Education advocate, author to visit Grand Valley

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Best known for his books that examine the nation's public school system, Jonathon Kozol will address the No Child Left Behind legislation during a presentation for area educators and the public at Grand Valley State University on Tuesday, October 16.

“Advocating for Equity: Looking Beneath the Curtain of No Child Left Behind” will begin at 4:30 p.m. on the second floor of the Eberhard Center, 301 W. Fulton St. in Grand Rapids. His presentation is part of the Professionals of Color Lecture Series, sponsored by Grand Valley’s Office of Multicultural Affairs. Kozol’s visit is also sponsored by GVSU’s College of Interdisciplinary Studies, College of Education and Integrative Learning.

Media Note: Kozol will be available for interviews prior to his presentation, beginning at 4 p.m. in the Foundation Room, on the second floor of the Eberhard Center.

A former elementary school teacher, Kozol is the author of numerous nonfiction books that study racial and socioeconomic issues in the country’s public schools. An advocate for the poor, homeless and underprivileged, Kozol’s books highlight the fight against injustice and for equal opportunity for all of society, especially children.

His 1967 book “Death at an Early Age: The Destruction of the Hearts and Minds of Negro Children in the Boston Public Schools” won a National Book Award. “Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America” (1988) received the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award.

Kozol’s newest book is a departure from his previous works. “Letters to a Young Teacher” is a series of letters from Kozol to a young first-grade teacher who is working in the same Boston neighborhood where he worked 40 years ago.

For more information about his presentation, contact Susan Mendoza-Jones, director of Integrative Learning, at (616) 331-8065.