EdTrust is thrilled to be participating in the 2024 SXSW EDU event March 4th-7th. Below, you’ll find the list of panels featuring sessions where an EdTruster is speaking. Here, we’ll tackle hot topics such as exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and education equity; the 2024 election as it affects higher ed policy; redirecting resources toward high-poverty school districts; and examining the continued segregation of our schools, 70 years after Brown v. Board. If you plan on attending SXSW EDU, be sure to check out one of these panels. See you in Austin!
Monday, March 4, 2024
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 PM CT
Hilton Austin Downtown, Salon H
https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2024/events/PP142188
Brown at 70: Can Separate Ever Be Equal?
2024 marks the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board, yet schools remain as segregated as the 1960s, and we’re far from delivering on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all. Where do we go from here? Should we be re-igniting efforts to end school segregation? Or do we invest more in schools that serve majority Black and/or Latino students to provide supports that affirm their racial identity? Do we have to choose, or can we do both? Can separate ever be equal? Panelists will weigh strategies to disrupt the age-old American pattern of concentrating students of color in under-resourced schools.
Speakers:
- Ary Amerikaner, Co-Founder, Brown’s Promise
- Shari El-Mekki, CEO, Center for Black Educator Development
- Ericka Weathers, Assistant Professor, Policy, Organizations, Leadership, and Systems Division, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
- Denise Forte, President & CEO, EdTrust
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
1:00 pm – 2:00 p.m. CT
Austin Convention Center, Room 17 AB
https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2024/events/PP145246
The 2024 Election & Higher Ed Policy
From the rising cost of higher education and growing student loan debt to improving links between K-12 and the workforce to increasing access to quality jobs and conversations around equity and inclusion in the classroom and workplace, recent elections have thrust education and workforce policy into the spotlight as top issues. This session will bring together a bipartisan panel of policy experts to discuss the 2024 election and candidates’ policy proposals regarding education and the workforce, including the potential impacts the election might have on students, educators, and families.
Speakers:
- Steve Taylor, Senior Fellow for Higher Education Stand Together Trust
- Yolanda Watson Spiva, President, Complete College America
- Alison Griffin, Senior Vice President, Whiteboard Advisors
- Denise Forte, President & CEO, EdTrust
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
11:30am – 12:30pm CT
Hilton Austin Downtown, Salon A
https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2024/events/PP145720
EWA Radio: Considering Concentrated Poverty in K-12 Funding
Research shows a relationship between student poverty and achievement. Many state funding formulas allocate additional dollars for students from low-income backgrounds to level the playing field. But fewer funding formulas account for concentrated poverty in communities, despite the additional challenges faced by schools serving large shares of students from low-income backgrounds. Experts will discuss the impact of concentrated poverty on students, how more resources can be directed to high-poverty schools and other strategies to address these disparities and improve resource equity.
Speakers:
- John Affeldt, Managing Attorney, Public Advocates
- Emily Richmond, Public Editor, Education Writers Association
- Ericka Weathers, Assistant Professor, Policy, Organizations, Leadership, and Systems Division, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
- Amber Arellano, Executive Director, EdTrust-Midwest
Thursday, March 7, 2024
10:00am – 11:00am CT
Austin Convention Center; Room 9C
https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2024/events/PP137656
AI: Avoiding the Next Generation of the Digital Divide
Could the emerging use of AI in schools be the next digital divide? This panel will explore the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and education equity, and its impact on students of color and other students from low-income backgrounds. In this session, attendees will learn steps to ensure academic tools, pedagogies, and content reflects the broad cultural and neurodiversity of student populations and ways to prevent the emergence of a new digital divide.
Speakers:
- Dia Bryant, Ed. L.D., Former Executive Director, EdTrust-New York (moderator)
- Kristen DiCerbo, Chief Learning Officer, Khan Academy
- Thomas Sanchez, Co-Founder/CEO, Social Driver
- Kevin D. Starks – K-12 Education Industry Segment Advisor, T-Mobile for Education