Michael Rebell Will Lead “Campaign for Educational Equity” at Teachers College

ACCESS Network Moving to Teachers College

Michael A. Rebell, nationally prominent school finance litigator, has been appointed executive director of the new Campaign for Educational Equity at Teachers College (TC), Columbia University . The announcement came June 9 at the college's office in Harlem .

The Mission

“We're here today to launch a new organization that will tackle the most urgent issue in education,” TC's President Arthur Levine said. “We're also here to introduce the person we believe is the single most qualified individual in the country to head work of this kind.” With a sense of urgency, Levine explained that the new campaign is designed to overcome the gap in educational access and achievement between America 's most and least advantaged students. “We consider ‘the gap' to be the educational equivalent of AIDS or cancer in medicine,” he said.

“This is not an academic undertaking,” Levine asserted. “We are launching this campaign because we believe we must do more to materially affect policy and practice. This isn't a think tank or an institute or a center; it's a campaign because the goal, very simply put, is to make things happen.” The Campaign for Educational Equity will be the public voice, research and action arm of Teachers College, dedicated to promoting equity.

Michael Rebell

With Rebell as its Executive Director and Counsel for the last 12 years, the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, a New York not-for-profit, has won a series of victories in the courts, conducted a collaborative statewide public engagement effort, and performed policy work and drafted legislation to remedy the gross inequities in school funding in New York State. Most recently, the CFE trial court ordered an additional $5.6 billion in operating funds and $9.2 billion in facilities funds for New York City schoolchildren.

“Winning more money for schools is only the first step,” said Rebell. “I'm taking on this new role because we have won the first half of this battle and now we've got to actually begin the process of improving our schools. And the idea that's got me excited is: Now we can bring to bear all the resources of Teachers College, and of Columbia University , to make that happen. We can now move to the next stage of the equity campaign by working with educators, scholars, advocates, and public officials to turn the nation's policy commitment to close the achievement gap into a reality.”

ACCESS

The ACCESS Network, CFE's national project, will be moving with Rebell to Teachers College. The new collaboration will allow ACCESS to expand and strengthen its national network, its research, and its leadership of the emerging national movement for education equity. ACCESS will continue to work for access to education opportunity for all students, especially the poor and minority children currently being denied that opportunity.

Prepared by Molly A. Hunter, June 16, 2005