News Article
Womble Carlyle Attorney Eric Breisach Helps Steer Kalamazoo Public Schools
May 5, 2010
The news that President Barack Obama will give the June 10th commencement address at Kalamazoo (Mich.) Central High School brought no small amount of pride to Womble Carlyle attorney Eric Breisach.
Kalamazoo Central High was chosen to host the President after winning a national competition to find a high school that best exemplifies what schools should be doing to prepare students for college. More than 1,000 high schools entered the “Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge.” Breisach has been a Trustee on the Kalamazoo Public Schools Board of Education for the past 11 years. His children also attended the local schools, graduating from Kalamazoo Central, “and they received an excellent education,” he said.
But it hasn’t been easy for Breisach, the board or the 12,500-student, 27-campus school district. Seventy percent of students in the Kalamazoo Public Schools are poor enough to qualify for free or reduced-price meals, and the recent economic struggles in Michigan have been noted around the country.
But despite the challenges, the Kalamazoo Board of Education has made college preparedness a priority. In 2006, the district launched a privately funded program that pays the college tuition of every graduate, regardless of their ability to pay. Since that time, 91 percent of Kalamazoo Central graduates have gone on to college.
Other initiatives involve sending summer reading books to every incoming sixth-grader and doubling the number of Advanced Placement (AP) courses in the past two years.
“We have given our students a promise: Finish high school, do what you are supposed to do and you can go to college,” Breisach said. “We have upped the rigor and have made Kalamazoo a place where all students have a focus on going to college.”
To win the White House competition, Kalamazoo Central students prepared a short video and essays on why their school should be chosen. The other finalists were high-performing schools in well-to-do suburban areas. Kalamazoo Central was the only finalist that serves a primarily impoverished student body.
“We are so grateful the President chose our school; the students, teachers and staff certainly have earned it,” Breisach said. “The success of the Kalamazoo Public Schools is proof that all students can be successful, no matter their background, if given the right opportunities.”
For more than 20 years, Eric Breisach has represented cable television clients and trade associations in a wide variety of matters, including administrative hearings, regulatory rulemakings and other proceedings before the Federal Communications Commission, state public service commissions, the Small Business Administration and other regulatory bodies. He practices in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, but maintains his permanent residence in Kalamazoo.
This document is intended as an informational reminder and does not constitute legal advice. If you have any questions or would like to discuss a particular situation, please contact Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP. The purpose of this article is to provide general information about significant legal developments and should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts and circumstances.