Education Evolving invites you to a discussion with a leading national actor and analyst on education policy. Eric Premack, a Minneapolis native, will be here November 21 at 3 pm in the North Klas room at the Anderson Center on the Hamline University campus.

California is the largest state in the nation. What happens there is often a harbinger for what will likely spread further. Premack has lived and worked there for more than 20 years; he runs one of the largest charter school development organizations in the country. He’s become a trusted adviser to the state board and the governor there.

Eric will have great insights into what’s coming next—with the advent of the Common Core, the next wave of efforts to close achievement gaps, the surge in schools using digital electronics, the growing tension between the forces of centralization and the aspirations for more local control. He’s sure to have something to say about the standoff brewing between federal orthodoxy on waivers and states’ desires for more diverse strategies. That tension could also play out soon in Minnesota.

While Premack will make some remarks to get us going, we’re serious about this being a discussion – no long lectures, no boring panels. There’s no charge, but we need to know who’s coming, so let us know by confirming with Andrew Rockway (andrew@educationevolving.org). A light reception will follow the discussion.

Stay tuned. We’ll be announcing additional speakers for the winter season soon.