Oakwood Hosts Speak Up Alabama Conversation

Oakwood University hosted a Speak Up conversation at the C.T. Richards Chapel of the Moseley Complex. This was a special program designed to engage the Madison County community and create a platform for all interested citizens to voice their concerns and suggestions regarding public education. Speak Up is a community engagement initiative of The Schools Foundation, a 501c3 organization, in support of public education in Madison County.

Content from such community meetings, hosted by local higher education institutions will be used to develop a jointly owned strategic plan for each school district to provide a guide our local K-12 schools. This shared vision will identify opportunities for future action and key resources for each school system. The expectation is that this process will engage more than 3,000 people across the community in community-centered conversations about education and culminate with a collaborative strategic plan for schools in each system.

This is a significant initiative because it supports the top three priorities that our communities have identified as areas that need focused attention of lawmakers and community members. Those three areas are:

• Schools-Enhance the quality and support growth
• Roads-Capable of sustaining growth
• Workforce-Meet current and future requirements

The current economic situation has created urgent needs in our schools. Tough financial times for schools are predicted to continue for the next five years. Oakwood University was the first higher-education institution in the Madison County area to host one of these conversations, but any member of the higher-ed community interested in education and community engagement is invited to attend or host these Speak Up conversations which will run through the entire month of March. For more information, go to http://speakupalabama.org .