Laguna Blanca School students are producing and hosting their first TEDxLagunaBlancaSchool event on Jan. 31 in Merovick Gymnasium on the school’s Hope Ranch campus, 4125 Paloma Drive, Santa Barbara.

Based on the theme EVOLVE, the event will feature 10-15 speakers from around the country, all of whom will be vetted through a tight application process and selected by the class members.

Students in the TEDx class have organized themselves into teams, including executive directors, business development, lead designers, communications directors, event managers, tech leads, and directors of curation.

They are involved in every aspect of event planning, including identifying a meaningful theme, selecting speakers, creating and managing a budget, and organizing professional-level audio and visual coverage so it can be shared worldwide.
 
“Essentially, the students in this elective will be running their own nonprofit organization, top to bottom. And, the final project will be a daylong TEDx event open to the entire Santa Barbara community,” said humanities teacher Anna Alldredge, who leads the class.

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less).

TED began in 1984 as a conference where technology, entertainment and design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages.

Both Alldredge and sixth-grade teacher Allison Armstrong were trained and certified to oversee TEDxYouth events during a TED Women Conference this past year, an experience made possible by Laguna’s continuing education fund.

Visit tedxlagunablancaschool.com for more event information, including speaker lists, interactive exhibits, and to buy tickets. Ticket prices start at $50.

For more information, contact tedx@lagunablanca.org. For more information about the school, visit lagunablanca.org or call 687-2461.

— Tara Broucqsault for Laguna Blanca School.