Education reform to be topic of guest speaker

Andrew Rotherham, co-founder and partner at Bellwether Education, will discuss "Racing to the Top? The Whats and Whys of Today's Education Reform" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 11, in Gannett Auditorium, Palamountain Hall.   Skidmore's Department of Educational Studies is sponsoring the talk.

Bellwether Education is a non-profit organization working to improve educational outcomes for low-income students. Rotherham leads Bellwether's thought leadership, idea generation, and policy analysis work. He also writes the weekly "School of Thought" column for Time as well as the blog Eduwonk.com and is the co-publisher of "Education Insider," a federal policy research tool produced by Whiteboard Advisors. Rotherham previously served as special assistant to the president for domestic policy during the Clinton administration and is a former member of the Virginia Board of Education. In addition to Bellwether, Rotherham has founded or co-founded two other influential education reform organizations including Education Sector, and served on the boards of several other successful education start-ups.   

Rotherham is the author or co-author of more than 200 published articles, book chapters, papers, and op-eds about education policy and politics and is the author or editor of four books on educational policy. He believes dramatic improvements in America's education system are integral to ensuring equality of opportunity and building a more equitable and just society.