Confronted by a Regents study declaring that only 5 percent of Rochester City School District graduates are college-ready, Jean-Claude Brizard declares the findings “terrifying.”
One of Brizard’s best qualities is his persistent willingness to look the facts in the face. Too often our education leadership—the district administration and the Board of Education—has been unwilling to state the obvious. It is a natural reaction: The task is herculean. The need is desperate. The consequences of failure are tragic. Read the rest of this entry »

Kirstin Pryor is a proud parent of Maya (8) and Mason (4) at Franklin Montessori, where she serves on School-Based Planning Team. Before returning to Rochester three years ago, she spent 9 years as a middle school teacher, union member and literacy coach in Baltimore City Public Schools. She and her husband are both graduates of Wilson Magnet.
Kent Gardner is an economist. Two children having left the nest (after graduating from Irondequoit High School), he & wife Jill have only the puppy, Reilly, to raise.
Erika Rosenberg expects to send new daughter Nina and her big brother Nate to East Irondequoit schools. A reporter before joining CGR, Erika walked the D&C’s education beat for 5 years.