“We think that public education is the great equalizer, but for a successful community, you have to make it accessible to everyone.”Applause followed the statement made by Sharon Prentice, principal at Indianola Middle School, from audience members who came to “reinvent education” in the University District Sunday at Indianola Middle School. Public school educators, Ohio State faculty and alumni, parents and community residents attended to share their views.The 50 participants met in the school cafeteria and discussed issues including proficiency testing and making adult learning and job training in the University District schools a priority. There was a general consensus that for students to be successful, everyone in the campus community must work together. Perspectives shared at this meeting will be used by the University District Education Committee to form an action plan to be presented to Campus Partners by late November, said Doreen Uhas-Sauer. There were no middle school students or disadvantaged parents there who shared their views. Public meetings can be intimidating for people who may not have a high school diploma and are asked to attend a forum with professors and experts, said David Smith, senior associate for Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, who helped run the meeting.”The real challenge is start talking across race, class and ethnicity to come up with a plan that works for everybody,” he said.Smith said that if public schools are truly public, then they should represent what people in the community want.”We won’t have the community we want without bringing all of us, all of our voices, to the table,” he said. “I’m a little worried why they talked about the end of November.” It was an educational experience for educators, too.Forum sponsors included the University District Organization’s Center for Civic Values and the University District Education Committee.