FIRST TOWN HALL LA STEAM EDUCATION CONFERENCE A SUCCESS

Los Angeles, CA – Monday, March 14, 2011 – On February 3-4, 2011, Town Hall Los Angeles and Corwin Press convened the first in a planned series of education conferences. The conference was designed to tout and learn from the best practices of K-12 public education. “Full STEAM Ahead! Classroom Techniques for Leveraging California’s Creative Economy” was well attended with educators and business leaders coming together to share 21st century work force requirements.

Of participants who responded to the survey, 95 percent said Town Hall should continue the series and 94 percent said they would attend.  Of the eight sessions, 68 percent of respondents found them to be of great benefit.

By highlighting what’s working in California education, the motivation behind the programs will be to create an ongoing platform for identifying ways to engage and prepare students. “I am so grateful that Town Hall dipped their toe in the STEAM,” said one teacher. “I suspect it was surprising to some to hear the complexity of frustrations expressed by the expert teachers attending who are deep in the issue already.”

As another teacher expressed, “I would like someone to address in very specific ways about getting community support and local business support - ways in which we can get support for underserved public schools in Los Angeles that do not have the computers or quality of teachers needed to implement the programs and methods presented at these conferences.”

Taking the conversation to an ever wider audience, two broadcasts of TOWN HALL Journal will be devoted to this important topic. March 6, “Recipes for Success: Tales from Great Teachers” and “Full STEAM Ahead!” which airs on April 10. Journal episodes can be accessed on the
89.3 FM KPCC web site: http://www.scpr.org/programs/town-hall-journal/

In addition, complete video archived recordings of the conference are available on the School Improvement Network. To enquire how to access, please contact Deborah Weinberg, Director of Media Relations at [email protected], subject “STEAM Access.”

The more than 160 teachers in attendance was made possible through the generosity of conference sponsors Corwin Press, The Boeing Company, City National Bank, Bank of the West, School Improvement Network and anonymous donors.

One of the Top 10 Leadership Forums in the nation, Town Hall Los Angeles advocates for no side, represents no particular ideology, and stands solidly in support of free speech, civility and a belief that knowledge is a priceless commodity. Join us as we ramp-up to our 75th Anniversary, visit www.townhall-la.org.

**Please credit TOWN HALL Los Angeles and Corwin Press in your coverage.

Note to reporters and editors: The organization uses the full name TOWN HALL Los Angeles. Please do not make generic as in ‘town hall.’