EdMonth highlights key national education reform

Beginning Monday, USC will take part in the second annual  national student-led movement and discussion about education reform.

Undergraduate Student Government’s Program Board’s EdMonth, which will take place March 4-15, will serve as a national discussion between students, educators, parents, policy makers, elected officials and business leaders.

Christina Ellis | Daily Trojan

More than 750 student organizations and university departments have been invited to take part in the dialogue. The events will include student-led conferences on education reform, workshops preparing students for success in college and an Ed Fair, which will feature a range of organizations highlighting internships and job opportunities in the educational field.

EdMonth events will not be available to only those on campus. Students and educators both on campus and across the nation can tune into online streams of select panel discussions on the EdMonth website.

Director of the Women’s Student Assembly Kaya Masler described EdMonth as an opportunity to have an open discussion about the state of education in America.

“EdMonth is about having a broader view of education and an improved value of education,” Masler said. “Education is more than text books and literacy tests — it’s about awareness.”

Assistant director of the Latino Student Assembly Valerie Fernandez emphasized the important role that diversity will play in EdMonth.

“EdMonth has been capable of uniting students of all colors and all types of cultures, ethnicities and backgrounds behind one cause — education,” Fernandez said. “This initiative has allowed us to highlight a breadth of education-related issues hidden within each of our communities so that we can tackle them together, one step at a time.”

The EdMonth opening kick-off event will take place Monday at 7 p.m. in Bovard Auditorium. The event, which will discuss investing in our future leaders, will feature notable panelists including Grammy Award-winning artist and philanthropist John Legend and Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy.