On April 18, 2008, in Austin, Texas, people from around the state gathered for our annual Statewide Education Summit, the state’s major forum for discussing education reform and improvement. 

Since its inception in 2004, the Summit has become the largest one day education conference in the state; bringing  together the entire educational community - superintendents, college and university presidents and officers, principals, administrators, teachers, school board members, teacher associations, policymakers, workforce development board members, business, learned professional and chamber leaders, parent-teacher associations and foundations. It also includes representatives of education coalitions, statewide agencies and associations. Thanks to your efforts and ongoing commitment to our students, Texas’ schools are beginning to make significant strides toward becoming among the best in the nation. 

We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the sponsors who made the Summit possible: Washington Mutual, Houston Endowment Inc., Texas High School Project, Texas Instruments, Verizon, AT&T, Apple Inc., Community Education Partners and Dell.

Our speakers were chosen with special care. Their choice was made with a view to nothing but the improvement of the children and youth of Texas’ intellectual growth and well being. We are confident the keynote and panel discussions were informative and thought-provoking.

This year, our Champion of Education award was presented to Dr. James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress, and our keynote speaker.  Dr. Billington has served in this position since 1987.   He has championed the Library's "American Memory" National Digital Library which makes available on-line more than 11 million American historical items from the collections of the Library and other research institutions and a Web site for children and families called "America's Library," which handled more than 5 billion transactions in 2007 alone.

Senator John Cornyn spoke to the needs of the children and youth from a Federal perspective.   Senator Cornyn talked about thedropout crisis and the damage this is causing to the future potential of young people in our country.  He mentioned the America Competes Act that has been passed to enhance the federal role in providing incentives for teachers and students and also the Academic Partnerships Lead to Success Act.  Education has no finer voice than John Cornyn’s.

As the Summit so effectively demonstrates through its content and proceedings- together, we can form a working partnership for the good of our schools.  The Texas Public Education Foundation is committed to raising public awareness of the most vexing problems facing our schools and how best to solve these.  It is our hope that the Summit will provide a useful guide for stakeholders to continue the conversation into the classroom, the boardroom and the legislative chamber. 

Moving forward, we welcome your participation in the process to improve our schools as we develop action steps, assess our progress and ultimately, make a profound difference in the lives of the children and youth of Texas.

Jon H. Fleming

Chairman, Texas Public Education Reform Foundation

Jon H. Fleming, Chairman

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Listen to the panel's remarks
Don McAdams, President, Center for Reform of School Systems	Rod Paige, U. S. Secretary of Education, 2001-2005	Larry Faulkner, President, Houston Endowment Inc.	Moderator: Torrence Robinson, Director of Public Affairs, Texas Instruments
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Mike Feinberg, Co-Founder, KIPP	John Fitzpatrick, Executive Director, Texas High School Project	Students
Richard Rhodes, President, El Paso Community College	Marvin Moore, President of the Houston Independent School District	Moderator: Diane Rath, Former Chair, Texas Workforce Commission
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Keynote Speaker

Vernon Stockton, President, Community and External Affairs Division (Central Region), Washington Mutual Introducing James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress	James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress
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A Seamless P-16 System of Education

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Raymund A. Parades, Commissioner, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board	Robert Scott, Commissioner, Texas Education Agency	Manuel J. Justiz, Dean of the College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin	Melody A. Johnson, Superintendent, Fort Worth Independent School District	Moderator: David O. Russell, Vice President, Verizon
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Distinguished Speaker: John Cornyn, United States Senator, Texas Read a summary of his remarks Listen to Senator Cornyn's remarks

New Directions in Education, the Workforce and Economic Development

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Susan Bonesteel, Director, State Services, National Center for Educational Achievement	Bill Hammond, President, Texas Association of Business	Doug Ridge, Director, Employee Initiatives, Texas Workforce Commission Download his PowerPoint presentation	Phil Schlechty, CEO, The Schlechty Center for Leadership in School Reform	Moderator: Robert Wimpelberg, Dean, College of Education, University of Houston
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