(COLORADO SPRINGS) — On Friday, July 25, the nation’s governors got together for the National Governors Association (NGA) Summer Meeting, joining federal officials and leaders in various areas to have bipartisan conversations around top issues impacting states, commonwealths, and territories.
Special guests at the event included U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and entrepreneur Mark Cuban.
The NGA is chaired by Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who led the opening session on Friday, July 25, on his initiative, Let’s Get Ready! Educating All Americans for Success. According to the NGA, the Let’s Get Ready Roadmap includes action items to advance student readiness across four critical categories:
- Academic foundations
- Workforce preparedness
- Civic engagement
- Lifelong well-being
Just before the session, Secretary McMahon announced that the Trump administration planned to release more than $5 billion in previously appropriated education funds.
“We have to rethink how we’re doing education,” said Secretary McMahon. “We are looking at all of the different aspects that can get students a productive educational environment, to get them into the workforce. From beginning to end, the goal is to get people into a productive job to support their family and to be part of the community and the citizenry of the country.”
Governor Polis also spoke with Cuban about education solutions and how best to prepare students for the job market. Cuban spoke about the potential of advanced technologies like AI to impact education, said NGA.
“In my mind, the greatest skill a kid can have – or an adult, for that matter – is being curious,” Cuban said. “You can give anybody with a smartphone, a laptop, a PC… access to everything, the ability to question anything, the ability to learn outside of the classroom in ways none of us have ever envisioned. Kids don’t like to read anymore, but they will engage with ChatGPT for hours about the things we wanted them to read about.”
The event runs Friday and Saturday at The Broadmoor.
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