MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Local military, community and educational leaders around the River Region gathered this week at Troy University’s Montgomery campus to continue discussing the future of education in the greater Montgomery area. Air University co-hosted the event with Troy University.
The event, which is a continuation of the 2019 Education Summit hosted on Maxwell AFB in January, kicked off with remarks from the vice chancellor of Troy University Montgomery campus, Ray White.
“I want to thank everyone for coming out here and working on an issue so important to our city,” said White “It is so fitting that we host these workshops, as Troy started as a teacher’s college in 1887, so we have some expertise in education.”
The event consisted of five workshops, ranging from discussions on federal financial aid opportunities, Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission (MIC3) and improving transitions into the area for military families.
“Our first summit was a stage-setter to identify the problem, so we can work together on what we want to solve,” said Lt. Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander and president of Air University. “These workshops were designed to get after the items that are solvable – binning what we can get after now, and categorizing those that have short-term, mid-term and long-term solutions.”
Attendees then broke into their workshops to discuss ways to continue working together in their respective organizations for the future of education in the River Region. Several notable discussions from the event were the potential opportunity for children of military families assigned to Maxwell-Gunter AFB to attend a local public school of their choosing, and the expanded role of support from non-profits.
At its closing, conference attendees were charged with carrying out the concrete actions that were developed during these workshops to improve public education in the River Region.
Lt. Gen. Cotton shared what his grandmother always said about education: “The one thing that no one can take from you is your education. Everyone in this room has the opportunity to make sure that future generations understand what that really means.”
Leaders from the military, schools and local organizations will continue working the actions agreed upon at the event, and will gather again at the start of the next school year to evaluate progress and share what they have learned.