Erin Gruwell, an inner-city school teacher whose story inspired the film “Freedom Writers,” spoke to a rapt audience of educators at the 4th Annual Reaching At-Promise Students National Conference on February 22, 2009.  Using her experience as a backdrop, Gruwell discussed how teachers and administrators could become catalysts for change at their school sites.

“I believe in teaching to a student,” Gruwell noted.  “It doesn’t matter where they came from; it matters where they’re headed.”  She implored her audience to “teach to a kid to help him find the potential” and reflected that “every single one of [her] students has some kind of journey, some kind of odyssey.”

Gruwell’s keynote was on the final day of a three-day conference for elementary and secondary educators working with at-risk students.  This event brought an international contingent of educators together to learn relevant and practical instructional strategies and leadership methods. 

Co-sponsored by the School for Integrated Academics and Technologies (SIATech) and the Reaching At-Promise Students Association (RAPSA), this comprehensive professional development event included presentations by premier educators Dr. Ruby Payne and Dr. Lorraine Monroe.