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September 6, 2006

Are young people prepared for life after high school?

Students, teachers, parents, policymakers and others will examine the question of how well California’s schools are preparing young people for life after high school during the 18th annual Envisioning California Conference Sept. 21 and 22 at the Sacramento Convention Center.

The conference will focus on critical issues facing California’s high schools such as retention rates among African Americans and Latinos, California’s high school exit exam and innovative ideas in career preparation. Participants will work to propose solutions to problems and determine outcomes to move high schools and the state forward in the global economy.

The conference is presented by the Center for California Studies at Sacramento State and the Center for Southern California Studies at California State University, Northridge.

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell will present the opening keynote address on Thursday evening, Sept. 21.

Other speakers scheduled to appear include James Lanich, president of the California Business for Education Excellence; California state senator Deborah Oritz, chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee; Joe Nunez, a member of the state Board of Education; Ting L. Sun, senior education advisor for the California Charter Schools Association; Linda Darling-Hammond, co-director of the School Redesign Network at Stanford University; Granger Ward, California state director of Advancement Via Individual Determination, (AVID), Jill Tucker, an education writer at the San Francisco Chronicle and Brian Coaxum, a graduate of Elk Grove’s Franklin High School and current sophomore at UC Merced who has frequently addressed the California Legislature on issues facing high school students.

Panel sessions will include such topics as “Retention Rates: Why Are so Many Young Men Disappearing from Our Schools?”, “Improving Teacher Education for Pupil Success,” and “A-G (the state’s academic subject requirements): Is College Prep for Everyone?”

The conference also will include the 12th annual California Journalism Awards, co-sponsored by the Center for California Studies and the Sacramento Press Club. The awards, which honor excellence in media coverage of state government and politics, will be presented on Friday, Sept. 22 at lunch from noon to 1:30 p.m. and include a discussion with California education reporters.

Registration is $105 if postmarked by Sept. 8 and $125 after. Registration also is available for specific days or events. Educators, Capital Fellow alumni and students with ID receive a substantial discount. Students also may attend panels at no cost.

For more information, visit www.csus.edu/calst or call the Center for California Studies at (916) 278-6906. Additional media assistance is available from Sacramento State Public Affairs at (916) 278-6156.