For the past three years, Texas AFT has been a proud sponsor of the Texas Tribune Festival in Downtown Austin. We are grateful to participate in an event that educates and builds excitement around top issues in our state, drawing attendees from around the country to bring attention to priorities in our area.
Open Congress
On Saturday, Nov. 16, we pitched a tent at the Open Congress. This free-to-attend portion of the festival gave us the opportunity to connect with educators, community members, and public officials from both in and out of the state. We shared general union information, member benefits, and duty-free lunches for educators!
Pop Quiz
At our Open Congress table, we gave visitors the opportunity to test their Texas public education knowledge in true educator style via Pop Quiz. Many visitors were stunned by their low grades. For those interested in partaking on your own, we have built an online version!
Duty-Free Lunch
In support of the educators (particularly in elementary school) who are often starved of their 30 minutes of duty-free lunch, we offered packed lunches to hand out to educators and informed passers-by about this consistent issue in our schools. Some visitors were even surprised that 30 minutes is all that is protected by our state!
Sponsored Sessions
Our two sponsored sessions at the festival were Will Higher Ed Survive? Four inside perspectives on the challenges facing colleges and universities in the Trump era and Words to Live By: How to improve literacy rates in Texas.
Both sessions were recorded by The Texas Tribune, listen online here.