John Legend makes an unexpected visit to Howard University and surprises a class to discuss the dire state of public education in the United States and what college students can do to ensure that every child has access to a quality education.
You might have heard the dirge of depressing education statistics: The United States has dropped from first to 18th place in high school graduation rates among developed nations. First to 14th in college graduation rates. First to 35th in math. First to 29th in science. First to 32nd in reading. Oh and 30 percent of our kids — much higher among poor and minority children — aren't graduating from high school during a time when a college degree is increasingly required to earn a living above the poverty line. And we spend more per student than any of the countries that are beating us.
Many of our schools are literally and figuratively crumbling. They aren't providing American children with the quality education that is the fundamental right of every citizen.
The Education Nation summit concludes with a passionate discussion between parents, teachers, students, and policy makers about potential solutions to the challenges and obstacles facing America’s education system. NBC Nightly News anchor and managing editor Brian Williams moderates this special session.
Watch this video! (John's part is at minute 72:10)
NEW YORK CITY, September 28, 2010—Teach For America announced today that it has named John Legend, humanitarian and acclaimed singer and songwriter, to its National Board of Directors. Teach For America is the national corps of top college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in underserved schools and become lifelong leaders in the pursuit of educational equity.
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"I think there's a real potential to be a tipping point right now, where a lot of major changes can happen in a relatively short period of time," Legend told POLITICO in an interview this week. "The more we see what's working in certain schools and certain cities, the more we begin to realize that if we have the political will and the right decisions to make along the way, a lot of big change can happen that will benefit a lot of people."
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US Today covered John Legend's surprise visit to Howard University as unannounced mtvU ‘Stand In’ professor
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Thursday, September 9, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
John Legend Salutes 100 Top Performing LAUSD Teachers
The Show Me Campaign, John Legend’s non-profit organization, rewards teachers for their success in raising students’ test scores
Los Angeles, CA— John Legend, humanitarian and Grammy award winning singer and songwriter, honored the 100 top performing elementary school teachers in Los Angeles Unified School District for their success in raising their students’ test scores over a seven-year period. Legend and his non-profit organization, the Show Me Campaign, which aims to break the cycle of poverty by fighting for equal access to quality education in the United States, rewarded the 100 top elementary school teachers with gift cards to Lakeshore Learning Materials to be used to purchase additional supplies to benefit their students’ education and increase their ability to teach effectively.
“Great teachers can make all the difference in a child’s education,” said John Legend. “But too often those teachers are rarely celebrated for their hard work and commitment to student achievement. They deserve to be recognized for their efforts in the classroom.”
The names of the top 100 teachers were taken from the value-added rating data released by the LA Times on August 28, 2010. The Times rated about 6,000 LAUSD elementary school teachers based on their students’ progress on the California Standards Tests for English and math.
About John Legend
Recording artist, concert performer and philanthropist John Legend has won six Grammy awards and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people.
Throughout his career, John has worked to make a difference in the lives of others. In 2007, John Legend launched the Show Me Campaign (ShowMeCampaign.org), an initiative that uses education to break the cycle of poverty. John sits on the Boards of The Education Equality Project, Teach for America and the Harlem Village Academies and Co-Chairs of the Harlem Village Academies’ National Leadership Board with Rupert Murdoch.
Inspired by his work in education reform, John wrote the song “Shine” for Waiting for “Superman”, Davis Guggenheim’s epic documentary about domestic education reform. Waiting for “Superman” will be released on September 24, 2010.
About The Show Me Campaign
Created by Grammy award-winning artist John Legend, the Show Me Campaign is a nonprofit organization that fights poverty using proven solutions. Believing that equal access to quality education is the civil rights issue of our time, the Show Me Campaign fights for education reform in the United States. More information can be found at www.showmecampaign.org.
For more information: Maggie Neilson, [email protected], 206.979.7872
John followed his FIFA World Cup concert performance with a visit to Mbola, a Tanzanian village where his Show Me Campaign is helping to fight poverty.
The Show Me Campaign Fellowship Program, launched in 2009, encourages young people who are dedicated to helping improve the world. The Fellowship provides three $3,000 stipends for college students who have unpaid internships during the summer of 2010 in the following areas:
John Legend, award winning singer/songwriter and founder of the Show Me Campaign, provides the inspiration for the Fellowship program.
Commitment to Social Justice
John believes that a commitment to social justice means turning down some of the noise and clutter of our daily lives and stopping to think about the way others live. He believes that developing a sense of empathy leads to caring and that caring leads to action.
Show Me Campaign Fellows are persons committed to social justice. They are persons who witness injustice and act on it. They want to improve the world and inspire others to join them.
We are pleased to announce this year’s Fellows:
Kathryn Witzke: a rising senior at the University of South Carolina majoring in Political Science and Women’s and Gender Studies who is interning in the US at the Millennium Campus Network working on their Commit in September Campaign.
Huey Tran: a rising senior at Stanford University majoring in International Relations and with a minor in Middle Eastern Languages, Literature and Culture who is interning in Vietnam for Beyond Good Intentions (BGI) exploring the issue of effectiveness of international aid in education through filmmaking.
Colleen Michelle Okyere: a rising senior at Stanford University double majoring in International Relations and Psychology who is in Ghana for the non-profit KaeMe and the Dept. of Social Welfare in Ghana helping to find long-term solutions for orphans in Africa
As Fellows, they have agreed to submit 4 written or video entries over the course of the summer highlighting their work and the progress they’re making.
Stay tuned for their updates from the field!
John Legend joins group of diverse leaders to eliminate achievement gap.
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