NALEO Educational Fund to Convene Policymakers in Nation's Capital for 11th Annual National Summit on the State of Latino Education

• 09/14/15

Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, the nation’s preeminent Latino leadership organization, will convene nearly 65 Latino school board members, higher education trustees, and state legislators from across the country to discuss the state of Latino education and strategies to ensure more Latino students are completing college.

The event will take place September 18-19, 2015, at The Westin Georgetown, as part of the organization’s 11th Annual National Summit on the State of Latino Education in Washington, D.C.  During the two-day event, the Institute will further policymakers’ ability to analyze the role that different stakeholders have in strengthening and aligning the pathways between high schools, community colleges and four-year universities.  Participants will also delve into key governance and programmatic issues that influence retention and completion rates at the institutional level for students pursuing postsecondary degrees.

In order for the United States to compete in an ever growing global economy, advocates, researchers, major foundations, and policy leaders alike are collectively setting ambitious goals to develop a robust college completion agenda for the nation.  To support these initiatives, scholars have discovered indicators that have the potential to enhance the likelihood that students can attain a market-valuable and purposeful postsecondary degree.  However, to reach these national goals, it is critical to develop and implement strategies for ensuring that more Latinos are completing college.

To support the leadership role of Latino policymakers in developing a Latino College Completion Policy Agenda, the Institute’s curriculum will cover:

1. Overview of Latino Academic Trends in Postsecondary Education
2. Overview of the Higher Education Act Reauthorization
3. Role of Federal and State Government in Funding Postsecondary Education
4. Defining the 21st Century College Student
5. Developing Effective Institutional Leadership
6. Successful Policy Approaches for Addressing Remedial Education
7. Factors that Promote Student Retention
8. Building an Equitable Blended Learning Model 

While attending the Institute, participants will have the opportunity to share best practices on higher education issues and develop strategic partnerships with elected officials at a national level to address the challenges and opportunities around attaining a robust Latino college completion agenda. 

This year’s Institute speakers include U.S. Department of Education Deputy Under Secretary Jamienne Studley, Pew Research Center Director of Hispanic Research Dr. Mark Hugó Lopez, National Education Association Director of Teacher Quality Dr. Segun Eubanks, The Education Trust Vice President of Higher Education Policy and Practice Dr. Jóse Luis Santos and Sacramento State University President Dr. Robert Nelsen.  Newly-elected NALEO President and City of Santa Ana Councilmember Michele Martinez and NALEO Educational Fund Executive Director Arturo Vargas will also be in attendance.

The event is made possible through the generous support of Title Sponsors, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and State Farm®. 

To register, please contact Amanda Bosquez at [email protected] or by phone at (202) 546-2536, or Paula Valle Castañon at [email protected] or (213) 747-7606 ext. 4414.