Paul Vallas, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools and current superintendent of the New Orleans Recovery School District, will speak at NIU Thursday about the difference people can make in underperforming school districts.

At a 2 p.m. symposium in the Holmes Student Center, Regency Room, there will be a question-and-answer session for students and faculty.

At 7 p.m. in Altgeld Hall’s auditorium, Vallas will speak again about a range of topics involving education.

“Vallas will provide a vivid, first-hand account of the challenges in today’s schools and what people can do to make sure everyone has good educational opportunities,” said Charles Howell, department chair of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations.

Vallas has years of experience in the field of education, including stints as CEO of Chicago Public Schools from 1995-2001 and CEO of Philadelphia Public Schools from 2001-2007.

“He helped improve the Chicago and Philadelphia public schools from a poor condition, and now he hopes to do the same in New Orleans,” Howell said.

Since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans schools are in need of teachers, he said.

“New Orleans has a high poverty rate and the schools are low-performing,” he said.

“After Hurricane Katrina, many families moved back to New Orleans, but teachers have moved on elsewhere.”

According to Howell, Vallas’s aims are to recruit prospective teachers into New Orleans and have them understand that it is possible to make a difference in poor school districts.