In August 2005, NewSchools Venture Fund and the Aspen Institute invited a group of about 50 leaders in educational entrepreneurship, philanthropy, policy making and research for the first Annual Gathering of Education Entrepreneurs in Aspen, Colorado.

The goals of these annual convenings are to rejuvenate these entrepreneurial change agents to sustain their efforts, to connect them on a human and professional level, to define new ways to make sure the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and to create the long-term agenda for change.

The theme of the 2005 gathering was Creating the Vision for 2030. By getting away from the day-to-day, participants were able to take the long view, envisioning a future for the nation’s education system, while sorting out whether there was a need for collective action to achieve that vision as a supplement to all of the individual and organizational efforts in which they are each engaged.

This report describes the key themes and ideas discussed and provides more detail about the highest priority topics selected by the group.