The United Way of Greater Los Angeles hosted the 2011 Education Summit at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles, Tuesday. It was the largest-ever event focused on education reform in Los Angeles County.

The conference included a keynote address by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on education, break-out panels and group discussions.

United Way hosted the event to show that while there have been modest gains in educational achievement in Los Angeles County, further action is needed to decrease drop-out rates and raise Academic Performance Index scores in the county, specifically LAUSD.

Those who attended the conference included national and local education experts and local civic and business leaders including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines.

On March 31, 2011, in Washington, D.C., United Way Worldwide will hold a National Town Hall on Education, moderated by CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, to unveil the collective findings from communities across the country, included Los Angeles.