Austin ISD Superintendent Paul Cruz joined national leaders in a panel at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C., to speak about education and workforce development.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with a population of 30,000 or larger. Each city is represented by its mayor.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler invited Cruz to speak on the panel, which included U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy Devos, West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Susan Molinari, Google vice president of public policy and government relations.

In a discussion focused on preparing the workforce of the future, Cruz presented how AISD is using technology, along with the help of innovators within the Austin community, to improve student performance.

Cruz highlighted the importance of collaboration and problem solving among the city, school district and community.

“The issues you deal with as a mayor are the issues your superintendents, teachers and community members are dealing with as well,” Cruz said. “When communities come together to try and solve challenging problems to support our students and families, it’s powerful. We all love our cities and just want to make them better.”