CJ Prentiss to Host Conference on Increasing Graduation of Black HS Students

CJ Prentiss, the former Ohio Senate Minority Leader and now Gov. Strickland's Special Representative for Closing the Achievement Gap, will be the moderator for a day-long conference in Columbus next Wednesday, May 30th, at the Columbus Convention Center titled "The Governor’s Conference on Increasing the High School Graduation Rate for African American Male Students."

The keynote speaker for the conference is Mychal Wynn, a national authority on African American male achievement and school improvement planning. He is the author of 17 books including Don't Quit, Test of Faith, Increasing Student Achievement, and The Eagles who Thought They were Chickens. Wynn is a charismatic and dynamic educational trainer with a remarkable personal story. He was adopted at age six, raised in the Chicago ghetto, and was a low-performing student throughout elementary and middle school. He beat the odds against him to graduate with honors from Northeastern University and begin a prosperous career as a systems design analyst, which he gave up to become a teacher in South Central Los Angeles and eventually a successful author, publisher, speaker, and educational consultant to schools and school districts.

More information about participants and workshops is available on the Conference website. Pre-registration has been huge, with more than 1,400 people already signed up. On-line registration is closed, but on-site registration will be available on the day of the event, and the morning plenary and luncheon program will be livestreamed on The Ohio Channel.