The State Board of Education and Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath hosted a conference Sept. 12, 2016 called the Learning Roundtable - Educating the Children of Poverty. National and state researchers and educators explored ways to transform high-poverty schools into high-performing schools.

This issue is of critical importance to Texas because 3.1 million of the state's 5.3 million public school students come from economically disadvantaged homes.

Low expectations from adults is the biggest barrier to turning schools with large low-income children into high-performing schools, William Parrett, director of the Center for School Improvement and Policy Studies at Boise State University, told conference attendees.

But demographics isn’t destiny, Commissioner Morath said.

If we can find ways to successfully educate the children from low-income families, it will change lives, said Donna Bahorich, chair of the State Board of Education.

A synopsis of all the conference presentations is available and videos and slideshows from the individual presentations are available below.

Agenda

Welcome Address (Video) To view only this panel go to Agenda Video Clips on the right and click on Item 1. 

Donna Bahorich, Chair, Texas State Board of Education

Mike Morath, Texas Commissioner of Education,Texas Education Agency (PDF, 136KB)
Mike Morath, Texas Commissioner of Education,Texas Education Agency (PowerPoint, 89KB)

Turning High-Poverty Schools into High-Performing Schools (Video) To view only this panel go to Agenda Video Clips on the right and click on Item 2. 

Dr. William Parrett, Director, Center for School Improvement and Policy Studies, Boise State University
Dr. Kathleen Budge, Associate Professor, Executive Educational Leadership Program, Boise State University
Combined Presentation Contact Information (PDF, 513KB)
Combined Presentation Handout (PDF, 6,901KB)

Achievement and Opportunity in America: What Can We Do? (Video) To view only this panel go to Agenda Video Clips on the right and click on Item 3. 

Kati Haycock, Chief Executive Officer, The Education Trust (PDF, 5,242KB)
Kati Haycock, Chief Executive Officer, The Education Trust (PowerPoint, 9,616KB) 

 Learning from Schools that Succeed (Video) To view only this panel go to Agenda Video Clips on the right and click on Item 4. 

Karin Chenoweth, Writer-in-Residence, The Education Trust (PDF, 2,568KB)
Karin Chenoweth, Writer-in-Residence, The Education Trust (PowerPoint, 179,179KB)

Panel 1A: Effective Partnerships and Practices (Video) To view only this panel go to Agenda Video Clips on the right and click on Panel 1A.

Robert Carreon, Vice President for Public Affairs in Texas, Teach for America (PDF, 121KB)
Robert Carreon, Vice President for Public Affairs in Texas, Teach for America (PowerPoint, 182KB)
 
Chris Fraser, Dean, Relay GSE Texas (PDF, 3,307KB)
Chris Fraser, Dean, Relay GSE Texas (PowerPoint, 9,486KB)
 
Kelvey Oeser, Partner, The New Teacher Project (PDF, 712KB)
Kelvey Oeser, Partner, The New Teacher Project (PowerPoint, 2,854KB)
 
Dr. John Jenkins, Executive Director of New Site Development, New Leaders (PDF, 1,930KB)
Dr. John Jenkins, Executive Director of New Site Development, New Leaders (PowerPoint, 2,967KB)

Panel 2A: Best Practices in Leading Diverse Schools (Video) To view only this panel go to Agenda Video Clips on the right and click on Item 1. 

Dr. Lupita Hinojosa, Chief Academic Officer, Spring Independent School District
 
Sterlin McGruder, Principal, Gus Garcia Young Men's Leadership Academy, Austin Independent School District
 
Lorimer Arendse, Principal, Grand Prairie High School, Grand Prairie Independent School District|
 
Lynn Musel, Principal, Capistrano Elementary School, Ysleta Independent School District

Panel 1B: High-Performing Schools Models (Video) To view only this panel go to Agenda Video Clips on the right and click on Panel 1B.

