Global Conference

DAY ONE: OCTOBER 25

MC/Producer, Ron Rix

1:00-1:20pm: Welcome and Remarks, Rick Dalton, CEO & President of CFES Brilliant Pathways

1:25-2:15pm: Opening Keynote – Lessons We Can Learn About the New Paradigm from Netflix; Amy Reinhard, Vice President, Studio Operations at Netflix and Dean Garfield, CFES board member and Netflix Vice President.

Twenty years ago, Netflix envisioned the future of entertainment and disrupted both audience and industry expectations. Today, with nearly 200 million subscribers, Netflix is a global giant re-defining the future response to jobs, technology, and education. Two Netflix leaders will discuss not just today’s paradigm, but the paradigm to come and how to prepare for it.

2:30-3:45pm: Breakout Sessions

1. Student Session: Cryptography Module With West Point Cadets & Faculty
   Faculty and cadets from the Center for Leadership and Diversity in STEM at the United States Military Academy at West Point will lead students (grades 6-12) through a STEM module focused on the history and methods of cryptography, the study of methods of encoding and securing information and communication. Students will learn good practices in cyber-hygiene and how to encrypt and decrypt messages.
2. Building and Strengthening Your Mentoring Program
   Whether you are just getting started or are looking to strengthen an existing high-flying program, learn how good mentoring can change life trajectories. Make connections, learn new strategies, and collect resources today that you can start implementing tomorrow.
3. The Changing Landscape of Paying for College
   The cost of attending college has students and parents wondering if the investment is worth it. Colleges are responding by offering discounts and other deals to offset declining enrollments due to COVID. Learn how students can take advantage of these breaks, and how teaching personal finance in schools can help students ease the burden of paying for college and improve the long-term quality of lives.
4. Developing & Strengthening the Essential Skills
   Cultivating core competencies such as leadership, agility, and perseverance is critical for success in college and career, and today’s students need to understand and practice these crucial skills now more than ever. Learn how the six CFES Essential Skills are becoming increasingly important for students as they learn to navigate the changing postsecondary environment and the evolving workplace.
5. Get Ready Now for the New Workplace
   The workplace has forever changed, and so have ways for career-seekers to access it. CFES board member and Jopwell founder Porter Braswell will lead a discussion on the changing workplace with business colleagues from the CFES NYC Advisory Board. They will discuss what the shifting landscape means for the next generation of career seekers and how best to prepare students for the jobs of the future.

4:00-5:15pm: Breakout Sessions

1. Student Session: Essential Skills Panel With West Point Cadets & Faculty
   Faculty and cadets from the Center for Leadership and Diversity in STEM at the United States Military Academy at West Point will lead a panel on developing Essential Skills, such as leadership and perseverance, in CFES Scholars in grades 6-12.
2. Inside Higher Ed Today: Implications for Readiness
   The college experience has changed radically from just a few years ago: The importance of a diverse campus has never been greater, virtual classes are now standard, the liberal arts degree is under siege, and the job market is almost unrecognizable. College experts offer strategies to enable students from all socioeconomic backgrounds to address these issues and succeed in the new college landscape.
3. Tips and Strategies for CCR Advisors
   The college and career pathway is growing more complex than ever, and students, especially those from low-income families, need guidance and support to successfully navigate it. But too often, underserved students don’t know where to turn and risk making critical college and career decisions based on inaccurate and/or misleading information. To address this crisis, CFES has developed a program to train school staff, family members, and community/corporate volunteers to help families fill this information gap. Participants who complete the training are certified by CFES and the University of Vermont as College and Career Readiness Advisors. In this session, trained CCR advisors will share their favorite tips and strategies for putting their training into practice.
4. The New Leadership Paradigm
   The pandemic has changed the workplace and education, which, in turn, has altered how people lead businesses and educational institutions as well as how we perceive leaders. Learn what these changes mean for rising leaders and how leaders can best support K-12 students.
5. Finding and Retaining Corporate Mentors
   Hear how our corporate partners are helping students realize the objectives of the CFES 10-point plan. Learn how to not only find a corporate partner, but how to build a win-win alliance that readies students for college and careers while benefiting employee volunteers.

