Summer Leadership Summit Open for Registration
Join Us for the TALAS & Central TALAS Summer Leadership Summit
TALAS and Central TALAS invite you to the annual Summer Leadership Summit, a powerful two-day gathering of superintendents, senior district leaders, and educational partners dedicated to advancing Latino leadership across Texas.
“Fuerza in Our Roots, Poder in Our People” celebrates the cultural heritage, collective strength, and shared commitment that unite Latino educational leaders. This summit honors the power of our history, values, and purpose in driving student success and shaping the future of education.
June 22–23, 2026 | Concordia University
June 22, 2026
Lunch and two breakout sessions
Evening Inaugural President’s Dinner (additional cost) recognizing outstanding chapter leadership and L3 Cohort 12 participants
June 23, 2026
Breakfast and lunch
Three breakout sessions
Featured breakout with Miguel Cardona, former U.S. Secretary of Education
Closing keynote and book signing with author Robert Alfaro, Baloney, Baloney, Baloney!
Together, we will explore how our roots ground us, our people uplift us, and our unity empowers the future of education.
Early Bird registration is available through March 30, 2026.Don’t miss this inspiring and impactful leadership experience!
Cancellation & Refund Policy
All registration and sponsorship fees are non-refundable. If you are unable to attend, your registration or sponsorship fee will be considered a donation to TALAS. Upon request, a donation acknowledgment letter will be provided for your records.
Scholarship Opportunity for TALAS Members
TALAS Scholarship Opportunity 🎓
Do you have a child or grandchild graduating from high school this year? Let TALAS help support their next educational chapter.
TALAS is proud to offer $1,500 scholarships to support students as they begin their higher education journey. We are seeking nine outstanding scholars who exemplify the leadership, service, and commitment to excellence that reflect the TALAS mission.
📌 Apply today: Click the link to complete the application.
Please help us spread the word by sharing this opportunity with eligible students and families!
3-2-1: On winning and losing, making the most of accidents, and when waiting doesn’t work
I.
“In the modern world, it is easy to feel like a passenger: reacting to notifications, responding to demands, consuming whatever you happen to drive past on your screen.
But joy is found in being the driver. It’s the act of looking at the raw material of your circumstances — your time, your energy, your relationships, your skills — and seeing what you can make from it.
It is the act of creating the life you want (in big and small ways) that makes you feel alive and imbues life with extra meaning. The fact that you can hold a vision in your mind and then, however imperfectly, bend reality a few degrees in that direction.”
Why we need more than technology to solve chronic absenteeism
During my nearly 20 years as an edtech executive, I’ve seen how well-designed technology can meaningfully improve teaching and learning. But I’ve also learned its limits.
Some of the most urgent challenges schools face today aren’t problems of scale or data, but of trust, relationships and human connection. A prime example of this is our struggle to address chronic absenteeism.
Chronic absenteeism emerged as a serious national challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic, peaking at 31% in the 2021–22 school year. While rates declined slightly to 28% in 2022–23, far too many students continue to miss significant instructional time.
The Challenges of Leading a Large School
Principal Laura Tobias can’t be everywhere all the time at State College Area High School, one of the largest public schools in Pennsylvania. State High, as it is known, is walking distance from Penn State and has over 2,300 students. So Tobias came up with an unusual plan. She procured a doppelgänger of sorts: a cardboard cutout of herself.
The cutout isn’t, of course, a substitute for Tobias; it gets passed around the school in good fun. “It’s like Where’s Waldo?, but Where’s Mrs. Tobias?,” she joked. But students have assigned real value to the cutout, regularly taking photos with it, and Tobias wants it to be a reminder that even at a big school, the principal isn’t a scary administrator you only interact with if you’re in trouble. “This is a people business,” Tobias said. “Students and staff need to see and feel your presence and that you’re accessible.”
Students and Teachers Need the Same Thing: Connection
Connection means something very different for educators than it once did. A word that once meant WiFi in the classroom now refers to deeper relationships that spark learning. That concept of connection is driving new approaches in education.
When SXSW EDU launched in 2011, digital learning was on the rise. Computers were becoming commonplace in the classroom, not just in labs down the hall. Digital resources like tutoring videos and edtech platforms were expanding what education could offer. Connection meant accessing tools, people and expertise outside of the classroom.