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Southeast Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (SAEOPP) Held Their Annual Conference

Jose Martinez-Saldana, Dr. Arnold Mitchem, David Megquire, Deborah Northcross and the Southeastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel Board of Directors

January 26-28th, 2009, the Southeast Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (SAEOPP) held their annual conference in beautiful Memphis, Tennessee. EDvolution’s Vice President of Organization Development, Jose Martinez-Saldana, who also serves as the Past-Chair of the Council for Opportunity in Education’s Board of Directors joined Board Chair David Megquier and President, Dr. Arnold Mitchem at the gathering. Also present (pictured) was Dr. Robert Bell, former Director of TRiO for the U.S. Department of Education during the Clinton Administration.

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EDvolution Helps California Latino School Boards Association Present Annual Unity Conference


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Serving as consultants to the California Latino School Boards
Association (CLSBA), EDvolution helped plan and coordinate
CLSBA’s annual Unity Conference. Held on October 9‐12, 2008
in Visalia, the Unity Conference hosted 120 school board members, educators, and organizational supporters of CLSBA.

Highlights of the Conference included a keynote presentation by California State Controller John Chiang and a California State Superintendent Candidates Forum. Participants in the Forum included State Senator Gloria Romero, State Senator Tom Torlakson, and Dr. Francisco Reveles, a professor from California State University, Sacramento. Other highlights
included keynote addresses by California State Assemblymember Juan Arambula and California State Assemblymember Curren Price (pictured).

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EDvolution Coordinates Reception Honoring California's Central Coast Education Advocates


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On July 11th, on behalf of the California Latino School Boards Association and the Tri-County Latino Electeds Association EDvolution coordinated a reception to honor local educators at the Monterey Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Diana Jimenez, a board member in the North Monterey County Unified School District was recognized for a career that spans almost three-decades as an educational advocate for local students. Ms. Jimenez is a long time resident of Monterey County and has served in numerous capacities throughout the region. Also recognized was the AVID Team from El Sausal Middle School. AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determiniation, represents a growing trend in school reform.

The team from El Sausal has been recognized nationally as a model program. According to Jennifer Baker, President of the California Latino School Boards Association, "The RSVP list read like a who's who of Latino elected officials from the Central Coast." Guests included Seaside Mayor Ralph Rubio, Monterey Couty Supervisors Simon Salinas and council representatives from almost every city in the Salinas Valley.

The education community from the region had a very strong presence, with board members and superintendents from virtually every district in Monterey and San Benito County, and several from Santa Cruz County. "We are excited to see this state-wide recognition for the great work of educators here in the Tri-County," said Phillip Tabera, Vice President of CLSBA and a Salinas Union High School Board member.

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EDvolution Participates in White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans


Luis Sandoval

On May 22nd, EDvolution principal Luis Sandoval coordinated a community "Education Forum" in partnership with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans in an effort to discuss student achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) for California's Salinas Valley. The event was held at the National Steinbeck Museum in Salinas, California.
 
EDvolution principal Luis Sandoval was also a keynote speaker on how partnerships between public schools, higher education institutions, businesses, and community organizations can develop an effective strategy in providing collaborative outreach in an effort to increase post-secondary STEM enrollment. In addition, Luis Sandoval led a planning retreat on how to develop a delicate balance of strategies to maintain a sharp focus on student achievement and foster enthusiasm for reform and educational diversity.

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Stokes Institute for Opportunity in STEM Education Launched in Capitol Event

Former Congressman Louis Stokes addressing the audience. COE President Dr. Arnold Mitchem and COE Board Chair and EDvolution Founding Partner, José Martínez-Saldaña in the audience.

On May 21 st, the Council for Opportunity in Education officially launched The Stokes Institute at a Capitol Hill reception honoring former Ohio Congressman Louis Stokes. The event was a standing-room only celebration attended by EDvolution Founding Partner José Martínez-Saldaña, who also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for COE.

The Institute is named for Louis Stokes who, during his 30 years in Congress, was the foremost proponent for expanding opportunities in the sciences for low-income and minority students. “I am honored that this institute bearing my name will continue a national focus on STEM education for America’s low-income, under-represented students,” Stokes said prior to the event. “These students are an untapped resource in helping our nation maintain its competitive advantage in the world.”

The former Congressman also had kind words for his hosts. “Dr. Mitchem and the TRIO people are some of the best I’ve ever worked with,” he said. “In the 1970s they asked for my help,” he recalled, adding that “I didn’t realize how involved I was going to be.”

COE President Arnold L. Mitchem, noted that “we are here… to celebrate a man who has made this Institute possible by his devotion, dedication and vision.” The Stokes Institute, part of the non-profit Council for Opportunity in Education, is supported by a grant from the General Electric Foundation. “The GE Foundation supports the work of the Stokes Institute in an effort to expand America’s highly-trained STEM workforce by engaging and inspiring students and educators,” said the Foundation’s Kelli Wells, program director for U.S. Education Programs. (She made her comments shortly before the launch event.)

Members of Congress attending the Stokes launch included: William Clay of Missouri, Danny Davis of Illinois, Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Michigan, Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, Donald Payne of New Jersey, and Silvestre Reyes of Texas. Former Congressman Henry Bonilla of Texas also attended.

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EDvolution Principal Co-chairs Statewide Higher Education Policy Summit

Photo credit: Armando Sandoval

On April 22-23, EDvolution principal Juan Yñiguez served as co-chair of the inaugural Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities and California Chicano-Latino Intersegmental Convocation Joint Policy Summit and Advocacy Day. The two-day event served to inform Sacramento policy makers and other attendees of HACU's and CLIC's education policy agendas. Highlights of the Policy Summit included presentations by California State Senators Denise Moreno Ducheny, Gloria Romero, and Gilbert Cedillo, Dr. Anthony Monreal, California Department of Education Deputy State Superintendent, and Diana Fuentes-Michel, Executive Director of the California Student Aid Commission.EDvolution developed and designed the conference program.

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EDvolution Helps CLSBA Organize Successful State Capitol Reception and Planning Retreat


Photo credit: Fred Romero

During the weekend of April 4-6, EDvolution helped the California Latino School Boards organize a successful reception at the State Capitol and a two-day strategic planning retreat for the CLSBA Board. The Friday evening reception honored Ms. Kathleen Chavira, Principal Consultant to the Education Committee of the California State Senate and Dr. M. Magdalena Carrillo Mejia, Superintendent of the Sacramento City Unified School District. The reception also served to inform Sacramento policy makers of current CLSBA activities. Among many others in attendance were California State Senator Gloria Romero, Sacramento City Unified School Board Member Manny Hernandez, and seven CLSBA board members. After the Friday festivities, EDvolution principals José Martínez-Saldaña and Juan Yñiguez led the CLSBA board on a very productive two-day, five-year strategic planning retreat.

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