2021 Blueprint Summit
On June 9, 2021, we brought data, stories from our community, and insights into where we are as a region and where we need to go as part of our annual Blueprint for Educational Change Summit.
Together we can accelerate pre-K enrollment
Together we can accelerate equitable outcomes
Together we can accelerate attendance, commitment, engagement
Together we can accelerate renewed commitments
Blueprint Summit Agenda
8:30 – 9:30am
Networking Meetup (Optional)
Join us for Coffee and Conversation during an informal and optional time to network with role-alike peers before the summit begins. Grab your favorite coffee drink, choose your breakout room, and engage in a dynamic morning chat around topics of interest!
9:30 – 9:40am
Welcome with Susan Dawson
President & Executive Director of E3 Alliance
E3 Alliance partners with 15 school districts, 8 higher education institutions, and collaborates with over 200 businesses, nonprofits, and policy leaders in Central Texas to collectively build an equitable educational pipeline that drives economic prosperity. Launched in 2008, The Blueprint for Educational Change is the strategic plan that guides our data-driven, collective impact work. Forging collaboration was never more important than this past year. Navigating multiple challenges, the Central Texas community showed persistence and resilience toward accelerating lasting systems change. The Blueprint Summit is the culmination of these collaborative efforts and testimony of what we can accomplish together to effect an inclusive culture of high performance for all students.
9:40 – 10:05am
Keynote with Sylvia Acevedo
Entrepreneur, investor, business leader, rocket scientist, and founding board chair of E3 Alliance, Sylvia Acevedo is a devout believer in the power of education as an agent of transformation to improve lives, communities, organizations – and the world.
Author of Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist, which details Ms. Acevedo’s personal journey from Las Cruces, New Mexico, to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the top executive tiers of Apple, Dell, IBM and other U.S. technology leaders.
She served as Chief Executive Officer of the Girl Scouts of the USA from May 2017 to August 2020, and as interim Chief Executive Officer from June 2016 to May 2017. Ms. Acevedo was a board member from 2008 until 2016.
In addition, she was Chair of President Obama’s White House initiative for Educational Excellence for Hispanics in early childhood leadership, driving the Administration’s Early Childhood Dual Language Education Policy.
Today she is a national speaker on education, STEM, cybersecurity, demographic trends, and leadership. Ms. Acevedo currently serves on the Qualcomm Board of Directors.
10:05 – 10:20am
The Blueprint for Educational Change Data & Updates
We will look broadly at the current state of key education indicators in Central Texas, as well as the context of where we have been. This data overview will provide the foundation for understanding the collective impact work that is taking place to undertake deep, systemic, and equitable change.
Moderator:
Susan Dawson
President & Executive Director | E3 Alliance
10:20 – 10:45am
Accelerate Change Together: Reflection Breakout Session
Reflect with fellow participants around the Why and What of sustainable change in the Central Texas education system, priming the conversation for the rest of the summit.
10:45 – 10:50am
Break
10:50 – 11:45am
A Very Different Year: Student & Educator Guest Panel
We host a very special panel to hear directly from students and educators about their experience during this very different year. Topics include challenges and benefits of different learning modalities and lessons learned.
Moderator:
Jennifer Saenz
Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives & Continuous Improvement
11:45 – 12:15pm
Lunch
12:15 – 1:30pm
Accelerate Change Together: Deep Dive Breakout Session
Join and learn alongside fellow participants in the topic session of your choice by self-selecting from the five breakout sessions below. An E3 staff member will facilitate each session, taking you on a journey from data to knowledge to action, and showcasing how we can accelerate change together.
You’ll choose one of the following topic sessions to join:
- School Readiness
- Student Engagement
- Postsecondary Success
- Early Literacy
- Student Reentry
Room 1: School Readiness
Accelerating Early Learning
Participants will reflect on the importance of early childhood experience with a focus on pre-K and how it correlates to late school success.
A dynamic panel will discuss how they worked to accelerate change during this very difficult year focusing on local and state policy. In addition participants will learn about Central Texas’ pre-K enrollment push.
