A weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else — from the nation’s leading voice on education innovation and opportunity.
WELCOME TO A SPECIAL, PICTORIAL, EDITION OF NEWSWIRE, COVERING THE CER SILVER ANNIVERSARY GALA & SUMMIT. Held in Miami, Florida last Thursday and Friday, the leaders of innovation across all sectors gathered to build the new Road to Innovation. Read and view just a snippet of the extraordinary conversation and celebrations that occurred. We'll be back to you will a full report soon.
We think of our work as being engines for social movement. Everything we do is around this principle. If what we are producing is not moving the needle, we are not doing our work. - Brian Jones @BriWeJo @StrayerU
The New University is Also Career-Connected & Data-Driven... @AndyRosenEdu @KaplanNews explains why it is important that we speak to students in the language that they speak or resonate with.
We need to bring the energy and verve that we've bought to K-12 system, as they do in charter schools, and bring it to the higher education system. - Daniel Pianko @danielpianko @UniVenturesFund
Governor Tommy Thompson talks about the next frontier of education opportunity: building schools in prisons to ensure even those disenfranchised have a chance to reengage in life someday.
Innovation in education is taking the best learning tools and working effectively with teachers to meet the needs of students. It is shifting the role of teacher from content master to mentor. - @GEMSEducation America’s Denise Gallucci
In order for great educators to come forward to teach, we had to liberate the system to allow that to happen. - Lisa Graham Keegan
25 years later, I’m still in a room full of white people talking about how to save black and brown kids... There’s been a lot of innovation but not a lot of change. - Howard Fuller @HowardLFuller
Universities are not going away, but they are adapting and responding to the changes of the future, says McKinsey’s Sacha Litman, moderating the first of two panels discussing “The New University” with Anant Agarwal (EdX), Julia Rosen (ASU), David Vise (Modern States), and James Wiley (Ellucian). "Careers and jobs are changing, as technology continues to transform."
How much more money does education need? And how much more time? The reality is there will never be enough money & never enough time, but telling us you need more of either, doesn't tell me how you're going to solve certain critical issues. - @usedgov Asst. Sec of Ed Frank Brogan with the rest of the Mount Rushmore of EdReform, Kevin Chavous, Gerard Robinson, Rod Paige and Tommy Thompson.
We have been using a model of school created in the 19th century, so my question is: How are children going to be able to make decisions & succeed in the current environment? - Gisele Huff, "Reimagining Education," with Governor Jeb Bush @JebBush, Bill Hansen @stradaeducation, & @gsvedu's Michael Moe @michaelmoe.
There aren't a lot of women in composition of music or in tech, esp. African American women. It is really important to reach out to those that don't know there is a world of opportunity they can take advantage of. - @MissAmerica Nia Franklin
Kevin Chavous @kevinpchavous recognizing Lisa Keegan @LisaGK for her decades of commitment to making Arizona a national success story for education.
The promise of America is that the circumstances of your birth should not limit your horizon. Truer words have never been said. Thank you Brian Jones, receiving the #CER25 Innovator Award.
I want to thank Jeanne & CER - you have been an inspiration. She is a force of nature and someone I admire; a wonderful leader. I am honored to be here today. - Fernando Zulueta, accepting the American Dream Award.
Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló passionately addresses Gala attendees:
Con la Reforma Educativa aspiramos a que todos los estudiantes tengan su facultad completa en cada escuela, con los materiales adecuados y un ambiente óptimo para aprender.
Participando de la Gala de 2018 de @edreform. Presentamos lo que estamos haciendo en #PuertoRico para transformar el sistema educativo en uno eficiente y que responda a las necesidades de los estudiantes.
Jon Hage receives the #CER25 Founder’s Award from Friendship Public Charter Schools founder & Chair and CER Director Donald Hense.
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL. The summit was capped off with a Gala celebration honoring special leaders in education innovation, shown above. Nia Franklin brought the crowd to tears and its feet with her rendition of “America the Beautiful”, accompanied by the CER Silver Student Orchestra, formed by area charter students for this special occasion. They had never performed publicly or together. We are gratified to have given them the opportunity to do both! Listen for yourself!