Dr. Esperanza Zendejas,Superintendent, Brownsville Independent School District (PDF, 402KB)
Dr. Esperanza Zendejas,Superintendent, Brownsville Independent School District (PowerPoint, 1,103KB)
 
HD Chambers, Superintendent, Alief Independent School District (PDF, 183KB)
HD Chambers, Superintendent, Alief Independent School District (Word, 57KB)
 
Tom Torkelson, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Idea Public Schools (PDF, 1,578KB)
Tom Torkelson, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Idea Public Schools (PowerPoint, 2,029KB)
 
Victor Obaseki, Policy Coordinator, Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis

Panel 2B: Potential of Pathways (Video) To view only this panel go to Agenda Video Clips on the right and click on Item 2.

Dr. Danny King, Superintendent, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District (PDF, 752KB)
Dr. Danny King, Superintendent, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District (PowerPoint, 3,481KB)
 
Dr. Susan Landry, Director and Founder and Professor of Pediatrics, The Children's Learning Institute (PDF, 1,156KB)
Dr. Susan Landry, Director and Founder and Professor of Pediatrics, The Children's Learning Institute (PowerPoint, 1,965)
 
Adam Hutchison, Provost, Texas State Technical College in Waco
 
Dr. Luzelma G. Canalas, Executive Director, RGV FOCUS (PDF, 930KB)
Dr. Luzelma G. Canalas, Executive Director, RGV FOCUS (PowerPoint, 2,285KB)

Panel 1C: Data Driven Decisions for Leadership (Video) To view only this panel go to Agenda Video Clips on the right and click on Panel 1C. 

Susan Dawson, President and Executive Director, E3 Alliance (PDF, 937KB)
Susan Dawson, President and Executive Director, E3 Alliance (PowerPoint, 3,292KB)
 
Todd Williams, Executive Director, Commit! Partnership (PDF, 946KB)
Todd Williams, Executive Director, Commit! Partnership (PowerPoint, 3,057KB)
 
Dr. Pauline Dow, Chief Instructional Officer, North East Independent School District (PDF, 2,373KB)
Dr. Pauline Dow, Chief Instructional Officer, North East Independent School District (PowerPoint, 4,709KB)
 
Mike Feinberg, Co-founder, KIPP (PDF, 1,153KB)
Mike Feinberg, Co-founder, KIPP (PowerPoint, 5,837KB)

Panel 2C: How to Successfully Build School/District/Community Teams and Support Diverse Communities  (Video) To view only this panel go to Agenda Video Clips on the right and click on Item 3.

Adeeb Barqawi, President and Chief Executive Officer, ProUnitas (PDF, 2,259KB)
Adeeb Barqawi, President and Chief Executive Officer, ProUnitas (PowerPoint, 7,654KB)
 
Marta Plata, Principal, Manuel Jara Elementary School, Fort Worth Independent School District (PDF, 5,831KB)
Marta Plata, Principal, Manuel Jara Elementary School, Fort Worth Independent School District (PowerPoint, 10,062KB)
 
Alison Reis-Khanna, Executive Director, Texas Partnership for Out of School Time (PDF, 2,042KB)
Alison Reis-Khanna, Executive Director, Texas Partnership for Out of School Time (PowerPoint, 11,363KB)
 
Dr. David Vroonland, Superintendent, Mesquite Independent School District (PDF, 555KB)
Dr. David Vroonland, Superintendent, Mesquite Independent School District (PowerPoint, 117KB)

Neuroscience Research and Solutions for Building Learning Capacity in the Children of Poverty (Video) To view only this panel go to Agenda Video Clips on the right and click on Dr. Martha Burns.
 
Dr. Martha Burns, Director of Neuroscience Education, Northwestern University (PDF, 1,895KB)
Dr. Martha Burns, Director of Neuroscience Education, Northwestern University (PowerPoint, 3,182KB)

Closing Remarks

Donna Bahorich, Chair, State Board of Education