More than 1.1 million students attend New York City public schools. Community involvement is critical to the success of the nation's largest school system. Mission Society's Community Conversations in Education Project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is aimed at bringing together opinion leaders from the city's diverse communities to discuss key issues in education and the impact of public education reforms underway over the past six years. Through a series of formal and informal conversations, city leaders will define the challenges facing the public school system and explore the opportunities for effective change.

Following the July 16th Cluster Meeting, The CCEP project will help those who attended to organize and facilitate community-specific meetings with the goal of bringing opinion leaders such as business owners, clergy, and community leaders that they identify together with education experts to discuss the current state of education and how it affects those in their communities. The dialogue emerging from these community conversations will be an important source of perspective and guidance to inform policy decisions on education reform. Transcripts of the conversations will be shared widely with educators, neighborhood groups, donors, the Mayor's office and the NYC Department of Education.