Dear Supporters, The SHSAT Community forum is set for this Saturday October 18, 3pm in the auditorium of the Taiwan Center 137-44 Northern Blvd in Flushing Queens. We have invited guests who promise to make this a landmark event. We expect a thoughtful, insightful, and thorough discussion which will be followed by a question and answer session with the audience. Please come to support the Coalition. Forum Update - http://goo.gl/eYxd4u On Saturday October 18, CoalitionEdu and The Queens Chronicle will host a public forum to discuss the proposed changes to the exam-only admission policy to New York City's specialized high schools, including the NYC Department of Education’s proposal for a new SHSAT that would include an essay and translation into different languages. The panel discussion will include prominent speakers who oppose or who support changes to the existing admission policy. We have confirmed that speakers in favor of keeping the existing SHSAT exam-only format will include Assembly Candidate for Flushing Phil Gim, who is running against Assemblyman Ron Kim, as well as former city council candidate for Whitestone Queens Dennis Saffran, and former Bronx Assemblyman Michael Benjamin Rounding out the panel will be the Presidents of the Northeast Queens and Jamaica chapters of the NAACP, Ken Cohen Sr. and Leroy Gadsen. The UFT has also expressed interest in sending a representative to join the panel. Ron Kim was invited but declined to participate. This will be the first forum discussion to include members of the NAACP since the NAACP LDF, an independent legal rights organization, filed a complaint to the Office of Civil Rights of the US Department of Education claiming the SHSAT prevents African Americans and Latino Americans from enrolling in these schools. Supporters of the SHSAT feel that poor public education at inner city schools is the true reason that there is not a greater representation of these minorities. The panel will be moderated by journalist Laura Shepard from The Queens Chronicle to ensure an unbiased and objective discussion. Following the discussion will be a question and answer session open to the public. Forum Details: Date: October 18, 2014 Time: 3pm-6pm Location: Taiwan Center Auditorium 137-44 Northern Blvd, Flushing NY 11354