Ambassador Young, Journalist Suarez and Judge Hatchett to Address
Urban School Leaders at Conference    

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 --  Noted champion of civil rights, former congressman, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and mayor of Atlanta, Andrew Young will address urban school leaders Oct. 17 at the Council of the Great City Schools' 46^th Annual Fall Conference, Oct. 16-20, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

More than 700 urban educators and deans of colleges of education will convene at the Marriott Harbor Beach Hotel to discuss issues, challenges and best practices in areas such as student achievement gaps, school finance, professional development and bilingual education under the banner "Navigating Educational Excellence 2002." 

Other scheduled speakers and activities at the conference, hosted by Broward County Public Schools,  include:

• Former host of National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation," journalist Ray Suarez, now with public television's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer."  He speaks at breakfast Oct. 18.
  
  
• Juvenile Court Judge Glenda Hatchett of the nationally syndicated television series "Judge Hatchett,"  who delivers the Oct. 18 lunch address.  Hatchett served eight years as judge of the Fulton County, Ga., Juvenile Court - becoming Georgia's first African American chief presiding justice of a state court.

• National Town Hall Meeting Oct. 18 on "Governing America's Urban Schools,"  focusing on how to improve and maintain stable leadership and governance in the nation's big-city school systems.  The moderator: journalist Karla Scoon Reid of Education Week.
  
  
• Richard R. Green Award banquet Oct. 17 to announce the urban school leader of the year.