The Association of Latino Administrators & Superintendents (ALAS) and the National Association of Black School Educators (NABSE) are hosting a free four-day virtual event March 9-12, 2021 to highlight accomplishments of the past year and set the stage to tackle top education issues in the year ahead. The conference, “Ed Fest 2021: Through Adversity WE Are Stronger Together,” takes place from 4:30-7:30 p.m. EST March 9-12, 2021. To register, visit:https://www.alasedu.org/event/ed-fest/.
U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona will give opening remarks at the event, which features multiple stages and is open to parents, teachers, students (from PreK-college) and community members. Additional highlights include a keynote address from educational evangelist Jaime Casap, five plenary panels featuring superintendents at some of the largest districts in the country to small urban and rural districts, multiple breakout sessions addressing the biggest issues in education, an awards program for teachers and students, and giveaways. Teachers are invited to have their classes join the conference live if they are in session during the event.
“This has been an incredibly challenging year in education, but it has also been remarkable in the way that our leaders, school support personnel, teachers, parents, students and communities have risen to these challenges,” said Maria Armstrong, executive director of ALAS. “Ed Fest is our opportunity to recognize and celebrate the amazing accomplishments of the past year, and to dive into some of the biggest issues in education, and to provoke all of us to think differently about the year ahead.”
Ed Fest 2021 will have eight stages for featured speakers, panelists and breakout sessions. It will focus on the following topics:
Cradle to Pre-K
Pre-K-12 Education
Post-secondary Education
Teaching and Learning for Today and Tomorrow’s Students
Equitable Services
Technology
Innovation in Education
Federal, State and Local Education Funding and Policy Updates
Additional speakers include Richard Carranza, Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, David Banks of the Eagle Academy Foundation in New York, Comedian Ernie G., and data scientist/author Seth Stephens-Davidowitz author of Everybody Lies.
The conference will include performances and on the closing night there will be interactive activities, entertainment, and give-aways for those in attendance, as well as a special “Honoring our Own” awards program to recognize students and adults nominated by their school or district leaders for innovative work in their schools or communities.
“NABSE is honored to partner with ALAS in organizing and hosting this Educational Festival. The first of what we hope will be an annual occurrence. We do this at a time during which our society is experiencing a health emergency, the likes of which we have never previously experienced,” said Fadhilika Atiba-Weza, Executive Director of NABSE. “That is compounded by the social policies that severely impacted our schools and students. The current period provides opportunities for rebound and recovery. Thus Ed Fest 21 provides much needed opportunity to celebrate the successes of our students and those who work with them.”
For more information about ALAS, visit https://www.alasedu.org/.
For more information about NABSE visit https://www.nabse.org/.
