Cutting Through the Jargon of Educational Equity – What the Bay Area’s Boldest District Leaders Are Really Doing and Why All Roads Are Leading to Student Achievement
With limited resources, heightened NCLB scrutiny, and varying lawsuits, districts must continue to align their priorities and investments with educational equity. In this session some of the Bay Area's boldest and most visionary district leaders discussed the new initiatives their districts are spearheading to meet this demand.

Using Politics, Policy, and Advocacy as a Force for Change
Working in advocacy and politics gives alumni the ability to affect policies at the classroom, district, city, and state levels. In this panel, alumni and other leaders in politics and policy discussed the many ways alumni can engage in these fields and how we can use politics as an influential lever in closing the achievement gap.

Click here to watch D.C. Board of Education Member, Sekou Biddle (New York City '93), and Senior Policy Advisor to Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid Jason Unger (Los Angeles '98) at the Metro D.C. Summit's Force for Change panel.

Teachers Matter Most: How to build Effective and Sustainable Teacher Pipelines for Classroom Excellence
Across the country, schools and districts struggle to attract and retain high quality teachers. These teachers often pursue long term careers outside the classroom or move to charter schools with more professional development and compensation opportunities. How are teachers, union leaders, and principals responding to these issues?

California's P-16 Plan
The California P-16 Council--comprised of high level, statewide educators from pre-school, K-12, and higher education, as well as business, philanthropy and community leaders--is charged with developing strategies to better coordinate, integrate and improve education for preschool through college students. This presentation explored the Council’s initiatives, progress to date, and priorities moving forward.

Power of Words: The Role of Media in Informing our Public Consciousness and Dialogue and the Responsibility of Alumni to Engage in Public Debate
Leading writers and journalists joined for a provocative discussion about the powerful and ever-changing role of media and the potential impact of the press to help expose the achievement gap and push education reform. Participants heard perspectives on the responsibility alumni have to engage in public debate and help shape the focus and direction of media.

Professional Development and Inspiration in Teaching
In this panel, four alumni teachers shared how they develop themselves in their work, sustain their careers long-term, and remain challenged by, and committed to, the profession of teaching.

Big Ideas, Big Impact: Social Entrepreneurship
Explore the ins and outs of social entrepreneurship through the eyes of alumni who have successfully launched organizations. Panelists addressed the motivation and preparation needed to get started. This was a great opportunity for emerging entrepreneurs to turn their vision into a reality.

The Role of Schools, Community and Policy Makers in Ensuring Student Health and Wellness
What roles do schools and policy makers have in holistically caring for students? In this panel, veteran educators, health experts, and community leaders explored both challenges and innovative solutions for schools and communities that prioritize health and social services in efforts to drive student achievement.

Our Mission is Possible: What California Must Do to Realize Educational Equity
Practices and policies throughout California perpetuate devastating achievement gaps. This presentation evaluated the opportunities and structures that can support real change at all levels in education and make educational equity a reality for Californian students.

Leading the Bay Area's Best Schools: Lessons Learned From Some of the Top Performing Schools that Serve Low-income and Minority Children
A handful of schools across the Bay Area region are challenging gaps in academic achievement. These schools are setting high expectations, transforming school cultures, and investing students, teachers, and parents. This panel discussion explored the lessons learned on the path to high student achievement.

Pre-School for All? Lessons Learned from California's Failed Campaign and What Bay Area Activists Think About the Future of Pre-K Access
Why did Californians vote against a measure that would provide early childhood education for all? This panel discussion evaluated the setbacks of the failed Early Childhood campaign and investigate the future educational and political climate of early childhood education.

Making it All Work: Balancing Your Professional and Personal Life
Women account for nearly half of America’s workforce. Countless articles and books have been written about this trend and many researchers explain the phenomena in one of the following two ways: the bias of leadership in the existing networks of power, and the need to balance work and family. However, these sources rarely provide you with real-life stories of the challenges, successes, and regrets of the women in these situations. In this presentation, attendees heard from women who have managed to balance personal and professional responsibilities, and despite the challenges, have been extremely successful. Hear about the decisions made, the challenges they have had and the advice they would give aspiring female leaders.

Pathways to Policy Leadership
This discussion and networking opportunity highlighted alumni on the path to policy leadership. Participants learned about the skills, experiences, and training necessary to enter politics and advance toward positions of influence. They left the discussion with information about degree programs, organizations, and roles.

Read about Peter Wright’s (Eastern North Carolina '05) policy fellowship in Governor Schwarzenegger’s Office at Leadership for Educational Equity.

Pathways to Elected Leadership
Thinking about running for office? Have an interest in serving your community? This workshop addressed critical skills and proven strategies for pursuing and serving in elected leadership positions.

Visit Leadership for Educational Equity to explore ways you can start building your credentials for elected office.

Do What You Love: Identify Careers that Fit Your Strengths
This interactive workshop featured individual and group self-assessments to help you learn more about yourself and career possibilities that play to your strengths.

Become a Strong Candidate for a Principal Preparation Program
Interested in applying to New Leaders for New Schools, KIPP, Building Excellent Schools, or UC Berkeley’s Principal Leadership Institute? This skill-building workshop provided participants with an opportunity to strengthen their applications for school leadership pipeline programs. Participants were encouraged to bring their resumes and school leadership pipeline program applications.

Empowering Community with Data: A How-to on Using and Analyzing Education Data to Fuel Local Reform
This presentation focused on the importance of using data in school reform efforts and how citizens can rely on data to ensure that California is continuously improving public education. Parents, students, advocates, educators, and other community stakeholders learned how to analyze and use data.

Teaching as Leadership: Accessing Teach For America's Tools for Teacher Development
This panel was an opportunity for all educators – teachers, assistant principals, principals, teaching coaches, etc – to learn how to leverage Teach For America's Teaching as Leadership framework and our supporting tools. Participants left the session understanding the developmental support we are utilizing with our most recent corps members, and how they can access these resources online and leverage them in their own day-to-day work.

Effective Public-Private Partnerships: A Case Study From San Jose
This workshop focused on Applied Materials, which devotes a considerable portion of their corporate philanthropy program to educational inequities in two local communities. This company invests in and works closely with a range of schools and non-profits that serve these communities. This workshop was a unique opportunity to learn how the public/private partnership was forged and draw from this case study to help you develop private/public partnerships in your own organization to target issues of educational inequity.

Pathways to School Leadership: Becoming a Principal in the San Francisco Bay Area
Are you ready to take the next step into a principal position? Participants attended this session to hear what hiring managers are looking for in a competitive candidate. They heard from representatives from San Francisco Unified School District, Oakland Unified School District, Aspire Public Schools, and Alum Rock Union Elementary School District.

Round Table Discussion: Sustaining a Career in Education
Attendees joined alumni in an informal small group discussion to share their own experiences and learn from others about finding a balance that enables them to stay in education. Tap into the collective wisdom of the alumni network and hear insights and best practices from experienced teachers and leaders who have battled attrition and improved retention in their schools.

Round Table Discussion: How can Teach For America Better Support our Alumni Teachers
Whether alumni have just completed your corps experience or have been in the classroom for years, they joined us for this unique opportunity to share your thoughts, concerns and ideas on how Teach For America can expand and improve upon how we support you, and the profession of teaching in general.