Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, Amanda Ripley and Salman Khan are featured speakers at CSBA Annual Education Conference
SACRAMENTO, Calif., (December 8, 2014) – National STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and diversity leader Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, successful learning author Amanda Ripley, and Khan Academy founder and educator Salman Khan are the featured speakers at the California School Boards Association (CSBA) Annual Education Conference (AEC) and Trade Show, the association’s premier continuing education program. More than 3,000 school board members, superintendents and educators will attend the conference, taking place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco December 14 – 16.
The CSBA conference, an 80-plus year statewide tradition celebrating continued commitment to student achievement and learning, will feature hundreds of workshops, professional development and networking opportunities focusing on five strands: opportunity and achievement; student learning; funding, finance and facilities; leadership through governance; and partnerships and collaboration.
General Session Speakers
Three general sessions, presented by influential educators and best-selling authors, will address the top educational issues facing California public schools:
Sunday, December 14 - Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, an all-inclusive STEM approach advocate, has served as the president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County since 1992. His research and publications focus on science and math education, with special emphasis on minority participation and performance. Time magazine named him one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2012. Dr. Hrabowski is a recipient of the Heinz Award for his contributions to improving the “Human Condition” and was among the inaugural inductees into the U.S. News & World Report STEM Solutions Leadership Hall of Fame. He has authored numerous articles and co-authored two books, “Beating the Odds—Raising Academically Successful African American Males” and “Overcoming the Odds—Raising Academically Successful African American Young Women.”
Monday, December 15 – Amanda Ripley, a widely recognized voice on the politics of education reform, is an investigative journalist for Time, The Atlantic and other magazines. She is the author of “The Smartest Kids in the World—and How They Got That Way” and “The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes—and Why.” In her books and magazine writing, Ripley explores the gap between public policy and human behavior. For Time and The Atlantic, she has chronicled the stories of kids, parents and teachers, writing cover stories on the college of the future, the politics of education reform and the science of motivating children. She has visited schools on four continents and interviewed hundreds of students, teachers and parents.
Tuesday, December 16 – Salman Khan, founder and executive director of the Khan Academy, will participate in a one-on-one conversation with CSBA CEO and Executive Director Vernon M. Billy about innovative strategies for improving the way that all children learn. Based on Khan’s book, “The One World Schoolhouse,” the conversation will provide insight into how online technology can play an integral role in educating communities, closing the opportunity gap and providing high-quality education for all. Founded in 2006, Khan Academy’s online content and video lectures have garnered more than 450 million views on YouTube, reaching millions of students worldwide.
Following the conversation with Khan, Billy and Dennis Meyers, CSBA’s assistant executive director of Governmental Relations will lead AEC’s annual
State of the State panel discussion, exploring the most pressing issues facing education in California in 2015, including LCFF and related funding matters, common core and teacher tenure. Panel participants include Karen Stapf Walters, executive director of the California State Board of Education, Ron Bennett, president and CEO of School Services of California, and Kevin Gordon, president of Capitol Advisors Group, LLC.
For more information about CSBA’s Annual Education Conference, visit the website.
About CSBA
The California School Boards Association (CSBA) is the non-profit education association representing the elected officials who govern public school districts and county offices of education. With a membership of nearly 1,000 educational agencies statewide, CSBA brings together school district governing boards and county boards of education to advocate for effective policies that advance the education and well-being of the state’s more than 6 million school-age children. CSBA provides policy resources and training to members, and represents the statewide interests of public education through legal, political legislative, community and media advocacy.
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