Herricks is proud to announce that Jay Mathews will be speaking to Herricks' parents/guardians and students on the evening of March 15 at 7:30 p.m. All Herricks families, including middle and elementary school as well as high school, are welcome to attend.

Jay Mathews is one of the best-known writers in the field of education in the United States today. He has a regular column in the Washington Post and is an award-winning author. His columns are regularly reprinted and even more widely discussed by other papers and magazines with interest in education.

The title of Mathew's presentation is Beyond the Ivy League; Finding the College That Is the Right Fit. Selecting a college is one of the most important decisions parents make with their children. Mathews will offer valuable insight on how to find the college that will bring out the best in each individual child. He will share sound advice on how to make the entire college application process less stressful and anxiety-ridden for all involved. His style is straight forward and practical and he presents with humor and a fresh perspective. He speaks from the vantage point of being a parent who has undertaken the college application process with his own children, as a researcher, and as a reporter who has delved into educational issues for over 32 years. Mathews has an important and reassuring message to share with families that will help them to better navigate the pressure-filled college admissions process.

Over a decade ago Mathews personally developed the index which takes the number of AP and IB tests given to students in a particular high school divided by the number of graduating seniors. When he originally developed this it was to try to get a handle on whether school district practices in providing challenging courses to students matched their public rhetoric. He has revised this chart each year receiving wider notice and sparking greater and greater discussion. While some have condemned Mathews and his index as being far too narrow a measure of student performance, Mathews has always said that it should not be the sole indicator of the strength of a high school. He has challenged critics to come up with other measures and to play a constructive role in the national debate on how to improve the quality of education offered to many students in the United States.

Mathews has been most passionate in his public calls for challenging programs to be offered to able students in the inner cities and in other parts of the United States, which have not invested in high quality education. He has widely publicized data which points to the enormous value of AP and IB courses for students who did not consider themselves to be academically competitive or even potential college material. Many observers feel that Mathews has done as much to energize thoughtful discussion about the future of education in the United States as any initiative on the part of any state or the federal government.

This is a truly exceptional opportunity to hear from one of the country's best education writers. Mathew's latest book Harvard Schmarvard is available on Amazon.com. Mathews will be happy to sign books after his presentation.