When the University of Rochester signed on to serve as the Educational Partnership Organization (EPO) for struggling East High School, UR representatives acknowledged they did not enter the partnership lightly. In 2015, New York State labeled East an "out of time" school. It would have closed, if not for the EPO.
This hour, we sit down with representatives from the partnership to discuss the EPO’s three-year progress report. They share the challenges East has faced, the successes they’ve seen, and what they hope for the next phase of the collaboration. In studio:
- Shaun Nelms, superintendent of the East EPO, and associate professor and William & Sheila Konar Director of the Center for Urban Education Success at the University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education
- Marlene Blocker, principal of East Upper School
- Tanya Wilson Thevanesan, principal of East Lower School
- Lorna Washington, assistant superintendent of Strategic Planning for the East EPO
- Kyle Crandall, representative of the Rochester Teachers Association (RTA) for East, and president of the Beechwood Neighborhood Coalition
