Program | Speakers | Videos

Moderator:
Chas Edelstein, Co-CEO, Apollo Group Inc.

Education delivery is no longer solely "brick and mortar" — today's reference to a teacher standing in front of 25 students in a traditional school setting. As technology expands exponentially, so is education around the globe. Now, with online learning, that same great teacher educating 25 students has the power to educate millions. Ron Packard, CEO of K12 Inc. education provider services, notes not only the increasing numbers of students who can be reached, but also the ease of bringing in teachers at any time. K12 currently involves 3,000 teachers across the nation, all trained online.

Teachers and students around the world are benefitting from education technology of all types — from traditional computers and whiteboards to mobile phones. A cost-effective high-quality Spanish class? There may just be an app for that. If not, there′s a good chance there soon will be.

But the panelists cautioned that while technology is making huge strides in educational access, it is not a panacea. Every corner of the globe may not have a phone line, but every community has people. It will take human capital to educate students and continue efforts over the long term.

High-quality teachers and teacher training are core ingredients of Singapore's successful education system. Before the government made a significant investment in the country's education, half of Singapore's population was illiterate, according to Duriya Aziz, general manager of Singapore Education Publishing. Recognizing that people represented Singapore's strongest resource in a country with a minimal starting point, the government now invests 22 percent of its budget in education (second to defense). Education is perceived as more than job training; it represents hope and opportunities for people to lead better lives.

In Singapore, teacher candidates comprise the top 10 percent of college graduates, compared to the bottom third in the U.S. All teachers go through training at the National Institute of Education. To complement rigorous training, they undergo at least 100 hours of professional development per year. Some teachers participate in up to 200 hours. "The greatest challenge," Aziz notes, "is getting enough teachers."

Although its efforts are in the earlier stages, the government of India has made education a priority with the Right to Education Act. The challenge now, says Ryan Pinto of the Ryan International Group of Institutions, is to implement mechanisms to attract teachers and train them effectively. Pinto's group is implementing programs in house. It is important to incentivize teachers in order to "prepare global citizens and help them do what they do best," says Pinto.

Moderator:
Thomas Boysen, Chief Learning Officer, GlobalScholar

The federal government has pumped $100 billion into the stimulus to promote innovation and change in the way the nation′s schools are doing business. The effective infusion of education technology can make a significant difference, especially in an age when students are opting for Twitter over the telephone. Are states and districts ready to take the plunge? And do they have enough resources to instill meaningful technological change?

Leslie Conery of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) said the stimulus provides good opportunities, but it is not enough to scale successful programs. ISTE estimates that it would cost $11,695 to transform a middle-school classroom into a 21st century, technology-rich learning environment and nearly $4.9 billion to transform middle schools nationwide. As technology and training go hand-in-hand, these funds would pay for the professional development, training and support, as well as the computer hardware, software, digital curricular resources and other technology devices.

Virtual learning has led to impressive gains in student achievement for both reading and math, but "a challenge," said Ron Packard of K12 Inc., is "getting the district on board with a revolutionary shift to online learning." Without altering leadership structure, the change is a significant adjustment.

The federal Race to the Top competition has created a surge of incentive for states to make necessary education reform changes. Although there were only two winners in the first round, Tennessee and Delaware, the competition prompted states like California to have conversations about bold reform that they would not have otherwise had.

California also changed state laws, which might have been the biggest takeaway, said Rick Miller, deputy superintendent of the California Department of Education. It will continue to be necessary to work with unions throughout the process. Marco Petruzzi, president and CEO of Green Dot Public Schools and a supporter of California's Race to the Top application, noted progress with unions across the U.S. Important to unions will be implementing change gradually as well as ensuring that teacher performance pay and evaluations will be fair and measured by value-added achievement growth.

As the support and quality of teachers are critical to the success of any education reform, Petruzzi was quick to connect educators and technology. "If we improve the level of rigor for teachers," he said, "then technology can really flourish."

