On Wednesday Children at Risk hosted their 7th Annual Children’s Summit at the United Way building.
The event brought out several hundred active child advocates from a variety of fields to hear about such diverse topics as childhood poverty, food security, public and mental health, education, and trafficking. Of course the focus at the end turned toward how to be more effective advocates on all these issues within the Texas Legislature now meeting in Austin.
While the room was buzzing with interest all day, the biggest draw was obviously the school finance discussion moderated by Dr Caprice Young of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. It featured Dr Terry Grier of HISD, along with the CEOs of KIPP and YES Prep talking about their own efforts as well as emerging areas of collaboration. By the time they took the stage together the hall was standing room only, indicating still how crucial this issue is for Texas and Houston.
More insight on the day’s activities and speakers can be gained by following the Storify below.