Praised as both practical and energizing, this inactive session presents an inspiring call-to-arms and a powerful case for the need to increase local support for public schools. It is designed to complement the keynote presentation: Welcome to The Great Conversation.

Using his own transformation as a backdrop, Jamie employs a series of Q&A periods to help his audience identify the corrosive social forces currently undermining support for schools, and he discusses a strategy to reverse this trend. In clear layman’s terms, Vollmer teaches his audiences how to effectively implement a public engagement strategy to increase:

• Community understanding of the challenges facing our children and our schools,
• Community trust in their local schools to accomplish the goal,
• Community permission to make the changes needed to teach all children to high levels, and
• Community support throughout the complex and emotional restructuring process.