Rally for Public Education Outside of Bush/Murdoch/Gates Foundation Event in SF

10/13 Rally for Public Education Outside of Bush/Murdoch/Gates Foundation Event in SF

Education privatizers and billionaires will be meeting in San Francisco to push privatization and charter of schools nationally.



October 13th - 4-5 p.m. @ the Palace Hotel
http://www.uesf.org/pdf/10-13-11-flyer.pdf

10/ 13 In SF-Union Busters, Pols and Billionaires Arrive In SF To Push For Privatization-Destruction Of Public Eduation

Education Everywhere: National Summit on Education Reform 2011

Thursday, October 13, 2011

http://www.excelined.org/Pages/Programs/Excellence_in_Action/National_Summit/2011_Agenda.aspx

7:30 am Registration Opens

7: 30 – 8:15 am Breakfast Buffet

8:30 – 9:00 am Welcome from Jeb Bush, Chairman

9:15 -10:30 am Strategy Sessions

Strategy Session #1: The Teaching Profession 2.0

During the last two years, states across the country have ushered in the most sweeping reforms of the teaching profession in our nation’s history. More meaningful evaluations. An end to tenure and destructive last-in, first-out policies. Salaries that reflect student learning rather than seniority. Learn how lawmakers and policymakers from states around the nation are changing the paradigm of the teaching profession.

Moderator: Kate Walsh, President, National Council on Teacher Quality

Panelists:

Tony Bennett, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction and Chair, Chiefs for Change
Erik Fresen, Florida House of Representatives
Bryan Hassel, Co-Director, Public Impact
Kimberly Lightford, Illinois Senate
Tom Luna, Idaho Superintendent of Education
Strategy Session #2: Don’t Let a Financial Crisis Go To Waste

The United States spends $500 billion annually on K-12 education. While spending for education consistently rose during the last three decades, student achievement did not. Declining revenue in states across the country has already started to reverse the trend in funding, at a time when the demand for a more educated workforce is increasing. Learn the best and worst components of education funding formulas, and just what lawmakers and policymakers can do to get a better return-on-investment for their education dollars.

Moderator: James Guthrie, Senior Fellow and Director of Education Policy Studies, George W. Bush Institute

Panelists:

Don Gaetz, Florida Senate
Hanna Skandera, New Mexico Secretary-Designate of Public Education and member, Chiefs for Change
Strategy Session #3: Rebooting State Education
In 1998, almost half of Florida’s fourth graders were functionally illiterate. Today, nearly three-quarters of fourth graders are reading on orabove grade level, according to the National Assessment for Educational Progress. That’s not all. Hispanic fourth graders in the Sunshine State read as well or better than the average of all students in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Learn how high expectations for students, accountability for schools, choices for families and rewards for progress reversed a generation of decline in Florida’s public schools.

Moderator: F. Philip Handy, CEO, Strategic Industries and Foundation for Excellence in Education board member

Panelists:

Matt Ladner, Senior Advisor on Policy and Research, Foundation for Excellence in Education
Patricia Levesque, Executive Director, Foundation for Excellence in Education

10:45 am - Noon Strategy Sessions

Strategy Session #4: How Can Locally-Controlled Education Fuel a Global Economy?

The foundation of America’s education governance – locally-controlled school boards – was established in the 18th century. Today, nearly 100,000 individuals across America serve on nearly 15,000 local school boards. In a world that has changed dramatically since these institutions were formed, what is the role of local school boards in delivering a high quality education that prepares all students to succeed in the global economy? Hear different perspectives on the challenge

Moderator: Chester E. Finn, Jr., President, Thomas B. Fordham Institute


Panelists:

Anne Bryant, Executive Director, National School Boards Association
Joel Klein, Executive Vice President and CEO, Education Division News Corporation and former New York City Schools Chancellor
Gene Maeroff, Board of Education of Edison, New Jersey and author, School Boards in America: A Flawed Exercise in Democracy


Strategy Session #5: R U Ready, Grads?

Just one-third of the nation’s high school students earn a diploma and graduate from 12th grade with the knowledge to succeed in college and careers. Two-thirds don’t gain the skills to compete in the global economy or don’t earn a diploma at all. Leaders from across the nation are confronting the challenge. Learn how states are expanding and accelerating high school students' opportunities to earn college credit, and what is being done to get students ready for post-secondary education and the workplace that awaits them after high school.

Moderator: Pam Stewart, Chancellor, Florida Public Schools

Panelists:

John Gubera, Indiana Department of Education
Gayle Manchin, West Virginia Board of Education and former first-lady of West Virginia
Lizzette Gonzales Reynolds, Deputy Commissioner for Policy and Programs, Texas Education Agency


Strategy Session #6: Fed Up With Failure?

