Improving education is topic of Chamber of Commerce breakfast
Even though GQ Magazine has dubbed Brooklyn “the coolest place on the planet,” this “coolness” doesn’t necessarily translate to the entire borough. All in all, the borough has a 10 percent unemployment rate, a third of its children live in poverty, fewer than half of its students read at grade level, and only 64 percent graduate on time.
So said Morty Ballen, founder and CEO of Explore Schools, speaking at a breakfast Tuesday morning at Brooklyn Law School. Other speakers at the breakfast, co-sponsored by Explore and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, included Chamber President and CEO Carlo Scissura; Karen L. Gould, president of Brooklyn College; and David Banks, president and CEO of the Eagle Academy Foundation. Errol Louis, host of NY1’s “Inside City Hall,” served as the moderator.
Although several topics were discussed, the focus was on how the downward trend among youth can be reversed and how the business community can help out. The answer that got the most applause came from Banks.