State Superintendent Tony Thurmond to Join California Governor and World Leaders at Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond will join President Joe Biden, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and other world leaders this week in Los Angeles, as the United States hosts the Ninth Summit of the Americas . The Summit brings together leaders from the countries of North, South, and Central America and the Caribbean to address shared challenges such as climate change, education, and economic resiliency.

“California’s school system is the largest in the U.S. and one of the most diverse, and the innovative programs happening here will help our schools recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure students thrive,” said Superintendent Thurmond. “I look forward to hearing innovative solutions and proposals from respected world leaders to help tackle issues that these past two years have created for our students and families.”

Within California's student population of about six million, nearly 60 percent of students are of low socioeconomic status. At the forefront of the State Superintendent’s work are proposals to transform public schools and help students and families address the trauma faced during the pandemic. Among California’s transformative education programs are equity initiatives, community schools, universal meals, universal transitional kindergarten, mental health supports, and universal expanded learning programs offering tutoring, mentoring, and coaching.

Additionally, State Superintendent Thurmond wrote a bill that would help California recruit up to 10,000 mental health clinicians and is sponsoring other legislation and prioritizing strategies to support the social and emotional needs of students. Thurmond and the California Department of Education (CDE) are also working with state partners like the Department of Health Care Services, as well as private partners, to provide mental health programs and tools to educators in real-time.

The Summit of the Americas theme is “Building a Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Future,” and will take place from June 6 to June 10. The event promises to be an “extraordinary opportunity to galvanize attention and mobilize international action and official stakeholder forums…ensuring action and accountability.”

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100