Henry Levin of Teachers College and Jay Greene of the Manhattan Institute to debate at Jewish Theological Seminary

New York, NY, February 15, 2005 - Since the Supreme Court's landmark 2002 decision that publicly funded tuition vouchers may be used at private - including parochial - schools, the issue of school choice has dominated public debate about education in America. The implications for the public school system and the religious school systems of Jews, Christians and others have been profound.

On Tuesday, March 15, at 7:00 p.m., Dr. Jay Greene, a well-known advocate of increased school choice, and Prof. Henry Levin, a prominent critic, will assess the issues, research and consequences surrounding school choice in "Vouchers, Charters, Choice: A Conversation on Education Policy Options," at a public forum at The Jewish Theological Seminary, 3080 Broadway (at 122nd Street) in New York City.

Dr. Greene is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute's Education Research Office, where he conducts research and writes about education policy. His research was cited four times in the Supreme Court's opinions in the landmark Zelman v. Simmons-Harris case on school vouchers. He has conducted evaluations of school choice and accountability programs in Florida, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Cleveland and San Antonio. He also recently published research on high school graduation rates, charter schools and special education. He received his PhD in Government from Harvard University.

Prof. Levin is the William Heard Kilpatrick Professor of Economics and Education at Teachers College at Columbia University, and Director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, a non-partisan entity. A specialist in the economics of education and human resources, he has published sixteen books and almost three-hundred articles on these and related subjects. In 1991 the New York Times named him one of nine national leaders for "Innovation in Education."

The event is being sponsored by JTS's Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies, which since 1938 has provided a venue for advancing the dialogue at the intersection of religion and public affairs. Visit the Finkelstein Institute website at www.jtsa.edu/finkelstein.

Free and open to the public, reservations are requested and a photo ID is required for admission. For further information or to RSVP, call (212) 280-6093 or publicevents@jtsa.edu

Editors/Reporters: To cover the discussion on School Choice or for more information on the Finkelstein Institute, please contact Sherry Kirschenbaum in the Department of Communications at (212) 678-8953; or kirschenbaum@jtsa.edu

Founded in 1886 as a rabbinical school, The Jewish Theological Seminary today is the academic and spiritual center of Conservative Judaism worldwide, encompassing a world-class library and five schools. JTS trains tomorrow's religious, educational, academic and lay leaders for the Jewish community and beyond.

Teachers College is the largest graduate school of education in the nation. Teachers College is affiliated with Columbia University, but it is legally and financially independent. The editors of U.S. News and World Report have ranked Teachers College as one of the leading graduate schools of education in the country. For more information, please visit the college's Web site at www.tc.columbia.edu.

Published Monday, Feb. 28, 2005