For Immediate Release:
March 19, 2021
Contact: Jonathon Dworkin (NewDEAL Forum), 202-660-1340 x5, jonathon@newdealleaders.org
Montgomery, AL Mayor Steven Reed Named Co-Chair of National Education Policy Group
Group seeks to support innovative state and local policies to prepare all students for college and career amid the COVID-19 crisis
Washington, DC – At a critical time for students across the country, Montgomery, Alabama Mayor Steven L. Reed has been named a co-chair of a national group committed to advancing state and local policies that help more students graduate high school on pathways to success in the workplace.
Mayor Reed joins Georgia Senate Minority Leader Elena Parent and former West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon as leaders of the NewDEAL Forum’s Education Policy Group, which is working to promote and support implementation of policy recommendations from its recently released report: Policy Proposals for Aligning the Future of Education with Workforce Opportunities. The comprehensive report considers topics at the intersection of education and workforce, including access to career pathways, reimagining career and technical education, and better linking K-12 and higher education systems, as well as a range of other key issues affecting the quality of education available to all young people.
Recognizing that COVID-19 has upended educational opportunities across the country, the report also includes a section on responding to the pandemic, focusing on ways for state and local leaders to expand access to broadband and better serve the most vulnerable students. It calls for a “digital student bill of rights,” improving data on broadband availability, and ensuring students who are most in need continue to receive wraparound services (i.e. meals and health care) even when schools are closed.
“The challenges facing our education system, especially in the face of the ongoing pandemic, are well documented,” said Mayor Reed. “This report is full of innovative ideas to address a myriad of issues. I am pleased to help lead the effort to support states, counties, and municipalities to implement solutions around one of government’s most fundamental responsibilities: giving every child a fair shot to reach their potential. We recognize the links between strong schools and a strong economy, and there is no time to delay. I am eager to get to work.”
Mayor Reed, along with Senator Parent and Mayor Cabaldon, have been members of the NewDEAL network of about 160 carefully-selected state and local officials from 47 states who are chosen for their innovative and forward-thinking approaches to governing. (The NewDEAL Forum is the NewDEAL’s sister organization.)
”With the pandemic upending the education system, as well as the future of the workforce, providing pathways to good careers must be a top priority in the COVID recovery,” said NewDEAL Forum CEO Debbie Cox Bultan. “Mayor Reed is a passionate advocate for giving every student the opportunity to succeed and recognizes that that means ensuring they graduate high school with more than a diploma. They deserve access to work-based learning and a head-start on post-secondary education. He exemplifies the tireless, results-driven leadership that is needed to address unprecedented challenges and we look forward to working with him to advance good policies in Montgomery and across the country.”
The co-chairs will continue to work with the group’s partners at the Alliance for Excellent Education, a national nonprofit policy and advocacy organization based in Washington, DC whose mission is to ensure that every young person graduates from high school prepared for success in careers and in life. Funding from the Joyce Foundation has supported the group’s work.
About the NewDEAL Forum
The NewDEAL Forum is a Washington-DC based non-profit organization which identifies and promotes innovative, future-oriented state and local pro-growth progressive policies that can improve the lives of all Americans. By facilitating the identification and spread of policy ideas, the NewDEAL Forum seeks to foster economic growth, reduce barriers to opportunity, and promote good government in communities, cities and states throughout the country.
About the Alliance for Excellent Education
The Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) is a Washington, DC–based national policy, practice, and advocacy organization committed to improving educational outcomes—and lives—of students, with a focus on those in middle and high school. All4Ed embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion and specifically advocates on behalf of all students who are historically underserved or marginalized. all4ed.org
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