More Milwaukee

After Geoffrey Canada’s speech in Madison, Wisconsin, last week, some new coverage by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, including this report on a task force to create a Harlem’s Children Zone-like project in Milwaukee:

Gov. Jim Doyle has said that the state’s application for Race to the Top, a pool of federal grants worth $4.35 billion, will include a proposal to create a Milwaukee Children’s Zone with part of the money. In addition, a Milwaukee Public Schools task force – formed in the summer of 2009 by Doyle, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers – has called for the creation of “Milwaukee Children’s Zones.” Also, state lawmakers pushing for Milwaukee’s mayor to take over MPS have included a proposal for a local Harlem Children’s Zone-like experiment as part of their governance bill pending in the state Legislature.

But in yesterday’s paper, Alan J. Borsuk, the education columnist, interviewed Canada and struck a more skeptical note:

Then came what I would suggest is the big one, when it comes to Milwaukee: Canada said, “Then there’s the leadership issue.” You need, he said, “a leadership group that’s prepared to take on the mission. . . .  There has to be a leadership strategy where someone is held accountable.” Canada’s definitions of mission and leadership leave an awful lot of Milwaukee leaders in the dust.

A Talk in Austin

On April 29, I’ll be speaking and signing books at a fundraising luncheon in Austin, Texas, for Mainspring Schools. Details are here.

Canada at Harvard

On Friday night, Geoffrey Canada accepted the Robert Coles “Call of Service” Award at Harvard University and spoke to students about Dr. Seuss and Langston Hughes.

Midwestern Newspaper Roundup

The Springfield, Ohio, News-Sun has this article about my trip there this week:

Paul Tough, New York Times Magazine editor, will address the issues of poverty, education and the achievement gap, during a special presentation, 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 28 at Springfield High School. Sponsored in part by Wittenberg University’s Institute for Education Innovation, the event will include the results of Tough’s research into Geoffrey Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone project.

(There’s more information here about my upcoming talk.)

In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Aisha Sultan devotes this week’s column to “Whatever It Takes” and the Harlem Children’s Zone.

And the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reviews (briefly) the paperback edition of “Whatever It Takes.”

Alberta Magazine Publishers

This Friday, October 23, at 2 p.m., I’ll be speaking to a group of magazine publishers and editors at the Stanley Milner Public Library in Edmonton, Alberta, in a speech/Q&A organized by the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association. AMPA interviewed me about being a magazine editor for the most recent issue of their newsletter. I’ll be in Edmonton as part of the city’s International Literary Festival.

Springfield, Massachusetts talk

As previously mentioned, on October 15 I’ll be giving the “City Thinks 2009 Inaugural Lecture” in Springfield, Mass., on the topic “Poverty, Education and Hope for Change.” More details in this announcement from American International College, which is hosting the lecture:

AIC and the Springfield Public Forum Series will present New York Times Magazine reporter and editor Paul Tough. The event, part of the “Arts at AIC” series, will take place on October 15, with a reception with the speaker at 6:15 p.m. and lecture at 7:00 p.m., in the Griswold Theatre. All “Arts at AIC” events are open to the public free of charge.

City Thinks in Springfield

“Whatever It Takes” is the “program focus” for the 2009 City Thinks program, in Springfield, Mass., presented by the Springfield Public Forum and the Springfield City Library. According to an article in the Springfield Republican,

It’s akin to being part of a giant book club with lots of fun activities attached.

The assignment? Read New York Times Magazine editor Paul Tough’s book, “Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America,” in conjunction with Canada’s Springfield Public Forum appearance on Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Springfield Symphony Hall.

Tough will also make an appearance here on Oct. 15 as part of “The City Thinks 2009: Education, Poverty and Hope for the City.“

His free lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in the Griswold Theater of American International College in Springfield; a reception will precede the event at 6:15.

The lecture is part of the forum’s collaboration with the Springfield City Library and other area institutions to engage a wider public through book discussion groups and a series of related events including an art and essay contest on “urban education and poverty“ for students in grades six through 12.

Edmonton Literary Festival

On October 23 and 24, I’ll be one of the featured authors at the Edmonton International Literary Festival in Alberta. I’ll be reading from Whatever It Takes and taking part in a session on “the craft and discipline of writing nonfiction.”

Springfield Public Forum

Geoffrey Canada and I will both be speaking in Springfield, Mass., this fall. I’ll be there in October, and he’ll be there in November. According to an article in the Springfield Republican:

On Nov. 4, Geoffrey Canada, president and chief executive officer of the Harlem Children’s Zone, is scheduled to speak about its work in helping at-risk youth through a comprehensive approach to education and poverty eradication. Canada has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of “America’s Best Leaders.” …

Prior to Canada’s appearance, the City Thinks program, in conjunction with the forum series, will sponsor a talk on Oct. 15 at American International College by New York Times reporter Paul Tough, author of “Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America.”

Tough’s lecture will focus on urban education from a macro perspective. City Thinks is a community-wide program, offered in conjunction with the Springfield City Library. It is funded by the American International College honors program and the MacDuffie School.

Canada in Kansas City

Last week, Geoffrey Canada spoke to the Legislative Black Caucus Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri. According to a report in the Kansas City Star:

One of the nation’s most dynamic evangelists for urban education came to Kansas City today to describe how impoverished neighborhoods here can replicate the success he’s had in Harlem.

Geoffrey Canada, founder and director of the nationally recognized Harlem Children’s Zone, told a packed audience in a downtown Marriott ballroom that America has to stop turning its back on children in poor communities.