level that you need to. We can no longer allow the lie to live." Perry also shared his views on school reform, which he believes has not been successful. "I believe that all this stuff we are doing is ridiculous," he said. "I'm not a charter school advocate. I'm a good school advocate. I don't care what the title of the building is; I just want it to work." Perry said Montgomery's residents must accept that the problems that plague public education will not solve themselves. "You do not have a choice; not you, Montgomery," Perry said. "Some other communities can act like it's not really their heritage to do these things, but not in Alabama, not a place where you have created the very blueprint for overcoming the most horrible circumstances. The problem now is that the circumstances that are the most horrible are our own. Montgomery, you were handed a baton in a race for freedom with a lead. You are the solution." Jennifer Lewis, a 2005 ASU graduate, Montgomery educator and doctoral student in ASU's Education, Leadership, Policy and Law (ELPL) program, said the discussion about literacy and education is an important topic for the community. "Students come out of school not knowing how to read, and they are being placed in remedial courses when they get to colleges," Lewis said. "So there is a great need for that literacy to be taught. Not just in elementary, but throughout the school curriculum." Sabrina Johnson, an educator and ELPL doctoral student, said Perry's speech was a "call to completion." "Today was very informative and inspiring," Johnson said. "I think it is a call to action for educators, stakeholders, community members and parents. It's also a call to completion. I believe Perry reiterated in his speech that we have work that needs to be completed in our community." Following Perry's speech, the discussion on education in Alabama continued with a panel of several of the state's education advocates and experts. The panel included Moderator Willie E. Thornton, coordinator of Special Education Services in the Butler County School District; Ibrahim Kareem Lee, principal at Bellingrath Middle school; Cynthia Curtis, a full-time reading instructor in the Department of Advancement Studies at ASU; Dr. Michael O. Sibley, director of Communications for the Alabama Department of Education; and David Thomas, senior adviser for the Black Alliance for Educational Options. Back to Top<http://www.alasu.edu/news/news-details/index.aspx?nid=2044#top> SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.