Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Dana T. Bedden is to head a panel discussing the challenges, progress and future of public schools in the city.

The forum will be held 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at Broomfield Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, 609 Jefferson Davis Highway on South Side.

The theme: The State of Public Education in Richmond, Virginia.

Charlotte Hayer, president of the Richmond Education Association, also will be among the panel members.

Topics to be discussed include the proliferation of public charter schools versus the devaluation of traditional public schools, school closures/overcrowding and modernizations, parental engagement, absenteeism/truancy, standardized tests, discipline and suspension, and efforts to mentor African-American and Hispanic students, according to organizers.

The event is being sponsored by the Broomfield C.M.E. Church Board of Christian Education.

For more information, call the church at (804) 232-5680.