January 16, 2008
Austin, TX – Over 150 business, education and community leaders around the region are convening to create a 21st Century blueprint to create systemic change in our education systems in Central Texas.
Central Texas regional leaders will gather on January 23, 2008 at the Four Seasons in Austin to develop the “Blueprint for Change in Education for Central Texas.” The E3 Alliance has spent a year and a half compiling the most extensive set of objective regional data on education outcomes and trends ever available and engaging Central Texas communities to bring forward the best ideas from across the region. The process led to over 600 participants taking part in multi-session, structured dialogues about the impacts of education achievement gaps on our region. Now the E3 Alliance is asking regional leaders to “roll up their sleeves” to help define the “Blueprint for Change.”
“Recent studies have shown that closing the gaps to education success across all groups would benefit the Central Texas region by almost $52 Billion by 2030,” said Susan Dawson, executive director of the E3 Alliance. “It is vital that our education goals are aligned with the economic future of the region. Creating a ‘Blueprint for Change’ will help our children to be prepared for personal success and build the workforce we need for a globally competitive economy.”
The summit will be an interactive process that will allow leaders to select and quantify strategic education goals that will drive the Blueprint for Change. The community action plans from E3 Alliance’s previous work will support these goals, and this in turn will “cascade down” to actionable strategies.
Raymund Paredes, state Commissioner of Higher Education and speaker at the upcoming Summit stated, “Education is the key to our economic and social future. As we look at our global competition and the requirements of a competitive economy – especially with the coming retirement of the baby boomers – it is clear that too few students are successful in high school and higher education. Today we must work together to develop quantified goals for the Central Texas region. Whether you are a business, political, community or education leader this is in all our self-interest. We must commit to true systemic change – not just in our own organizations but as a region and a state.”
About the E3 Alliance
The E3 Alliance was formed as a regional collaborative to increase global competitiveness, economic vitality and overall quality of life for Central Texas by aligning our education systems to better fulfill the potential of every citizen. Founding partners are Austin Community College (ACC), the Austin Area Research Organization (AARO), the University of Texas, and dozens of businesses, foundations, educational institutions and community-based organizations are active partners.
Guided by an objective data map and a clear community vision, the E3 Alliance proposes to better align the practices of our regional education system and allocate investments and services more efficiently to dramatically and sustainably increase educational outcomes. The E3Alliance is the Central Texas P-16 Council.
