As the work of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also known as the super committee, comes to a head, the prospect for an agreement remains uncertain. On Tuesday, November 8 in an event co-hosted by the Center for American Progress and the American Action Forum, New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will present his views on how Congress should address the pressing issues facing the committee, the economic implications that are at stake, and his ideas on how a pragmatic, growth-oriented consensus can be forged.

At some point over the next decade, the nation’s public school K-12 student body will have no one clear racial or ethnic majority, and students of color will constitute more than half of the student population. But the makeup of the nation’s teacher workforce force has not kept up with these changing demographics. At the national level, students of color make up more than 40 percent of the public school population. In contrast, teachers of color are only 17 percent of the teaching force.

The lack of diversity in the teaching force is troubling. Increasing the number of teachers of color is not just a matter of philosophical commitment to diversity in career opportunities. While there are effective teachers of many races, teachers of color have demonstrated success in engaging students of similar backgrounds. Teachers of color serve as role models for students, giving them a clear and concrete sense of what diversity looks like in the workplace. A recent review of empirical studies shows that students of color do better on a variety of academic outcomes if they are taught by teachers of color.

Join us for a conversation with leading thinkers on the importance of increasing teacher diversity in our nation’s schools. We will launch the discussion with a paper by Ulrich Boser that analyzes the scope of the teacher-student diversity differential across all fifty states. Saba Bireda will discuss the paper coauthored with Robin Chait, Strategies to Increase Teacher Diversity in the Workforce. We will be joined by a distinguished panel of advocates working to increase teacher diversity and ensure that all students have access to effective teachers.

Join us for an important discussion with Dean Baker and Jared Bernstein on how progressives can build a new economic order that is equitable, productive, and responsive to the needs of all Americans.

Tom Perez is the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice and a lifelong public servant. Currently, he directs the Department’s work to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Civil Rights Division enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status and national origin.

In this intimate conversation between Neera Tanden, President of the Center for American Progress, and Tom Perez on a wide array of civil rights issues, from voting rights, predatory lending and bullying to employment and disability discrimination – we will focus on some of our nation’s most pressing civil rights challenges.

Join us for an important discussion with Tobin van Ostern and Lindsay McCluskey, two leading youth organizers, about the values, goals, and issues that young people will bring in 2012.

This leadership roundtable will feature up-to-the-minute thinking from some of the nation's foremost entrepreneurs, executives, and policymakers working in the field of energy efficiency. The discussion will showcase what is working now to build markets and drive new capital investments in smart building practices and innovative energy-saving technologies to jumpstart the flagging building and construction industry. Long hailed as "low hanging fruit," cost-effective energy-saving investments nonetheless face real hurdles in reaching mainstream adoption in real estate and energy markets. At a moment when elected officials in Washington are at an impasse on new legislation, these national leaders will offer their insights on the path forward for changing energy efficiency policies and innovating in business models, as the first step toward wide-scale global deployment of the coming clean energy economy.

Students are the most important stakeholders in public-policy debates about higher education. And yet, they are often excluded from policy discussions that impact them directly. Students struggle to mobilize their collective strength to counteract the institutional interests that do not always share their priorities.

While students have historically been able to mobilize on issues such as financial aid and student debt, it is important to expand student voice to other issues that affect higher education. A strong student voice would be an important addition to discussions about issues that impact cost and quality including: online education, work-study, competency-based assessments, and many other issues that “hit a nerve” with students.

Today, the Center for American Progress releases our first issue brief that looks at student voice and how to improve it. Please join us to explore policies that can help students contribute to making policy discussions more practical and effective.

Two large forces will ultimately determine the outcome of the 2012 election: the shifting demographic balance of the American electorate and the objective reality and voter perception of the economy in key battleground states. Will the rising electorate of communities of color, the Millennial generation, professionals, single women, and seculars that pushed President Barack Obama to victory in 2008 be sufficient and mobilized enough to ensure his reelection in 2012? Or will the Republican Party and its presidential nominee capitalize on a struggling economy and greater mobilization from a conservative base that holds the president in deep disdain?

This panel will explore these and other issues surrounding the 2012 election as presented in an extensive new paper from Ruy Teixeira and John Halpin of the Center for American Progress.

Increasing teacher and teaching effectiveness is a paramount challenge facing public education. But what strategies work and are cost effective?

Do we achieve an effective teacher workforce through intensive supports to help teachers improve their performance? If so, are there sources of effective teacher professional development and training from which states and districts can choose? Despite major investments in professional development from federal, state, and local sources, research shows that most professional development in current use is ineffective.

Join us for an extended conversation involving two panels of leading thinkers on proven solutions that improve teacher and teaching effectiveness, and evaluation issues that are unique to high school teacher improvement.