America is experiencing a renaissance in education. Yet, nearly every state in the nation faces a chronic problem with a pool of historically poor-performing schools. How do you turnaround a school or school district that has fundamentally institutionalized failure? Learn how bold leaders are altering the course of history at these schools and changing the lives of students who attend them.

Moderator: Lindsey Burke, Senior Policy Analyst, The Heritage Foundation

Panelists:

Ben Austin, Executive Director, Parent Revolution
Paul Pastorek, Former Louisiana State Superintendent of Education and Chiefs for Change emeritus member


12:15 – 1:30 pm Lunch Keynote - Sal Khan, Founder and Executive Director of Khan Academy

1:45 – 3:00 pm General Session

Nation’s Report Card on Digital Learning

Jeb Bush and Bob Wise, co-chairs of Digital Learning Now!, will release the first-ever Nation’s Report Card on Digital Learning. The Report Card will grade each state based on their alignment with the 10 Elements of High Quality Digital Learning, which was developed by the Digital Learning Council last fall.


3:15 – 4:30 pm Strategy Sessions


Strategy Session #7: Building Your Education Playlist

Technology has transformed nearly every aspect of our day-to-day life – work, communication, commerce and entertainment – except education. That is about to change. The seeds of the coming digital revolution are taking root in states across the nation. Digital learning – whether online or in a classroom – is yielding rising student achievement and, at the same time, addressing a myriad of modern-day challenges, including class-size mandates and teacher shortages. Learn the essentials of digital learning from pioneers and practitioners of this new delivery system for education.

Moderator: Deirdre Finn, Deputy Executive Director of Foundation for Excellence in Education

Panelists:

John Danner, Co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education
Rick Ogston, Founder and Executive Director, Carpe Diem Collegiate High School
Darren Reed, Vice President, Blended Schools, K12, Inc.
Mickey Revenaugh, Connections Academy
Julie Young, President and CEO of Florida Virtual School
Strategy Session #8: The Third-Grade Graduation Strategy

Learning to read in the third grade may determine whether a student will graduate from high school. According to a recent study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, students who couldn’t read by the end of the third grade were more likely to drop out of high school. In fact, 88 percent of students who failed to earn a high school diploma were struggling readers in the third grade. Learn the policies that will put students on the path to a lifetime of success.

Moderator: Reba Dominski, Director of Education, Target Foundation

Panelists:

Tony Bennett, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction and Chair, Chiefs for Change
Jay Greene, Department Head and 21st Century Chair in Education Reform, University of Arkansas
Donald Hernandez, Professor of Sociology at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York and author of Annie E. Casey Foundation’s “Double Jeopardy”
Clark Jolley, Oklahoma Senate
7:00 – 9:00 pm Dinner Keynote - Melinda Gates, Co-Chair, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Friday, October 14, 2011

7:30 – 8: 15 am Breakfast Buffet

8:15 – 9:15 am Morning Keynote - Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, News Corporation

9:30 – 10:45 am General Session - To Be Announced

11:00 am – 12:15 pm Strategy Sessions

Strategy Session #9: Just When You Thought You Did It All . . .

2011 will mark the 20th anniversary of the country’s first charter school. While 80 percent of states now authorize charter schools, the potential for innovation continues to grow – along with the public demand for this educational option. Learn how lawmakers and policymakers are expanding capacity of charter schools as well as charter options.

Moderator: Todd Ziebarth, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools

Panelists:

Rich Crandall, Arizona Senate
Jed Wallace, President and CEO, California Charter Schools Association

Strategy Session #10: Got Choice? Get Choice!

States around the nation are proving that there are as many wants to achieve choice as there are educational choices themselves. Explore the many ways states are empowering parents with the financial freedom to choose the school that’s right for their child. Learn what’s worked in recent years to overcome the obstacles to vouchers and expand the options for students.

Moderator: William Oberndorf, Managing Director, SPO Partners & Co.

Panelists:

Robert Behning, Indiana House of Representatives
Rick Murphy, Arizona Senate
Joe Negron, Florida Senate
Gary Simrill, South Carolina House of Representatives

12:30 – 1:45 pm Lunch and Closing Keynote - To Be Announced

*Times listed are PDT

Photo of Bill Gates at the AFT Convention last year. Gates and his education privatization foundation which pushes charters was supported by AFT President Randy Weingarten who invited the privatizer to the AFT convention which brought booing and a walk-out by hundreds of delegates.