Rethinking Schools Editor to Speak About How Reform Affects Communities of Color

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Wayne Au

Wayne Au, an editorial board member of Rethinking Schools and associate professor of education at the University of Washington Bothell, will speak at 7 p.m. Nov. 7 at the University of Arkansas about the impact of reform on communities of color. He will speak in Giffels Auditorium in Old Main.

The title of Au's talk is "Hollow Equity: How Current Education Reform Efforts Hurt Communities of Color (and what we can do about it)." It is free and open to the public. The College of Education and Health Professions is sponsoring the event.

In recent decades, education policy in the United States has been built on the logic that neoliberal, free-market competition will lead to significant educational improvement, particularly for low income and communities of color not being served by our public school system, Au said. He will explain the overall structures of neoliberal, corporate education reform and argue that, contrary to the rhetoric of reformers, such policies actually serve to further exacerbate racial inequality in education by undermining democracy.

Rethinking Schools is a nonprofit publisher and advocacy organization dedicated to sustaining and strengthening public education through social justice teaching and education activism, according to its website.