The conference officially kicks off today. First up: a Welcome Breakfast, where we'll be welcomed by NASBE President, Jim McNiece. Affiliates in NCOSEA (State Education Attorneys) and NCSBEE (State Board of Education Executives) are running a conference concurrent with NASBE's.
Following breakfast, NASBE members will attend a General Session and will be treated to a keynote by Manny Scott, one of the original Freedom Writers. I look forward to hearing his story.
From there, we move to concurrent sessions on ESSA: Computer Science and Early Learning. As I understand it, the decision to feature early learning is a direct outcome of the survey to State Board of Education members last time around. (NASBE members who haven't done so can take the survey live, right here at the conference!)
One of today's highlights will be the Awards Luncheon and Keynote. NASBE will present the 2016 Education Policy Leader of the Year Award and the 2016 Friend of Education Award.
Afterward, we'll engage with David Von Drehle on the highly charged presidential election. Since I didn't tune in last night for the final presidential debate, I'll be looking forward to hearing all about it. :)
Two afternoon sessions feature equity and ESSA: School Surveillance and School Turnarounds.
After a short break, we will meet in NASBE "area meetings" - regional meet-ups of State Board of Education members. We'll be taking action on Bylaws changes and Board elections.
Follow #NASBE16 on twitter for conference updates.