69´«Ã½

College & Workforce Readiness Online Summit

How 69´«Ã½ Should Prepare All 69´«Ã½ for the Future of Work: The Big Equity Challenge

This event occurred on March 31, 2021 2:30 PM EDT and is only accessible to those who originally registered.
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The disruption to the economy caused by COVID-19 is already reshaping the kinds of job opportunities and challenges today’s students will face when they enter the workforce. Those challenges will be especially big for students of color, those living in poverty, English language learners, and students with special needs.

This online summit will examine which groups of students have fallen the farthest behind academically during COVID-19, what schools need to do to help them catch up, and what skills they will need to succeed in a post-COVID-19 economy. It will also tackle the challenges of getting more students of color involved in STEM fields and the role schools play in making that happen.

The summit will also feature exclusive survey data from the EdWeek Research Center on these topics as well as insights from senior executives from a diverse mix of companies across the United States about how the pandemic is reshaping the skills students will need to succeed in the workplace.

First Time Summit attendee? Learn More about our Summits.

Agenda

How the COVID-19 Economy Is Reshaping the Workforce for Today’s 69´«Ã½

Steps 69´«Ã½ Must Take to Prepare All 69´«Ã½ for the Jobs of the Future

How to Bridge Big Equity Gaps in the Development of Virtual Working Skills

Getting 69´«Ã½ of Color More Involved in STEM Fields: What 69´«Ã½ Need to Do

Speakers
Anthony "Tony" Carnevale
Director Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce
Carnevale serves as director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce and co-author of The Merit Myth: How Our Colleges Favor the Rich and Divide America. Previously, Carnevale served as Vice President for Public Leadership at the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Before joining ETS, he was director of human resource and employment Studies at the Committee for Economic Development (CED). Carnevale was the founder of the Institute for Workplace Learning (IWL) and served as President between 1983 and 1993.
Alison Gazarek
Regional Director, Partnerships Equal Opportunity 69´«Ã½
Gazarek’s experience and passion for equitable education span both coasts, most recently in the South Bronx as a peer collaborative teacher in humanities. She has a strong background in facilitation for students and for school staff, as well as in building and strengthening systems for learning, digital communications, and data use in school and community settings. Her projects and presentations focus on real-world learning, asking students to use modern tools to solve real-world problems in their classrooms that were relevant to their lives. Gazarek also brings research and teaching experience with college-preparatory programs like SEO Scholars in NYC and Rainier Scholars in Seattle, where she worked with students in rigorous out-of-school programs. Her work specifically focused on achievement and acculturation for African American students in Advanced Placement / Independent school programs.
Kyle Hartung
Associate Vice President JFF
Hartung is an associate vice president at JFF where he leads the organization’s body of work with state, regional, and local leaders to design, strengthen, and scale pathways systems to ensure that high need youth, young adults, and adults access the knowledge, skills, credentials, and capital to launch or advance in careers. His areas of expertise include college and career readiness, education-industry partnerships, work-based learning, secondary and postsecondary alignment, adult learning, and mixed-methods research. Before joining JFF in 2016, Hartung spent 20 years working as a teacher, leader, consultant, and researcher in public K–12 systems and higher-education settings, most recently as a researcher with Learning Innovations Laboratory (LILA) at Harvard University’s Project Zero.
Pamela "Regina" Hytower
Mathematics Teacher Carrollton Junior High School
Hytower has been an educator in the field of mathematics for 18 years and has spent the last 13 years at Carrollton Junior High School. She is currently teaching seventh and eighth-grade mathematics elective courses. Hytower developed the curriculum for courses that are focused on accelerating student growth in academic achievement and confidence in learning mathematics. The students’ growth has been an average of one year in one semester due to a positive and challenging learning environment that includes flexible seating and individual learning plans.
Renita Russell
Vice President, Organizational Development & Corporate Training CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
As the vice president of organizational development & corporate training at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Russell focuses on associate opportunities for training and career development. Her passion is helping organizations reach their full potential through effective human capital management.

Prior to joining CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Russell served in positions focusing on organization instructional design, learning, and development. She also worked as a middle school teacher for nearly five years before beginning her corporate career path.
Mark Sparvell
Director of Marketing Education Microsoft
Sparvell is an award winning educator with over 25 years of experience leading improvement for schools, systems, higher-ed and professional associations. In his current role, he partners directly with researchers, education leaders, and organizations to identify innovative leading and teaching practices, building community and capacity by leveraging digital solutions. Sparvell is also an expert on social and emotional intelligence in education contexts.
Urby, a teacher at Southwest High School in San Antonio, Texas, has a composite science teaching certification from Trinity University that has allowed him to teach biology, chemistry, physics, and robotics. In 2018, he began teaching an aviation class using the High School Aviation STEM Curriculum from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). This school year, Urby is teaching physics and several sections of aviation, in which students are learning to build and fly planes. 69´«Ã½ in his classes also have opportunities to fly drones and learn about unmanned aircraft systems.
Emiliana Vegas
Co-Director and Senior Fellow, Center for Universal Education Brookings
Vegas joined Brookings as senior fellow and co-director of the Center for Universal Education in August 2019. A leading expert on education in developing countries, Vegas has written extensively on issues affecting education systems in Latin America and the Caribbean and other developing regions. Her papers and books cover topics ranging from policies to raise teacher effectiveness, to school finance and early childhood development policies. Between September 2012 and July 2019, Vegas served as chief of the Education Division at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), where she led a team of 30-50 professionals working in the Bank’s lending operations and analytical activities to support education systems throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Vegas also worked at The World Bank from September 2001 to August 2012.
Moderators
Kevin Bushweller oversees coverage of educational technology and learning environments for Education Week.
Alyson Klein is an assistant editor for Education Week.
Mark Lieberman is a reporter for Education Week who covers school finance.
Sarah D. Sparks covers the teaching profession and pedagogy for Education Week.

Education Week can provide 1 hour of Professional Development credit for online summits if the educator attends live. A Certificate of Completion will be emailed to you shortly after the summit has ended. On demand viewing of a summit cannot be used for credit. As with all professional development hours delivered, Education Week recommends each educator verify ahead of the online summit that the content will qualify for professional development in your school, district, county, or state with your supervisor, human resources professional, and/or principal or superintendent’s office.