A whopping 25%. That’s the percent of people attending this year’s NewSchools Summit for the very first time.

If you’re among that 25%, welcome! We look forward to meeting you.

If you’re among the other 75% — and especially if you’re one of those longstanding, card-carrying members of the entrepreneurial education movement who has attended the NewSchools Summit for many years — we’d like to ask you to lend a bit of your knowledge and social capital to the 160+ attendees coming to their very first Summit this year. More than ever before, we have reached out to the specific audiences who we believe will help the entrepreneurial community grow, thrive, and build partnerships. Specifically, that means new entrepreneurs, representatives of reform-minded large systems, political leaders, and attendees who bring many different types of diversity.

Here’s how you can help:

• Join us for a pre-Summit reception on Tuesday, May 11 from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm at the Grand Café in the Grand Hyatt.
• Attend the first-timer breakfast at 7:00 am on the morning of Summit, pick a table, and introduce yourself to a few first-timers. (This being the morning after i3 applications are due, we’ll provide plenty of coffee.) Make it a goal to introduce each of them to at least one other person during the course of the day. This breakfast takes place from 7:00 am to 7:45 am, in parallel with the regular breakfast, in the Lafayette and Farragut rooms. If you can join, please send an RSVP to [email protected].
• During the course of the day, look for folks wearing the orange ribbon on their name tag that signifies that they are first-timers. Introduce yourself, and find time to connect that person to someone whose work or ideas will be useful to that person.
• Before you ask a question during the sessions, introduce yourself and the name of your organization.

I know that your Summit day is packed with content and with the connections you yourself need to make. But I hope you will take a few moments out to make our first-timers feel welcome and involved. It’s a small but crucial step in keeping our community vibrant and growing.