Guest Speakers:
Ami Cortes-Castillo, Director of Early Childhood, Austin ISD
David Feigen, Early Childhood Policy Associate, Texans Care for Children
Kendra Winans, Senior Director of State and Federal Programs, Leander ISD
Charlotte Zemo, Early Childhood Coordinator, Pflugerville ISD
Resources:
Facilitator:
Laura Koenig
Senior Director of Community Solutions | E3 Alliance
Room 2: Student Engagement
Accelerating Engagement: Let’s ACE the School Year
This session will offer participants a deeper dive into the collective impact efforts that are in place and in motion to positively influence how students attend, commit, and engage.
Through a closer look at student engagement as it pertains to attendance, school-family relationships, and equitable outcomes, participants themselves will be engaged with data, storytelling, and reflection to illuminate their role in accelerating change together.
If we ACT now, students can ACE every school year!
Guest Speakers:
Joe DeLeon, Hutto ISD
Kathy Alexander, Hays CISD
Alejandro Góngora, Ashley Dobravolsky & Lisa Kutsch, Manor ISD
Resources:
Facilitator:
Dr. Thymai Dong
Director of Community Solutions | E3 Alliance
Room 3: Postsecondary Success
Accelerating Together: The Route to Achieving Postsecondary Success
Currently, we can predict student postsecondary outcomes by their zip code, income level, race/ethnicity, and gender.
In this session, we will learn from four different initiatives on how they are engaging students to help them navigate the postsecondary space by providing them the resources and mentorship needed to be successful in earning postsecondary credentials.
Guest Speakers:
Isaac Torres, Account Executive, Make It Movement
Ashley Alaniz-Moyer, Executive Director, Hispanic Scholarship Consortium
Scott Del Rosi, Managing Director, Programs and Student Services, College Forward
Resources:
Facilitator:
Jennifer Saenz
Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives & Continuous Improvement | E3 Alliance
Room 4: Early Literacy
Learning Together: A Community Approach to Early Literacy
Data over the last 10 years indicates that race and socio-economic status influence proficiency in literacy development.
E3 Alliance, in coordination with regional partner districts, developed the Literacy Framework that allows for the assessment of literacy systems in place, thus allowing the campus to identify strategies that will improve early literacy for all students.
Guest Speakers:
Jaclynne Bizzell, Jarrell ISD
Jennifer Hanna & Dr. Monica Salas-Truhill, Hays CISD
Karisma Tamez, United Way of Austin
Resources:
Facilitator:
Priscilla Flores
Impact Network Coordinator | E3 Alliance
Room 5: Student Reentry
Student Reentry and Discipline Practices
Participants will engage in a dynamic discussion around regional discipline referral data and the connection to school culture, a feeling of belonging, and student engagement in the classroom.
Loretta Finder and Carlie Yeager, Assistant Principals of Union Hill Elementary (Round Rock ISD) will share their campus journey from data to knowledge and ultimately action that has shown improved outcomes for both students and educators with time for individual reflection to consider what can we do to accelerate change together.
Guest Speakers:
Loretta Finder & Carlie Yeager, Union Hill Elementary, Round Rock ISD
Resources:
Facilitator:
Lauren Thomas
Manager of Continuous Improvement | E3 Alliance
1:30 – 2:00pm
Closing Keynote with Dr. Sherri Benn
Dr. Sherri Benn currently serves as the Assistant Vice President for Institutional Inclusive Excellence for Student Initiatives at Texas State University. She has led and coordinated many university programs, such as Student Government, Interruptions Anti-racism Peer Educators, Hip Hop Congress, Student Foundation, Black President’s Council, and many others. Additionally, she teaches Social Justice in Higher Education and Multicultural Practices in the Student Affairs in Higher Education Master’s Program.
Dr. Benn is currently the President of the Texas Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education. She will inspire you with her passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion and close the event with a powerful and dynamic message that you will not want to miss.
Many thanks to our sponsors!
Agents of Change
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