Moderator:
Caprice Young, CEO, KC Distance Learning

In 1990, there were no charter schools. Now there are 5,000 across the country, gaining attention as a viable option for parents. What's more, they are succeeding in some of the nation's toughest neighborhoods. But with their unique freedoms relating to the management of staff and delivery of curriculum, can they have a significant impact on improving the K-12 educational landscape? Can these "pockets of innovation" be scaled up? Should they be?

"If the time is not ripe, then you ripen the time," says Kent Amos of the Dorothy I. Height Community Academy Public Charter School, quoting Height herself. "The charter school movement is essential to the [education] transformation."

The self-proclaimed "father on a mission" (he has fathered or taken in 85 children over the years) works tirelessly behind the belief that all children have the ability to succeed if given the right tools. The idea is not necessarily to scale up one, such as charter schools, but to embrace all effective options and work collectively to help raise student achievement. "What's scalable is success," Amos notes, "wherever you can find it."

Michelle Rhee, chancellor of D.C. Public Schools, agrees. One-third of DCPS students attend charter schools. "D.C. charter schools are a 'proof point' that even in the toughest neighborhoods, students can achieve," she says. "This gives us leverage at the school district to push for innovative reforms."

Impressive charter school data seem to be speaking louder than numbers. And since the time seems to be ripe for education innovation across the country, people are listening carefully.

Moderator:
Lowell Milken, Co-Founder, Knowledge Universe Education; Founder, TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement

Even after decades of significant investments in education, the U.S. has made little progress in raising student achievement levels and attracting the right numbers of talented educators to do the job, Milken Family Foundation Chairman and TAP Founder Lowell Milken told a packed ballroom of leaders in education, business, policy and the community-at-large.

The new Race to the Top and Investing in Innovation Fund — coupled by an increased commitment to the Teacher Incentive Fund — are signals that the federal government is taking action to reverse this course. The competitive funds have sparked states and districts to think differently about educating their students. But given the resistance to changing the status quo, can the American K-12 system be reformed?

The general consensus of the panelists was yes, but there is still work to be done. Philanthropist Eli Broad and former U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings say that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was a good start. Its reauthorization will be critical in moving forward. "Rather than tinkering around the edges," said Spellings, "we need to use time, people and money in smarter ways." And there is no doubt that the end result must be increased student achievement.

"Effective reform boils down to student achievement," Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said. "Anything short of that is unacceptable." Johnson offered four key factors in achieving reform: changing the culture of a school, increasing accountability, prohibiting excuses and having great people. This not only means teachers, but also principals and school board members.

Kevin Guitterrez made great people the core of education strategy while serving as chief academic officer of the Algiers Charter Schools Association (ACSA) in New Orleans. He is now continuing his work as deputy superintendent of the state's Recovery School District. At ACSA, Guitterrez's team adopted TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement, embedding it into the charter. TAP is a powerful, comprehensive school reform that offers educators career advancement, ongoing data-driven professional development, rigorous teacher accountability based on clearly defined teaching standards, and performance-based pay. With TAP, ACSA is able to get the right people to become teachers, develop them into effective instructors and ensure that the system can deliver the best possible instruction.

Tony Miller, U.S deputy secretary of education, highlights this ultimate goal of an aligned approach. He notes that an instructional system that aligns teacher and principal preparation to high standards and accountability will be productive. When it comes to evaluation, the system must take student achievement into account. In his conversations with teachers, they say that they welcome evaluation if it is done fairly. "Evaluation systems must be based on clear standards, provide regular monitoring, ongoing feedback and intervention in the form of professional development, and be delivered by trained evaluators," Miller said.

Other critical factors in effective sustainable school reform are selecting talented principals, motivating students, engaging parents with user-friendly information and creating public/private partnerships.

-- Jana Rausch, Senior Manager of Media and Public Affairs, Milken Family Foundation

Moderator:
Nina Rees, Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, Knowledge Universe Education

What if students looked up to the world's greatest scientists and engineers just like they do our star athletes? Shelly Esque of Intel thinks that this shift in mindset would go a long way toward improving STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education and increasing the numbers of U.S. scientists and engineers.

