Private School Choice - A Deep Dive Into Funding and Policy
Private school choice is a hot topic right now in Texas as the Governor seeks to enact an Education Savings Account program for the first time in the state. Laura Colangelo of the Texas Private Schools Association and Mary McKeown-Moak of Moak, Casey will discuss what this means for public school funding, and the impact for families in Texas.
About our speakers:
Dr. Mary McKeown-Moak has over 50 years of experience as an educational administrator working with school districts, Boards of Education, universities, Regents, state legislatures, executive offices, and non-profit agencies. She served as the senior financial officer of a university system, business manager, professor, school finance specialist, strategic planner, and has been a consultant serving Texas education for the past 25 years. She developed funding formulas for universities, community colleges, special education, pupil transportation, categorical aid, or general school aid in more than 30 states. She also served as an expert witness in education finance court cases and has written five books and numerous articles on education finance and management.
The National Education Finance Academy awarded Dr. McKeown-Moak its Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to education finance.
Laura Colangelo is the Executive Director of the Texas Private Schools Association, an advocacy organization representing over 900 private, accredited schools in Texas in the state legislature and in DC. In this role, she is the “public voice for private schools in Texas”. She has had four successful legislative sessions in which she helped pass bills regarding credit card fees, epi-pens, and school marshals in private schools. She also helped pass a bill that established a Do Not Hire registry for teachers guilty of misconduct.
Prior to this role, she was the head of an Episcopal preschool in Austin, Texas, focused on providing a quality early childhood educational experience in a historically under- served population. Her focus was on providing an individualized and developmentally- appropriate curriculum with an eye to school readiness. This approach resulted in exponential growth for the school and the community.
Laura received her Bachelor's Degree from Duke University and her Master's in Education at the University of Kentucky. After teaching middle and upper school Spanish in both public and private schools in Houston, she focused her University of Texas doctoral work in curriculum and instruction on the integration of minority students in private schools. She is able to use both her experience and research not only to represent the interests of private schools, but also to advance education policy focused on quality outcomes for all students in Texas.
Laura lives in Austin, Texas and has two children: Henry, a graduate of the University of Texas who is currently working in an independent school and Lucy, a junior at Duke.
Agenda:
6:45am - Coffee & Networking
7:10am - Breakfast Buffet
7:25am - Introductions & Announcements
7:50am - Speaker Introduction
8:20am - Q&A
8:30am - Leave inspired or curious!
Directions and Parking
Breakfast Fees & Policy