The Board congratulates CER’s Silver Honorees!
THANK YOU. Our thanks to all who have helped in so many ways over our first 25 years. We eagerly enter our next 25, knowing that the best is yet to come for all Americans who know that quality education is the key to building a new Road to Impactful Innovation & Excellence for ONE America.
~ Stay Tuned for OFFICIAL 25th Highlights ~
Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education.
=======================
DENVER—In response to today’s reporting by The Washington Post that the Department of the Interior’s Office of Inspector General referred an investigation into Secretary Ryan Zinke to the Department of Justice, the Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Executive Director Jennifer Rokala:
“Since stepping into his role as interior secretary, Ryan Zinke has repeatedly leveraged his office for personal gain, attracting unprecedented scrutiny from government investigators. We are glad to see Interior’s Inspector General take these matters seriously and refer the investigation into the secretary’s conduct to the Department of Justice.
“The timing of Secretary Zinke’s attempt to remove Interior’s acting Inspector General and replace her with a political appointee earlier this month raises serious questions about whether the secretary was trying to dodge scrutiny. If Interior’s Inspector General is unable to hold Secretary Zinke accountable without political interference, it’s time for career prosecutors at the Justice Department to take over.”
Secretary Zinke is facing at least six investigations into his conduct, the most serious of which involves a land deal with the chairman of Halliburton.
Interior IG to scrutinize Zinke’s beer-making plans [Politico]
HUD political appointee to replace Interior Department inspector general [The Hill]
Watchdog groups raise alarm about transfer of HUD official to inspector general at Interior [Washington Times]
Trump appointee tapped days ago to run Interior Department’s watchdog office resigns amid controversy [Washington Post]
For more information, visit westernpriorities.org. To speak with an expert on public lands, contact Aaron Weiss at 720-279-0019 or aaron@westernpriorities.org. Sign up for Look West to get daily public lands and energy news sent to your inbox.
###
The Center for Western Priorities is a conservation policy and advocacy organization focused on land and energy issues across the American WeST
==========================
3 Ways To Release Yourself From
The Past And Live For Today
Our memories help us relive life’s most delightful moments, such as a trip to the Grand Canyon or a child’s high school graduation.
But not every memory is a happy one, and often people become so tied to the past – dwelling on mistakes they made or offenses committed against them – that they fail to enjoy and take advantage of the present.
“If we permit our past to hold us hostage from the change we deeply desire, we are stuck,” says Tom Corner, a motivational speaker and author of Borrowed Eyes and Feet: Finding Enlightenment After Rage (www.tomcorner.net).
“It’s important to be able to release your past and to see existence in the present moment. There is no future and there is no past, only the gift of now.”
He knows from experience. For Corner, freeing himself from the past involved overcoming anger and rage that plagued him since his parents divorced when he was a young boy.
He was in his 40s, he says, before he learned to live in the moment – or perhaps, re-learn how to live in the moment.
Most people, as children, aren’t so hung up on the past and the future, preferring to immerse themselves in the activity at hand, whether that involves a game of tag, a hike in the woods, a favorite TV show or a captivating book.
“Unfortunately, children eventually grow up to become adults who live in a state of constant worry about what they did yesterday and what they will do tomorrow,” Corner says. “We nudge the present moment to the side, making it something of an anomaly, until we return full circle later in life to try to recapture the gift of those moments.”
But how do you recapture the ability to take pleasure in the present moment, and avoid letting the past and the future dominate your thoughts and cause you heartache and anguish? Corner has a few suggestions:
“Too often, we wait for tomorrow to celebrate our yesterdays,” Corner says. “Why not today? Why not celebrate what we have right now, right this minute?”
About Tom Corner
Tom Corner, whose latest book is Borrowed Eyes and Feet: Finding Enlightenment After Rage (www.tomcorner.net), is an inspirational author and motivational speaker. He has two decades of experience in the financial-services industry, which helped him sharpen his skills as a communicator, uplifter and business professional. Among Corner’s other books are Mommy, Why Do You Have Two Birthdays? and Life is Fine, When You are Aligned!