News Advisory: Three-day education conference kicks off Tuesday 

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OKLAHOMA CITY (July 14, 2014) – All media are invited to Vision 2020, the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s summer conference. Vision 2020 will kick off at 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 15, and continue through Thursday, July 17, at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City.

Thousands of educators from all across Oklahoma will attend. There are a few times that may be of particular interest:

• On Tuesday at 9 a.m. the opening general session in the arena will include brief remarks from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Janet Barresi and a keynote address from Lee Roland, principal of a high-poverty and high-achieving elementary school in Putnam City Schools, on how he has led his students to success.
• At 11 a.m. Tuesday in Exhibit Hall E, Supt. Barresi will host an open roundtable discussion with educators.
• At 5:30 p.m. Tuesday by Rooms Four and Five, Supt. Barresi will hold a meet-and-greet, followed by Parent Power Night, a forum and collection of resources just for parents, at 6 p.m.
• On Wednesday during the 9 a.m. general session in the arena, New York Times bestselling author Paul Tough will speak about the character traits of success that he has identified in his research. Tough is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and the author of the book How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character.
• At 11 a.m. Wednesday in the arena, the 12 finalists to be the 2015 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year will take part in a news conference to share their philosophies of teaching and answer questions. Supt. Barresi will first reveal who the finalists are at approximately 9:15 a.m. in the general session.
• On Thursday during the 9 a.m. general session in the arena, psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, scientific director of The Imagination Institute and the author of Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined, will give the keynote address on how to define intelligence. 

There will be plenty of photo opportunities throughout the conference. Thousands of teachers will converge for the general sessions each morning before splitting up into breakout sessions throughout the convention center for the rest of each day.

For more information and a full schedule of events, visit www.okvision2020.ok.gov.

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