Evanston Township High School will host “Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis” with Robert D. Putnam, Ph.D.

Evanston Township High School will host “Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis” with Robert D. Putnam, Ph.D. on Friday, April 29 at 7:00pm, in the school auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

In his latest bestselling book Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, Robert D. Putnam, Ph.D. shows that America has been veering further away from equality of opportunity for several decades, and the recent trends presage a collapse on social mobility rates in the decades ahead. The American Dream is increasingly out of reach for lower income students. Shockingly, smart poor kids (lower third of parental income, top third in test scores) have less chance of graduating from college than not-so-smart rich kids (upper third of parental income, bottom third in test scores).

Prof. Putnam is the Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. He has received numerous scholarly honors, including the Skytte Prize, the most prestigious global award in political science, and the National Humanities Medal, the nation’s highest honor for contributions to the humanities. He has written fourteen books, including Bowling Alone and Making Democracy Work, both among the most cited publications in the social sciences in the last half-century. He has consulted for the last three American presidents, the last three British prime ministers, the last French president, prime ministers from Ireland to Singapore, and hundreds of grassroots leaders and activists in many countries. The Sunday Times of London has called him “the most influential academic in the world.”

The April 29 presentation is sponsored by Family Action Network (FAN), in partnership with the James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy and Youth & Opportunity United (Y.O.U.).

ETHS is located at 1600 Dodge Ave., Evanston, 60201. The auditorium is wheelchair accessible. Guests should plan to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to 7:00pm to find parking and seats. Parking is available in the lot across from the main entrance, off of Dodge Avenue, or in the lots behind the high school. Parking is also available along Dodge Avenue according to posted City of Evanston signs.

For more information about FAN events and sponsors for the 2015-16 presentations, visit www.familyactionnetwork.net.