Distinguished members in the field of education and researchers gathered in the main hall at the AISD Performing Arts Center for the second annual UT/AISD Collaborative Research Forum on Friday.  

The purpose of the forum was to tout the work that the University of Texas and AISD researchers are conducting in pre-K-12 education.

“We are here to find out what we are learning, what we are not learning, what we still have to learn, what’s working well and what's not,” said Superintendent Dr. Paul Cruz. “We need to be honest about this because our work is fun and exciting and very challenging and there are many opportunities now to discover the next great discovery in education.”

The event, coordinated by the UT/AISD Research Collaborative, is supported by the Office of the Dean of the College of Education and the AISD Department of Research and Evaluation.

“It’s a great day and great opportunity for K-12 higher ED,” said AISD External Research Coordinator Jay Brown. “This forum is wonderful because it provides the information that is needed to better education and the education community as a whole.”

Holly Williams, director of the Department of Research and Evaluation at AISD, said there are 120 research projects annually in the district and many are collaborative in nature.

“We want to highlight those projects here today and get feedback as well,” Williams said. 

The forum began with small group workshops based on attendees' educational field. These workshops included teacher development, college readiness, and climate and student support. 

Afterward, a question and answer session with Cruz and Charles Martinez, dean of the School of Education,  took place in the main hall. Attendees were able to ask questions about the future of education in Central Texas.

“You always want to be on the cutting edge and you want to hear what’s out there and we are lucky that we can provide an opportunity here for that”, Brown said.