The first annual Preparing to Dream Spring Research Institute, held May 6, 2009, offered the five Preparing to Dream district teams a unique opportunity to collaborate with each other. The team members kicked off the institute with brief highlights from the first year of implementation of their projects.

Keynote speaker Dr. Richard Rhodes, President, El Paso Community College, inspired the audience with his story of how EPCC is working with its K-12 districts to meet the needs of their students, a tremendous challenge when 98% of recent high school graduates are placed in remedial math courses (and that number goes up for students more than one year out of high school). See his story here:

Addressing College Readiness In High Schools

The Spring Institute, structured as working sessions for district teams to meet with each other and within their groups, provided an excellent opportunity to cross-fertilize ideas, share challenges, and begin a habit of learning from each other.

Highlight presentations from the districts are here at the links below: