Future Focused Education held its third annual EdUprising Conference last month, and it was a tremendous success. 

More than 300 educators, community leaders, and young people attended the two-day affair. Conversations were rooted in the emerging consensus that the high school experience must change. Speaker of the House and Kellogg Fellow Javier Martinez set the stage with his keynote address that called on capstone projects as much more meaningful assessments than standardized tests of what students know and can do.

Sessions were built to convey the importance of integrating social and emotional support and positive youth development principles into internships and capstone projects. In addition, those projects and internships are embedded in the community which is an essential building block to embracing student identity. The day’s workshops included building stronger workforce pipelines with employers via student internships and work-based learning. Student voice was a throughline and key component of all EdUp sessions.

On day two of the conference, school and district leaders worked with young people and educators from their communities to start the redesign process of their schools. This work was a revelation for many because the strategy didn’t begin with fixing what's “wrong,” rather built on what's right in their schools. 

Claire Bross, a senior at Amy Biehl High School, said she loved having education leaders listen to her ideas. “I think sometimes adults like to think that we don't have an opinion and that we don't care about how our education system works, but we're the ones who have to live through it,” she said.

This year we formed a new paradigm that focuses on schools as community development assets that make New Mexico healthier and more prosperous.

EdUp by the Numbers:

• 2 days
• 300 attendees
• 33 sessions
• 37 student attendees
• 100 partners in government, foundations, and higher education

We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all who attended and supported EdUprising 2023. It was a pleasure to see so many dedicated educators and professionals coming together to share knowledge and experiences. Your participation has contributed greatly to the success of this event.

Presentations for Download

We are pleased to provide access to the slide decks and other presentation materials from the conference for download. You may also reference the conference program for strands and presenters. For those of you who did not attend, please feel free to browse the folder to get a glimpse of the learning that took place.