Pedro Noguera, education expert, to speak at East High

An acclaimed theorist on equitable education will be in Rochester Thursday to talk about his ideas as well as perhaps the most prominent local experiment in that field, the University of Rochester partnership with Rochester's East High School.

Pedro Noguera, professor of education at the University of California Los Angeles, has written widely on the way children's social and economic status intersects with their performance in the classroom. His most recent book is "Excellence Through Equity: Five Principles of Courageous Leadership to Guide Achievement for Every Student."

Noguera is also a former trustee of the State University of New York. His event Thursday is named after his book and will happen at 6 p.m. at East High School, 1801 E. Main St. It is free and open to the public. It will be followed by a panel discussion with several people from East and the UR Warner School of Education.

In a telephone interview ahead of his appearance, Noguera discussed some of his main points and how they relate to Rochester. His remarks below are edited for length and clarity.

On the similarities in education between Rochester and other American cities:

There’s a way in which many cities have disconnected the state of their schools from the state of their city. Here in Los Angeles, we’re more focused on getting the Olympics and getting the Rams back than we are on public education. But you’ll never have a great city without great schools; they’re totally interdependent. Without that, you stay stuck in this cycle of failure.

That applies across municipal lines. Crime crosses municipal lines, too. We’re fooling ourselves if we think the problems in Rochester can be contained there.

The broad issues related to poverty are national. It’s important to keep in mind this is an American story, not just a Rochester story. There aren’t too many examples of cities like Rochester with great schools. Blaming Rochester doesn’t really get us where we want to go.

At the same time, there are cities that have done a better job. Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is seen as a model, has universal prekindergarten and community schools. So there are lessons we can learn. The fact is that Rochester has resources — its teachers are very well paid — so we shouldn’t pretend there’s nothing we can do.

More:RCSD may lack space for pre-K growth

More:RCSD 'on the path,' state education commissioner says

On the need for closer links between K-12 and higher education:

We need to think more strategically about connections between SUNY colleges and the K-12 system. We have one of the largest college systems in the country, but the links to K-12 are weak.

Free SUNY tuition is a good step, and hopefully it will get stronger as it’s implemented. It’s fine to benefit the middle class; you need to make sure it’s also benefiting poor kids who might not otherwise go to college. But I think it’s ambitious and a step in the right direction.

More:Can you get free SUNY tuition?

On the most important factors in changing urban schools:

A lot of it has to do with how schools are organized. In many ways there’s a fundamental mismatch between (the) needs of kids, skills of staff and resources available to schools. If you have, for example, a growing number of immigrant and refugee kids who are English language learners, you have to have teachers who can teach those kids – not just a language specialist here or there.

I think what can happen after a while in a district like Rochester, where there have been a lot of changes and a lot of reform efforts that didn’t work, cynicism develops among teachers. If not complacent, they get used to a situation of failure. That’s where you need leadership to refocus the entire system on how to help kids.

The big advantage the Rochester schools have is the university, with the resources and know-how to be a big asset for the system. But for that to happen, you have to really think it through. The question is, if they’re able to do good work at East High School, how will that benefit the rest of the system?

The only places that make progress are places with continuity in leadership. If you’re changing superintendents constantly,  you’re always going to have a new program and you won’t be able to get anything done.

You need the entire city — the mayor, the business community – to help. You’re talking about compensating for the effects of poverty, and the schools can’t do that themselves.

More:RCSD, Warren announce plan for "Beacon School"

JMURPHY7@Gannett.com