The Rev. Jesse Jackson punctuated the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition education summit with a Feb. 23 tour of wealthy schools and overcrowded jails.
Since then, Rainbow/PUSH has taken the conference’s 10-point action plan on the road to drum up support from other urban school districts. Last month, Jackson toured schools in New Orleans. Visits to Milwaukee and Memphis school districts are in the works.
The group hopes the visits will bolster its effort to meet with the President and Secretary of Education to persuade them to add the plan to the national education agenda. The plan includes school rehab programs, higher academic standards, character education, more parent involvement, stronger school leadership, mandatory training for teachers, job skills for youth, early childhood programs, multilingual education, and media support for positive images.