E3 Alliance

1. Children enter kindergarten school ready

2. Central Texas eliminates Achievement Gaps while improving overall performance

3. Students graduate from high school – college and career ready – and prepared for a lifetime of learning

4. Central Texas, as a community, works with educators to prepare children to succeed in life

Are you a student, parent, community member or interested in the topic? We welcome comments and feedback on these goals!

E3 Alliance’s Blueprint for Change – 2008 Leaders Summit, held January 23rd at the Four Seasons in Austin, was a unique forum that brought together over 150 Central Texas leaders representing a cross-section of business, government, community and education to explore ways to collectively drive the educational future of the region. Summit Leaders worked together to set education priorities that will drive systemic change over the next decade.

Commissioner Raymund Paredes of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board opened the event from a national perspective, emphasizing the need for change. He highlighted the often big disconnect between what the education system produces and what the business market needs. Paredes emphasized that it is in the self-interest of every CEO, college president, superintendent and community leader to commit to true systemic change – not just for their organizations, but for the region and state.

Executive Director, Susan Dawson, shared some of the ground-breaking research that has been undertaken by E3 Alliance, as well as the thousands of hours engaging Central Texas grass roots communities over the last year. Together, this research and the voice of the community provided the input to the Blueprint for Change.

The Blueprint for Change is the regional strategic plan that defines critical leverage points enabling systemic alignment of our education systems from early childhood to workforce prosperity, based on the strategic goals prioritized at this Summit.

The Blueprint for Change will define quantified goals and strategic actions for the alignment of practices and institutions, optimization of resources, needed policy changes, and financial opportunities. The completed Blueprint will provide a way for people at every level to connect into and engage in education reform for our region.

Summit Leaders took the better part of the morning discussing, prioritizing and adopting four strategic education goals based on research and community input compiled by the E3 Alliance. They examined how Central Texas has responded to the educational challenges of the region, and how we could adopt ambitious goals to “move the needle” in educational and economic outcomes.

Senator Kirk Watson then led an inspirational “auction” process where over a hundred leaders from across the region pledged to champion one or more of the selected goals. In his closing remarks, Senator Watson spoke of the centrality of education to the future of Central Texas. “Education is the most socially responsible way to address economic development. We must all become MOTOs (Master Of The Obvious) for education to secure a winning future for every child in Central Texas.”

The summit far surpassed expectations of attendees, presenters and hosts. By combining objective data, community input from across the region and the best ideas of our leaders, we launched the Blueprint for Change for Central Texas.

Please contact us if you would like to add your name to the list of champions for any of the strategic goals at info@e3alliance.org.

Of course, the hours and hours of work that went into planning the event should also be acknowledged. The organizers were Susan Dawson, Hannah Gourgey, Millie Marquis, Meg Moore, Rick Olmos and Taylor Willingham.

Leaders Summit 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rick Olmos
Phone: (512) 223-7244
Email: rolmos@austincc.edu

Helping to Build a Blueprint for Change in Education in Central Texas

An open forum to help shape the education system in Central Texas

The E³ Alliance, in partnership with Austin Voices for Education and Youth and Texas Forums, seeks people willing to take an active role in reshaping education in Central Texas by taking part in the upcoming forums. Recent studies have shown that closing the gaps to education across all groups would benefit the Central Texas region by almost $52 Billion by 2030.

Throughout the months of October and early November, the E³ Alliance will host discussions about the impacts of Achievement Gaps in Education in six communities in the Central Texas region including Austin, Bastrop, Eanes (Westbank), Manor, Round Rock and San Marcos. These moderated discussions will allow each community to examine options for improving education outcomes for all students.

“It is vital that the public have an opportunity to participate in a discussion about education and the achievement gaps that threaten our economic future,” stated Susan Dawson, executive director for the E³ Alliance. Over the past year, the E³ Alliance has conducted objective, ground-breaking, region specific research to identify exactly where gaps are occurring between different groups, as well as trends in achievement. “Strategic decisions about education in Central Texas will require broad support, and these forums are the first step in gaining that support. Please join us to discuss how we can improve the educational future of Central Texas; we need your input. ”

The goal of the forums is to give everyone the opportunity to voice their opinion and share their views and, in turn, provide the community, experts and policy-makers more understanding prior to making decisions and setting education policies. These group discussions will strengthen the community’s standing in the eyes of policy makers and will build consensus and increase clarity within the community.

“These discussions will provide tangible approaches for addressing achievement gaps and a basis for an action plan,” stated Sylvia Acevedo, president and CEO of Communicard, LLC. “Ultimately, these efforts will strengthen the community and move the conversation from individual opinions to reasoned public judgment that supports systemic change.”

These deliberations will culminate in a Regional Delegate Forum November 15, where each community will take part in developing a region-wide plan to close education achievement gaps that will lay groundwork for a Blueprint for Change in Education for Central Texas.

For more information about the discussions in a specific community, to RSVP, or for materials, visit the E³ Alliance website at: www.e3alliance.org

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Conversation Schedule

E3 Alliance has partnered with Texas Forums and Austin Voices to conduct forums on Too Many Children Left Behind: Closing the Achievement Gaps in Central Texas.

We need over 100 moderators to commit to leading three sessions in communities throughout Central Texas in October and November.

During October and November, over 600 people in six communities – Bastrop, Manor, Austin, San Marcos, Eanes, and Round Rock – will deliberate ideas for closing the achievement gaps. In mid-November, delegates from each community will gather at the LBJ Library to develop a region-wide strategy and action steps we can take to make sure that ALL of our youth achieve and thrive and contibute to the vibrant economy and culture of this region.

Click here for more information about the project and the dates of the forums.To participate as a moderator, you must attend one of the following training sessions:

North Training Session
Saturday, September 15, 2007
9:00 am to 2:00 pm
Location: Round Rock High School Lecture Hall
300 Lake Creek Round Rock, Texas 78681
(Register) (Will take you to Texas Forums website)

Central Training Session
Monday, September 24 and Wednesday, September 26, 2007
6 pm to 8:30 pm
Location: United Way Capital Area
2000 E Martin Luther King Jr Austin
(Register) (Will take you to Texas Forums website)

South Training Session
Saturday, September 29, 2007
9 am to 2 pm
Location: St. Edward’s University,
3001 S Congress Ave Austin
(Maloney Room, Top Floor Main Bldg)
(Register) (Will take you to Texas Forums website)

We hope that this blog will keep you updated on the happenings of the E³Alliance and its partners.

What is the E³Alliance?

The E³ Alliance is a regional collaborative working to increase global competitiveness, economic vitality and overall quality of life of Central Texas by aligning our education systems to better fulfill the potential of every citizen. As part of their Data Analysis and Research mission, the E³ Alliance has developed the most comprehensive set of achievement gap data for Central Texas that is available anywhere in the state of Texas.

Guided by an objective data map and a clear community vision, we propose to better align the system components and practices of our regional education system and allocate our investments and services more efficiently to dramatically and sustainably increase educational outcomes within a decade. By doing so, we can increase our global competitiveness and the economic vitality and overall quality of life in our region.

For more information please visit our website at: www.e3alliance.org