The Kansas City Public Library, with the assistance of the Show-Me Institute and several other organizations, is currently hosting a fantastic series of lectures on the challenges facing urban education. The first lecture in the series brought Dr. Eric Hanushek, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University and one of the nation’s leading education scholars, to discuss what could be done to improve urban schools.  The event drew about 250 interested attendees, who were treated to Dr. Hanushek’s excellent assessment of some of the most pressing problems facing urban education — and some potential solutions. (Hint: More money is not the answer!) Video of that event, as well as Dr. Hanushek’s Kansas City Star op-ed on the same topic, is now available on the Show-Me Institute website.

This Thursday evening, the library’s series will continue, as Jay Matthews, an education reporter from the Washington Post, will discuss his new book, Work Hard, Be Nice. The book offers readers a look at how the KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) network of charter schools has become a poster child for helping children from the most challenged socioeconomic groups prepare for academic success and college. This topic is extremely relevant for Kansas City, which saw a KIPP school open in recent years, as well as Saint Louis, which will greet a new KIPP school this fall.

And, last, but not least, I wanted to take this opportunity to plug yet another exciting event on the calendar. On May 5, the Show-Me Institute and Saint Louis University will be hosting Dr. Caroline Hoxby, yet another celebrated education expert with the Hoover Institution at Stanford, for a discussion titled, “The Promise and Performance of Charter Schools: Drivers of Educational Improvement in the U.S.?” This lecture will be a great opportunity for anyone interested in learning what research is telling us about the impact of charter schools nationwide.