The Education Service Center, Region 2, is pleased to announce a region-wide professional development opportunity for all public school district administrators, faculty, staff, and community members. This year we are offering Edspiration 2018—Igniting the Passion for Education, a one-day conference event scheduled for August 14, 2018 from 8:30a to 4:00p at the American Bank Center in downtown Corpus Christi.

Edspiration 2018 will feature numerous concurrent breakout sessions on a wide variety of topics based on the following education-related strands: curriculum and instruction, leadership, and operations. The sessions will contain information relevant to the needs of the diverse student population in Region 2, and will appeal to multiple audiences.

This event will conclude with a motivational and inspirational keynote presentation by Victor Rios, Ph.D., Professor at University of California—Santa Barbara. Dr. Rios survived a childhood surrounded by drugs and gangs and dropped out of school twice—once in the 8th grade, and then again in high school after re-entering school. After witnessing his best friend get shot and killed during a gang-related gun fight, Dr. Rios made the courageous decision to leave gang life behind. With the help of a special teacher, he re-entered school where he graduated and went on to higher education where he earned a doctorate degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Rios is the co-winner of the 2013 Oliver Cromwell Cox Award for his book, “Punished; Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys,” and his theory that terms such as “at risk youth” is a driving force behind his message of the importance of educators’ roles in young lives.