Indianapolis - A coalition of Indianapolis community groups later this month will host the city’s first Education Weekend, an event focused on inspiring students to attend college or explore careers and enliven support for public education. The weekend, hosted by the Central Indiana Education Alliance and held May 16-18, 2014, will also honor the 60th Anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision through its powerful theme of: “Equity, Quality, and Success in Education: Looking Back and Moving Forward.”
Education Weekend has four major components:
- A panel discussion on equity, quality and success in education. Pegged to the 60th anniversary of the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision integrating schools, panelists will include Rabbi Brett Krichiver and Karega Rausch of The Equity Project at Indiana University. It will be held May 16 at 10 a.m. at Marian University. Organizers also are aiming for 150 “touch points,” such as sermons, conversations or other education-related activities, at churches, mosques and synagogues across the city during the weekend.
- The Education Weekend Equity Awards for community leaders who have impacted education. The new awards are sponsored by the Indianapolis Rotary Club and will be presented by the Central Indiana Education Alliance to an “unsung hero” in education, an outstanding school administrator, top teacher and a group of standout student-athletes. The awards will be held on May 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the Ruby Bridges’ Exhibit in the Power of Children Gallery at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
- An exhibition of science, technology, engineering, art and math activities (STEAM) for children and adults at the Fashion Mall at Keystone. On May 17th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. presentations and activities in robotics, chemistry, crafts, computer touch screen painting, music, art and dance will be on display. In addition, information will be offered on credit recovery programs, college scholarships and career exploration.
- A special presentation of the film “Remember the Titans.” To be held May 18th at 2 p.m. at the central branch of the Indianapolis Public Library, the movie showing will be accompanied by a chance to meet the players from Arsenal Tech High School’s state champion basketball team and learn about book recommendations for kids.
Organizers, led by the Central Indiana Education Alliance, hope Education Weekend will become an annual event. The wide-ranging activities planned for May 16-18, 2014 will involve churches, retail businesses, universities, libraries and others in an effort to spark conversations about education, introduce learning opportunities to the community and encourage students to dream big.
The Central Indiana Education Alliance, formerly known as the Talent Alliance, is a coalition of Indianapolis-area leaders in business, government, education and non-profits aimed at producing a more educated workforce.
Click here to view the highlights of Education Weekend.