EDUCATION CHANGEMAKERS

Dr. James HECKMAN & Mr. J.B. PRITZKER

Event report

February 25, 2015 AVID CENTER HQ

Presented in Partnership with:

 

 THE EVENT This event brought Nobel Laureate economist Professor James Heckman and noted venture capitalist and philanthropist Mr. J.B. Pritzker to San Diego to discuss the economic case for investing in early education. The event was presented in partnership with the San Diego Grantmakers and hosted by the AVID Center. It was presented as part of the Education Synergy Alliance’s Education Changemakers speaker series, which provides a forum for the brightest and most accomplished thought leaders on the national education scene to bring their expertise to our community. The series is designed as an impetus for action – not just inspiration – in order to galvanize San Diego influencers around salient education issues.

 

THE PRESENTERS James Heckman Dr. Heckman is a Nobel Laureate economist whose illustrious career has seen him repeatedly leverage rigorous research for social good. After winning the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2000, he turned his attention to early education. His research yielded staggering evidence of the merits of investing early: according to his study, each dollar invested in early education returns $7 to the economy. Since 1973, he has served as a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, where he directs the Economics Research Center, the Center for the Economics of Human Development, and the Center for Social Program Evaluation at the Harris School of Public Policy. He is a professor of law at the University of Chicago School of Law, senior research fellow at the American Bar Foundation, and research fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. J.B. Pritzker J.B. Pritzker is an entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. He is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Pritzker Group, a private investment firm with offices in Chicago and Los Angeles. He is also a renowned philanthropist and one of the nation’s leading supporters of expanding high-quality early learning (birth – 5) for disadvantaged children. As a principal backer of the First Five Years fund, Mr. Pritzker is a longstanding champion for early education. He also helped establish the Pritzker Consortium on Early Childhood Development at the University of Chicago, led by Dr. Heckman. He is the creator of the Pritzker Family Foundation's Children's Initiative. THE AUDIENCE Composition The event was sold out, with a total of 98 registrations and an additional 14 individuals on the waitlist. The audience was approximately 14% business sector; 29% funders; 5% government; 5% health; 11% higher education; and 36% non-profit.

 

PRESENTATION HIGHLIGHTS Mark Cafferty, President of the San Diego Economic Development Corporation, explained why business leaders have a strong interest in a early education, and brought that case alive with a story about his Boston neighbors whose early home life set them up for a lifetime of struggles. He graciously welcomed and introduced our keynote speakers. J.B. Pritzker resonated with Mark Cafferty’s story, seguing gracefully into the need for “innovation in the early years.” He made the case that 50% of low-income children – or 6 million children overall – will enter kindergarten unprepared. In his words, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” He underscored the economic and business imperative to invest in early interventions.

 

Professor Heckman made the case that “human development is economic development.” In his words, “early development programs can actually build a skill base,” making children more employable and better economic contributors later in life. He also presented the Heckman Curve, which illustrates the considerable economic returns of investing in early education

 

Sandra Timmons, an Education Synergy Alliance Board Member, provided a compelling testimonial for why she and her husband, Rick Sandstrom have invested in early childhood education through the ESA and its P-3 initiative. “For me, this is a case where science confirms instinct,” she said. “Investments in early care and education are a powerful antidote to poverty.” Laura Kohn, Executive Director of the Education Synergy Alliance, brought the issues home to San Diego, highlighting San Diego County’s underinvestment in early education with a graph that stands in stark contrast to the Heckman Curve, and sharing local outcome data that shows how far we can improve if we do increase our support for young children

 

Local Panel Ms. Kohn’s presentation was supported by a local panel of experts that discussed that translated the national discussion lead by Professor Heckman and Mr. Pritzker to San Diego County. The panel include JCNI VP Omar Passons, who later tweeted a statement emblematic of the panel’s passion and resonance with the core issues: “With a $750 billion statewide infrastructure deficit and $30 billion education hole, 0-5 education in SD will need a local solution.”

Left to Right: Laura Kohn, Executive Director of the Education Synergy Alliance; Margie Newman, Managing Director of Intesa Communications Group, LLC; Omar Passons, Vice President of Community Development & Policy, Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation; Pradeep Gidwani, MD, Former President of the American Academy of Pediatrics

 

A Call To Action The event closed with Connie Matsui, Board Chair for The San Diego Foundation, presenting calls to action for attendees.

 

FEEDBACK

Post-event survey information from 30 respondents:

The response to the event was overwhelmingly positive, with all attendees indicating that their knowledge of the benefits of early childhood investment was increased by the presentation.

Most attendees came to the presentation with at least some exposure to the topic of early childhood investments.

 

The speakers were by far the biggest draw to attend the event, but many attendees were also interested in learning about early childhood investment.

Nearly 100% of survey respondents told at least one person about the information they learned at the event.

 

Survey respondents also shared their thoughts on the event:

“Heckman was outstanding - a gifted and inspiring speaker.” “[The event] was fantastic and I've talked with many about the event since. Thank you for paying attention to this particular area of work!” “I would love to see this information shared with as many parents as possible - perhaps partnering with CA State and National PTA, if you're not already. Thanks for sharing this info in our area!” “I was very excited about the event. I have used the information in a variety of venues from meetings with principals to meetings with parent. I think that the P-3 Initiative is the single greatest focus to impact the education community in the next ten years. Bravo!”

NEXT STEPS

Build Momentum: ESA will capitalize on the new or renewed passion of business and philanthropic attendees through follow-up events for funders and business leaders. We are working in partnership with the Pritzker Foundation and San Diego Grantmakers to develop these programs. Spread the Word: ESA partnered with UCTV to create a video of this event. Once completed, the video will be made available on UCTV’s platform as well as the ESA website. A shareable clip of the event will also be distributed through social media channels. Get to Work: Many event participants indicated that they would be interested in supporting the movement for improving early education in San Diego County. With their engagement and through the continued work of the P-3 Salon and the P-3 Action Collaborative, we will create new opportunities to spread awareness about the need for high quality early childhood development.

 

Thank you to our sponsors!

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