Events

March 4, 2008: ONE Massachusetts: Building Public Trust in Government

Read Lambert Works To Improve Public View of Government [PDF]
(Fall River Herald News, March 5, 2008)

March 28, 2008: SouthCoast Manufacturing Roundtable

Read Manufacturing an Industry’s Future [PDF]
(Fall River Herald News, March 29, 2008)

May 19, 2008: Gateway Cities Compact Signing

Learn more about this event at the Gateway Cities Project page.

June 12, 2008: Presentation to the Newly Formed Gateway Cities Legislative Caucus at the State House

By invitation from Representative Antonio Cabral (New Bedford), a presentation on the Gateway Cities was delivered by Ed Lambert before the members and staff of this newly–formed legislative caucus. The opportunity to speak with these members of the Massachusetts House and Senate allowed the Urban Initiative to promote its work with MassINC and officials from the eleven Gateway communities and discuss ways in which the legislative delegations can become active participants in these ongoing efforts.

July 16, 2008: Presentation/Question & Answer Session Before the Gateway Cities Legislative Caucus at the State House

By invitation from the co–chairs of the Gateway Cities Legislative Caucus, Representative Antonio Cabral (New Bedford) and Senator Stephen Buoniconti (Springfield), the Urban Initiative’s Director, Ed Lambert, joined MassINC’s Executive Vice President, John Schneider, in making a second presentation to caucus members on the research that was part of MassINC’s report, Reconnecting Massachusetts Gateway Cities and answering several questions from caucus members regarding specific policy areas that could be improved to help to the Gateway Cities.

October 2, 2008: An Evening with Secretary Paul Reville

Learn more about this event at An Evening with Secretary Reville page.

October 3, 2008: Massachusetts Gateway Cities Conference

Learn more about this event at the Gateway Cities Conference Page.

October 16, 2008: Springfield Community Forum

As a part of its on–going project with MassINC in the City of Springfield, the Urban Initiative and MassINC hosted an open community forum to provide residents and stakeholders in the community and opportunity to share their thoughts on a vision for Springfield’s future as it relates to community and economic development. Remarks from Springfield’s Mayor, Domenic Sarno, helped to kick off the event that nearly 100 residents of Springfield and surrounding communities attended at Springfield’s Central High School.

Learn more about the Springfield Economic Growth Initiative.

April 9, 2009: Dropout Prevention in the SouthCoast Report Release

After several months of conducting research and data collection on the troubling issue of high dropout rates in the SouthCoast region of Massachusetts, the Urban Initiative released its much anticipated report entitled Dropout Prevention in the SouthCoast: Choosing a New Path to Economic Prosperity. The extensive study of dropout rates and its implications on the region was commissioned by the SouthCoast Development Partnership in response to concerns that economic development in the region is significantly hampered by high rates of school dropout, particularly in the region’s two cities of Fall River and New Bedford. The report emphasized the need for the entire region to recognize this challenge as one that cannot be overcome by schools alone, but that in order to combat rising rates of dropout, each community in the SouthCoast must begin to acknowledge their role, interest, and investment in the region as intrinsically tied to the destiny of neighboring communities - particularly on the issue of dropout prevention. In providing recommendations to the SouthCoast Development Partnership and the region’s schools in the area of dropout rate reduction, the Urban Initiative’s study turned to the nationally-recognized research and work of the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N) at Clemson University. While the NDPC/N offers 15 strategies for dropout prevention, the Urban Initiative’s research team measured the strategies across several internal and external scales to determine which five strategies the region should focus on in the near future as a way to have a considerable impact on high school dropout rates. These five strategies include: Mentoring/Tutoring, Family Engagement, Early Childhood Education, Career & Technology Education, and School-Community Collaboratives.

To read the report, please visit our Research & Reports page.
To see the report presentation delivered by Ed Lambert, Director of the Urban Initiative, click here [PowerPoint Slideshow].

In the news:

Channel 10 News Video Report: “Community Leaders Aim to Combat Dropout Rate”
http://www.turnto10.com/jar/news/local/education/article/
community_leaders_aim_to_combat_dropout_rate/12323/

Read Report Tracks Wider Effects of Dropping Out [PDF]
(Fall River Herald News, April 9, 2009)

Read UMass Dartmouth Report Laments City Schools ‘Disturbing’ Dropout Problem [PDF]
(New Bedford Standard Times, April 10, 2009)

Read A Societal Problem [PDF]
(Fall River Herald News Editorial, April 10, 2009)

Read Demographics Are Not Destiny [PDF]
Guest Opinion Piece from Meg Mayo-Brown, Fall River Superintendent of Schools
(Fall River Herald News, April 12, 2009)

Read Keep them in School [PDF]
(New Bedford Standard Times Editorial, April 14, 2009)

Read Show the Way [PDF]
(New Bedford Standard Times Editorial, April 15, 2009)

April 9, 2009: Chancellor Jean MacCormack Announces Affiliation with the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network at Clemson University

As the Urban Initiative released its report on Dropout Prevention in the SouthCoast, Chancellor Jean MacCormack also unveiled a new partnership with the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N) at Clemson University. The affiliation is the culmination of several months of discussion between Chancellor MacCormack, the Urban Initiative’s Director, Ed Lambert, the Executive Director of the NDPC/N, Dr. Jay Smink, and Representative Stephen Canessa, who currently serves as a board member on the NDPC/N Executive Board. As a board member, Representative Canessa was integral in informing the Chancellor of the NDPC/N’s plans to seek national satellite affiliates with other institutions across the nation to expand the scope and reach of their research and work. Working quickly and in a collaborative fashion, UMass Dartmouth was able to sign the first affiliation agreement with the NDPC/N making the UMass Dartmouth Urban Initiative the first satellite affiliate in the nation. As a part of the affiliation, the Urban Initiative will become engaged in the work and projects of the NDPC/N and serve as a collaborator in its national efforts to reduce dropout rates. The NDPC/N will likewise become involved in the work of the Urban Initiative as it relates to urban education and dropout prevention by providing tools and support that will allow the University and the Urban Initiative to bring the NDPC/N’s resources and expertise to bear for the benefit of our region.

The Urban Initiative thanks Chancellor MacCormack and Representative Canessa for their leadership and effort in this significant endeavor.

Learn more about the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network at: www.dropoutprevention.org.