More than 3,000 school board members, superintendents and educators gather in San Diego at CSBA’s Annual Education Conference and Trade Show
SACRAMENTO, Calif., (December 1, 2015) - Distinguished authors and professors Sarah Lewis and Pedro Noguera, and national political strategists Donna Brazile and Steve Schmidt are featured speakers at the California School Boards Association’s Annual Education Conference and Trade Show taking place at the San Diego Convention Center, Dec. 3-5. More than 3,000 school board members, superintendents and educators will attend the conference, which is one of California’s premier education leadership events.
The CSBA conference, an 80-plus year statewide tradition celebrates continued commitment to student achievement and learning. It features hundreds of workshops, professional development and networking opportunities focusing on five strands: connected communities; equity access and opportunity; funding, finance and facilities; leadership through governance; and student learning.
General Session Speakers
Three general sessions will address top educational issues facing California public schools:
Thursday, December 3 - Sarah Lewis is an art historian and a Du Bois Fellow at Harvard University who has served on President Obama’s Arts Policy Committee. In her book The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery she explores the inestimable value of often ignored ideas — the power of surrender for fortitude, the criticality of play for innovation, the propulsion of the near win on the road to mastery, and the importance of grit and creative practice.
Friday, December 4: Pedro Noguera is the Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education at New York University and is a sociologist whose scholarship and research focuses on the ways in which schools are influenced by social and economic conditions, as well as by demographic trends in local, regional and global contexts.
Noguera has published over 200 research and scholarly articles, monographs, research reports and editorials on topics such as urban school reform, education policy, conditions that promote student achievement, the role of education in community development, youth violence, and race and ethnic relations in American society. He is the author of several books with his most recent two books being Schooling for Resilience: Improving the Life Trajectory of Black and Latino Boys and Excellence Through Equity: Five Principles of Courageous Leadership to Guide Achievement for Every Student.
Saturday, December 5: A Conversation with Political Pundits Donna Brazile and Steve Schmidt, moderated by CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy.
Donna Brazile is a veteran Democratic political strategist, adjunct professor, author, syndicated columnist, television political commentator and former campaign manager for Vice President Al Gore. Steve Schmidt is a campaign strategist and public relations consultant for the national Republican Party, a former strategist to President George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign and the former senior campaign strategist for the 2008 presidential campaign of Senator John McCain.
Following the conversation with Brazile and Schmidt, CSBA’s CEO and Executive Director Vernon M. Billy and Assistant Executive Director of Governmental Relations Dennis Meyers will lead AEC’s annual State of the State panel discussion, exploring the most pressing issues facing education in California in 2016, including school funding, facilities, the LCFF, teacher quality, and standardized testing and Common Core State Standards. Panel participants include California education experts Kevin Gordon, President and Partner of Capitol Advisors Group, LLC and Ron Bennett, CEO of School Services of California.
For more information about CSBA’s Annual Education Conference, visit our
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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