Charleston, W.Va. – Recently, nearly 250 business, community and education leaders gathered in Charleston for the Excellence in Education: It’s Everyone’s Business summit to discuss the new innovations and strategies for improving student achievement. This year’s Summit, hosted by The Education Alliance, focused on the future of learning, drivers of change, and necessary policy shifts to support the education of the future.
“Teachers, principals, and other education professionals across the state are working daily to develop our most vital resource, our children. They need help from every sector of the state to match their efforts and help them do more,” said Dr. Amelia Courts, president and CEO of The Education Alliance. “The 2016 Summit focused on ‘future-forward learning’ and featured nationally-known speakers with examples of local innovation.”
The highlight of the event was the keynote provided by Elizabeth Slavitt from the Khan Academy where she shared how millions of learners and educators are utilizing technology to study and master a broad range of subjects and topics through Khan Academy videos.
“As we think about the tremendous opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for our state’s economy, it is critical that we support innovative approaches to education,” said Mallie Combs, Chairman of The Education Alliance Board of Directors. “Through gatherings like the summit, we can learn from one another and work together to develop new strategies and models of learning that will provide our students with the very best.”
The summit began with Katherine Prince from Knowledge Works exploring the future of learning to help education leaders and innovators anticipate change, explore strategic possibilities, and identify ways of creating better opportunities for all learners. Over lunch, participants networked during a Student Expo that showcased state exemplars of “future forward” learning.
The event concluded with concrete examples of the future of learning from the front lines. Presenters from neighboring states provided an overview of the policies and practices that they have embraced to change the learning landscape in their schools. The session featured the Ohio Department of Education, Marysville School District in Ohio, the Foundation for Excellence in Education, and the WV Board of Education.
For more information on the summit, visit EducationAlliance.org/Summit or contact The Education Alliance at 304-342-7850. Be sure to join the conversation online at #wvedsummit or tweet us your thoughts at @theedualliance.
Sponsors for the summit include: Appalachian Power (lead); AT&T; Bowles Rice LLP; BrickStreet Insurance; FirstEnergy Foundation; Jackson Kelly PLLC; JPMorgan Chase; Northeast Natural Energy; Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia; West Virginia Department of Education; West Virginia Economic Development Council; and ZMM Architects & Engineers.