That's not to say that all students should be transformed into "Science Guys," but if math and science are presented in more fun and relevant ways in the early stages, there's a good chance that students would gravitate towards those fields. That's why Intel has created programs such as the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network. The after-school program utilizes students' interests in music, art, graphics and even video games to help them develop a love for math and science. Knowledge Universe created a hands-on camp called Champions Science Adventures, which, according to Strategic Initiatives Senior Vice President Nina Rees, has helped increase student test scores by 12 percent. This year's program will allow students to build a robot, become mini-astronauts, solve an Egyptian mystery and leap into a wild animal adventure.

Work is also being done at the federal level to improve math and science education. "The world today is defined by science and technology," said Michael Lach, special assistant for science, technology, engineering and mathematics Education at the U.S. Department of Education. "We have two main objectives in improving math and science: to prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers and to improve the overall understanding of science and math. With the president's commitment and federal resources, we are at a remarkable time now that we can do it."

President Obama has launched the "Educate to Innovate" campaign to increase STEM literacy so that all students can learn deeply and think critically in science, math, engineering, and technology. He hopes to move American students from the middle of the pack to top in the next decade and expand STEM education and career opportunities for underrepresented groups, including women and girls. National Lab Day was launched last year, which joins students and educators with volunteers, university students, scientists, engineers and others to bring real-world science experiences into the classroom. This year's National Lab Day will be celebrated on May 12.

"It's important for everyone to become part of the solution," Lach said.

Moderator:
Fran Durekas, Founder and Chief Development Officer, Children's Creative Learning Centers Inc.

Diversity - or better yet inclusion - has become a major issue in global corporations and companies of all sizes as businesses seek to recruit, retain and motivate workforces that are competitive worldwide. No longer viewed as a program designed simply to meet ethnic or gender employment goals or quotas — nearly all Fortune 100 companies have chief diversity officers - inclusion is an important component businesses use to meet an increasingly wide range of employees with differing professional and personal objectives and needs. This panel discusses innovative initiatives that leading global companies have developed to recruit and groom top executives, as well as retain talent throughout the organization. How can social media be used to attract younger generations of employees? Can an inclusive workforce position a company to capture larger market share? What are the lessons learned of a vigorous diversity initiative?

Moderator:
Barry Munitz, Chair, California P-16 Council; Trustee Professor, California State University, Los Angeles

College students have been protesting tuition hikes for decades. But now it's not just a matter of rising fees and the burden of student loans — the budget crunch is forcing many universities to reduce class offerings and limit admissions, while others struggle to retain their strongest faculty and to protect their economic impact. What actions are needed in order to fulfill America's promise of opportunity for the next generation? How should we address these spiraling costs? Can we create alternative options for families to cover higher education expenses? Can online universities or the expanded use of technology pick up the slack? This panel examines practical strategies for keeping the doors of higher education open to talented and motivated students from all socioeconomic groups, maintaining quality outcomes that are in the nation's best interest.

Moderator:
Gregory Cappelli, Co-CEO, Apollo Group Inc.

More than 262 million students worldwide will be seeking higher education by 2025, according to UNESCO. This influx presents enormous challenges for education systems, especially in emerging economies where higher learning is seen as a critical driver of economic growth, social development and prosperity. How can higher education systems in these economies accommodate such rapid and extensive growth while meeting the needs of a diverse student population? This panel explores how the growing prevalence of digital interactions and more personalized Web experiences can enhance educational delivery. It also analyzes the potential of data and mass cloud computing infrastructure to provide richer, more relevant interactions and better assessment capabilities to help address the needs of growing student populations across the world.

Moderator:
Felicia Thornton, CEO, Knowledge Universe Education U.S.

Each nation's future prosperity depends on developing the next generation of scientists, teachers, engineers and productive citizens. Public and private investments in high-quality early childhood education have demonstrated a greater rate of return than almost any other public investment, yet vulnerable children from low-income, at-risk families who benefit the most from comprehensive education and care have limited access to quality programs. How can cities, states and nations begin to change this picture? How can philanthropic foundations, government agencies and the private sector partner to broaden access and improve the quality of educational programs and services available to those most in need? This panel examines the innovative initiatives that are making a real difference in the lives of children.