5:20-5:30pm: Day One Wrap up, Ron Rix, Program Director, CFES Brilliant Pathways

6:00pm: Dinner

7:00pm: After Dinner Keynote – Defining & Responding to the New CCR Paradigm; Paul Luna, President & CEO, Helios Education Foundation

7:45pm: Schools of Distinction Recognition; Clint Allen & Mario Pena Awards

8:00pm: Social

DAY TWO: OCTOBER 26

8:00-8:30am: Breakfast

8:30-9:30am: Panel Discussion: The Post Pandemic College & Career World
In this at-large session, frontline education and business leaders will discuss the new CCR paradigm and how best to prepare young people for success in a fast-changing world.

9:45-10:45am: Breakout Sessions

1. Student Session: Tips on Virtual Interviewing, Learning & Campus Visiting
   The COVID-19 pandemic has forced an abrupt switch from in-person and onsite to virtual work and education. Despite this cataclysmic shift, students have been given very little practical guidance about the ins and outs of effective virtual interviewing, virtual learning, and virtual campus visiting. Learn how Scholars can secure, conduct, and follow up on virtual interviews as they move on to careers; strategies to best prepare students for virtual learning, and tips for getting the most from virtual college visits.
2. CCR Advisor Training 2.0, Closing Session
   This live closing session will bring together all the elements of the Advance Level CCR Advisor training and provide participants with the tools to integrate the new learning into their CCR Advising. This interactive workshop is designed for participants to reflect on the conference’s sessions focusing on understanding the changing landscape in education, college and career readiness.
3. How the Essential Skills Support SEL
   The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a rash of social emotional learning (SEL) challenges among young people: Studies show that over 90 percent of high school and college students are experiencing high levels of anxiety, depression, and a lack of focus since the pandemic hit. This workshop shows how students can use Essential Skills such as perseverance, agility, and goal-setting to master SEL challenges, and shows why the Essential Skills have never been more important.
4. Building a High-Impact School/College Partnership
   For 30 years, CFES schools have leveraged partnerships with more than 400 colleges to benefit their students, families, and educators. Partnerships can help teachers understand what’s happening today in college classrooms, educate students and their families about where to find resources to pay for college, and familiarize first-gen students about what to expect as they navigate the higher ed pathway. Learn valuable lessons from CFES school/college partnerships, including a partnership with the University of Vermont that opened the university’s doors to 400 students from the Bronx.
5. Perfect Partners: STEM & the Essential Skills™
   Learn how you can establish effective STEM-focused college and career readiness opportunities for your Scholars in a virtual setting. This workshop will cover strategies for enlisting STEM-based partners, delivering STEM activities to Scholars, and incorporating CFES’ three core practices in STEM-programming in a time when hands-on activities may not always be an option.

11:00-11:55am: Summary Keynote – From Students to Learners to Workforce Ready; Ray McNulty, President, Successful Practices Network (SPN).
The future of education is being shaped by several trends, and educators need to understand and pay close attention to how these trends impact the work we do each day. A critical change is the trend away from learning directly guided by the instructor to education focused on cultivating independent learners. Traditionally, we’ve told students what to learn, how to complete their assignments, when to turn them in, and how they performed. They remain students in our system from kindergarten to graduation—but what happens after that? Will students be ready to keep learning as the world changes around them? When does a student become a learner? And how do we as educators move from Best to Next practices? In this session, Ray McNulty will share some trends shaping education today and help us understand the essential mission we must accomplish: to ensure all our children become independent successful lifelong learners.

12:00pm: Day Two Wrap up, Ron Rix, Program Director, CFES Brilliant Pathways

12:30pm: Lunch

1:00pm: Departure