This fall, our team and network have been involved in a variety of events and initiatives – from learning trips, awards ceremonies, innovation labs, and more. We’re excited to share these America Succeeds updates with you.
NewMexicoKidsCan attended a learning trip to Denver
Last month, America Succeeds hosted NewMexicoKidsCAN in Denver for a learning trip. They visited the #EdInnovation Lab at STRIVE Prep’s HackSchool and heard from ReadyCO, A+ Colorado, and other local partners around the success Denver and Colorado have had with financial transparency legislation and coalition-building.
The 2019 Evergreen National Education Prize was awarded to College Forward
Recently, members of our team traveled to New York City to support the 2019 Evergreen National Education Prize finalist pitch competition and awards ceremony.
College Forward won the 2019 Evergreen Prize with a compelling presentation from CEO Austin Buchan. College Forward’s mission is to coach underserved, motivated students to achieve the benefits of higher education and a college degree.
Check out @EvergreenPrize on Twitter and read more about this year’s winner here.
Affiliate News
ALIGNED
Aligned recently welcomed Don Guenther as Chair of their St. Louis Advisory Board. Don brings a wealth of experience in engineering, entrepreneurship, and business development to the conversation. His passion for education and community will certainly fuel the change needed to align business with education.
ARKANSAS LEARNS
Arkansas Learns sponsored the Arkansas State Chamber’s eighteen-city Door-to-Door tour. At each meeting, CEO Gary Newton shared the business competitiveness necessity of reading readiness, business leadership of local school boards, and support of Arkansas Learns’ Voice of Business for student-focus, transparency, accountability, rewards, choice, and agility in public education.
BEST NC
BEST NC hosted the 2019 Education Innovation Lab – themed Raising Expectations for Student Success – in late September. The annual event convened over 125 educators, policymakers, researchers, advocates, and business leaders. In addition to perspectives from a variety of speakers, including Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest, attendees had a chance to participate in intensive presentation workshops to dig in on specific topics like student-centered design and leveraging community partners to set high expectations. BEST NC created a fantastic overview page of this year’s Innovation Lab, complete with detailed session summaries, links to presentations and videos, and photos from the day. Check it out here.
COLORADO SUCCEEDS
Colorado Succeeds partnered with Tom Vander Ark of Getting Smart to host their annual business delegation trip in San Diego last month. Over 30 business leaders spent three days touring innovative schools, talking with workforce leaders about inclusive workforce strategies, and learning about efforts to recruit and develop more agile educators. Learn more about the trip here.
IDAHO BUSINESS FOR EDUCATION (IBE)
IBE hosted its 2nd Annual Age of Agility Conference in Boise on October 8. More than 350 people attended to engage with speakers and panels, including Governor Brad Little, on how business leaders, policymakers, and educators must respond to the changing nature of work. Idaho Public Television live-streamed the event so that viewers from across the state could participate. Learn more about the conference and speakers, as well as find a link to videos from the day, here.
OKLAHOMA ACHIEVES
Steve Hendrickson, director of government operations for The Boeing Company and chair of the steering committee for Oklahoma Achieves, authored an op-ed in response to a recent decision by Saab Group (a Swedish aerospace company) to reject a plan to build its new jet in Oklahoma. Hendrickson noted that for business, “access to a talented, well-skilled workforce is a major concern, right up there with high taxes and burdensome regulations.” His advice for policymakers was straightforward: break down the silos between education and workforce and prioritize increased connections between business and education leaders. It’s a great example of utilizing the business voice to support advocacy work!
In Case You Missed It… The Case for Social-Emotional Learning
America Succeeds’ latest resource, The Case for Social-Emotional Learning, underscores the value of social-emotional learning not just for students, but also teachers, administrators, and businesses.
Learn more in this blog post or by downloading one of our SEL resources: The Business Case for SEL, Introduction to SEL, or The Case for Social-Emotional Learning eBook.
