ConvergeUS Hosts Discussion on the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards in California

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- ConvergeUS, the nonprofit arm of TechNet, whose mission is to accelerate technology-based social innovation, today announced it will hold "A California Conversation: Getting Ready for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards" at the Lodge at Cavallo Point in Sausalito, California on Wednesday, October 3, 2012.

This event will discuss a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded white paper that examines the tech sector perspectives about the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The CCSS are a clear, concise and uniform set of standards designed to help high school graduates keep up with an increasingly dynamic and innovative global economy after they graduate from high school.

Patrick Gusman, Executive Director, ConvergeUS, will co-host the event with Muhammed Chaudhry, President and CEO, Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF), and Linda Galliher, Vice President of Public Policy for Bay Area Council in California, will serve as Master of Ceremonies. Ellen Satterwhite, Program Director, Gig.U, will provide an overview of the white paper, which will be followed by remarks from Ben Sanders, Director of Standards, Assessment and Instruction, CORE, and Julie Young, President and Chief Executive Officer, Florida Virtual School. Catherine Hernandez-Blades, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Flextronics, Mark Walker, Executive Director, Applied Materials Foundation, David Plank, Professor and Executive Director, Policy Analysis California Education (PACE), and Marc Suidan, Partner, PwC, will participate in a panel discussion to address how the tech sector can facilitate effective implementation and entrepreneurship opportunities and recommendations for enhancing innovation. Mike Kirst, Professor Emeritus of Education and Business Administration, Stanford University, will provide the keynote address.

"ConvergeUS is pleased to partner with the Bay Area Council and the Silicon Valley Education Foundation to advance educational improvement efforts in California," said Patrick Gusman, Executive Director, ConvergeUS.

The discussion will be live-streamed at http://bit.ly/O31ZzP.

About ConvergeUS:
ConvergeUS is the 501(c) (3) non-profit arm of TechNet and its mission is to drive technology-enabled breakthroughs for critical social concerns. When TechNet was founded in 1997, the founders made it a priority to concentrate on improving education in the United States and established the high-tech industry's credentials as good corporate citizens. In keeping with the core objectives of TechNet, ConvergeUS annually selects a maximum of three non-profit partners to accelerate social innovation. We concentrate our efforts on either specific social issues or geographic areas in need of rapid improvement and sustainable momentum for meaningful change. In our selection process, we prioritize difficult and seemingly intractable problems and regions left behind by the innovation economy.  ConvergeUS drives the innovation required through convening and strategic support.  ConvergeUS works with a sense of urgency by encouraging entrepreneurship and bringing together the public and private sector to determine how best to deploy technology address the problems ConvergeUS identifies.

To learn more, visit www.convergeus.com. More about TechNet at www.technet.org.  

SOURCE ConvergeUS