PALM HARBOR, Fla. – The Pinellas Education Foundation will hold its third FORD Next Generation Learning (NGL) Winter Conference in partnership with Ford NGL February 5th – 7th at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor. Media is welcome to attend at any point during the conference. A full conference schedule can be found here: Ford NGL Winter Conference.
The conference features the Ford NGL process for scaling and sustaining successful career academies. Pinellas County Schools has been a Ford NGL community since March 2013 and the Pinellas Education Foundation became a Ford NGL Innovation Center in 2015. Since the partnership with Ford NGL began in 2011, the Pinellas County Schools graduation rate increased almost 18 points from 65% to 82.9%.
Highlights of the conference include:
February 5th
- Insight/Onsite NCAC (National Career Academy Coalition) training at Clearwater High School
- Welcome Reception at 5 p.m. in the Edinburgh Ballroom:
o Academies of Pinellas Achievement Awards to be presented to the top high school and middle school for career education achievement.
o Career Education Awards to be presented to top high school and middle school career educator.
February 6th
- Career Education Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. in the Main Ballroom:
o Students from several Academies of Pinellas and students from Next Generation Entrepreneurs and Next Generation Tech will be present and hold demonstrations of their academies and products respectively.
o Keynote speaker Joe Sleppy will discuss the importance of career education and the role that businesses play. Joe is a former PCS student and inaugural winner of the Foundation’s Next Generation Entrepreneur’s Program. He is currently the founder and CEO of Capacitech Energy LLC and recently received the Young Entrepreneur Award from Governor Rick Scott in 2017. Joe will also host a breakout session for students during the afternoon.
o The Stavros Career Education Champion Award will be given to a person who has demonstrated commitment to expanding career education opportunities for students in Pinellas.
February 7th
- Visits to various Academies of Pinellas.
The 2018 Career Education Luncheon is made possible by generous support from Catalina Charitable Foundation, DITEK, the McIntyre Family Foundation, B&I Contractors, Clearwater Gas System, Great Bay Distributors, Long and Associates, National Aviation Academy and NOVA Southeastern University.
About The Pinellas Education Foundation
The Pinellas Education Foundation is an independent, non-governmental not-for-profit established in 1986. The Foundation’s mission is Accelerate educational achievement for ALL students through the effective mobilization of innovation, relationships and resources. Well known Pinellas Education Foundation programs include: Enterprise Village, Finance Park, Take Stock in Children Scholarships, Academies of Pinellas, Frances Stavros Career Education/Youth Connect and Fund A Classroom Grants. Visit www.pinellaseducation.org for more information.