Thursday, November 8, 2007

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

3:15 PM – 4:30 PM

Session 1: The Kids Left Behind: Catching Up the Underachieving Children of Poverty

This session will provide participants with a synthesis of compelling research, program and policy recommendations, and effective classroom strategies based on findings from 18 state and national studies of high poverty/higher performance schools. Improvements in curriculum, instruction, assessment and data literacy, reorganization of time, space and resources, and parent and community engagement contributed to the success of these schools. The presentation will include descriptions of K-12 high achieving schools with significant population of low SES students.

Presenter:

William Parrett, Director, Center for School Improvement & Policy Studies, Boise State University, ID

Strand 1: K-12 Improvement

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

3:15 PM – 4:30 PM

Session 2: Making College a Reality

What do you get when you have a high school committed to preparing all students for college, a community college committed to helping students transfer to a four-year institution, and the state’s university systems providing support for incoming ninth graders?  You get rising achievement and increases in college going among students.  Hear about the thoughtful partnership among Imperial High School, Imperial Valley Community College, the California State University System, and the University of California System that has produced rates of college going among the highest in the state, in a community where most of the students are working-class and Latino.

Presenters:

Blas Guerrero, Director, Regional Academic Initiatives, University of California, Oakland, CA

Roger Ruvalcaba, Director of Student Affairs, Imperial High School, Imperial, CA

Miguel Rahiotis, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, San Diego State University, Imperial Campus, Calexico, CA

Victor Jaime, Vice President for Student Services, Imperial Valley College, Imperial, CA

Javier Ramos, College-Going Initiatives Coordinator, Imperial County Office of Education, El Centro, CA

Strand 1: K-12 Improvement

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

3:15 PM – 4:30 PM

Session 3: Teacher Residency Programs: A Unique Model of Teacher Preparation

Join us to learn about two of three programs in the nation using a teacher residency model to prepare and support teachers to be successful with students. Program directors

and their colleagues will describe the concept of the programs, the components, the challenges and successes they have faced in preparing resident teachers to be effective with their students. Whether you are interested in starting your own program or focusing on better preparing and supporting new teachers, this session will help you to take those next steps.

Presenters:

Brian Sims, Managing Director, Academy for Urban School Leadership, Chicago, IL

Jesse Solomon, Director, Boston Teacher Residency Program, Boston Plan for Excellence, Boston, MA

Johanna Klinsky, Mentor-Resident Development Coach, Academy for Urban School Leadership, Chicago, IL

Celeste Colman, Chemistry and Math Teacher, TechBoston Academy, Dorchester, MA

Strand 2: Teacher Quality

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

3:15 PM – 4:30 PM

Session 4: Do State Policies Help or Hinder Teacher Quality?

This presentation will share findings from the National Council on Teacher Quality’s (NCTQ) first annual 2007 State Teacher Policy Yearbook. The Yearbook shines a light on what all 50 states and the District of Columbia are doing to help and to hinder the cause of teacher quality. The Council reviewed current state policies in six key areas: meeting NCLB teacher quality objectives; teacher licensure; teacher evaluation and

compensation; state approval of teacher preparation programs; alternative routes to certification; and preparation of special education teachers.

Presenter:

Sandi Jacobs, Vice President for Policy, National Council on Teacher Quality, Washington, DC

Strand 2: Teacher Quality

Friday,

November 8, 2007

3:15 PM – 4:30 PM

Session 5: Invisible Millions: What Can Be Done for High-

Achieving Low-Income Students?

This presentation and panel discussion will focus on what can be done for the millions of high-achieving students from the bottom economic half. In the first 15 minutes, Mr. Wyner will introduce the Foundation’s research and provide an overview of the data on high-achieving low-income youth around the country. The panelists will describe their work and consider the strategies for helping this population as part of the larger context of education reform. Panelists and attendees will discuss the specific needs of low-income high-achieving students and the education reform implications.

Presenters:

Joshua Wyner, Executive Vice President, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, Lansdowne, VA

LaMont Toliver, Director of the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program, University of Maryland, Baltimore City

Earl Martin Phalen, Co-Founder and CEO, Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL), Dorchester, MA

Strand 1: K-12 Improvement

Friday,

November 8, 2007

3:15 PM – 4:30 PM

Session 6: A Successful Paired-School Model

Successful schools can coach each other to reach new heights and the mandates of No Child Left Behind. In this presentation, two Title I Newport News Public Schools will show how they used a paired-school model, peer assistance, and shared leadership to raise student performance on standardized tests. Every school has excellent practices that should be shared to enhance school efficiency and maximize student learning. This presentation will focus on the use of shared planning, paired-school walkthroughs, and paired-school data-driven staff development.

Presenters:

Brian Nichols, Principal, T. Ryland Sanford Elementary School, Newport News, VA

Jonathan Hochman, Principal, Joseph H. Saunders Elementary School, Newport News, VA

Strand 2: Teacher Quality

Friday,

November 8, 2007

3:15 PM – 4:30 PM

Session 7: Education Policy by Educators: High School

Improvement in Michigan

The state of Michigan has made big strides in education policy by instituting a rigorous set of graduation requirements and a high school assessment that combines state standards with the ACT college admissions test. In this session, participants will hear from Michigan principals about how they support these policy changes in curriculum and assessment, and what they have learned about the political process and the power of educators to seize the pro-reform agenda.

Presenters:

Jim Ballard, Executive Director, Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals, Lansing, MI

Mark Thomas, Principal, Northview Highview School, Grand Rapids, MI

Strand 5: Policy Change

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

3:15 PM – 4:30 PM

Session 8: Canton’s Early College High School: Raising Both Student and Community Achievement

This session covers the design, implementation, and results of Canton Ohio’s Early College High School and the impact it has had on both student and community achievement. It will show that an Early College High School where students take both high school and college coursework can raise achievement for all students regardless of race, gender, or income. It will also show that such a school can also send a powerful message about the value of higher education to an urban community where fewer than one in five adults has a college degree.

Presenters:

Adrienne O’Neill, President, Stark Education Partnership, Canton, OH

Joseph A. Rochford, Vice President, Stark Education Partnership, Canton, OH

Strand 3: University, Community & School District Partnerships

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

3:15 PM – 4:30 PM

Download Power Point Presentation - Part 1

Download Power Point Presentation - Part 2

Session 9: Identifying and Supporting College-Ready Writing Skills Among High School Students: A Vertical Alignment Model

The presenters will explain the design and implementation of an inter-institutional standards alignment project and the development and application of a rubric for assessing college-ready writing skills. The presenters will provide an overview of P-16 standards alignment initiatives in Minnesota, including Ready or Not Writing, an online “drop box” to which high school students submit essays for college-readiness assessment by college instructors.

Presenters:

Paul Carney, English Instructor/Project Coordinator, Minnesota State Community and Technical

College–Fergus Falls, MN; Cyndy Crist, Systems Director for P-16 Collaboration, Minnesota State

Colleges & Universities, St. Paul, MN

Strand 3: University, Community & School District Partnerships

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

4:45 PM – 6:00 PM

Download Power Point Presentation

Session 10: It’s Being Done: Academic Success in Unexpected Schools

Karin Chenoweth, the author of the hottest education book of the year, will describe what successful schools do that’s different from run-of-the-mill schools. Already in its second printing, It’s Being Done is demonstrating to educators and policy officials all over the country that not only is it possible to educate all children, it is already being done in some schools. You might recognize some of the schools as past winners of The Education Trust’s Dispelling the Myth Award. In this session you will hear the stories behind the awards. One superintendent said, about the book: “For those of us who care

about good schools, pretty inspiring.”

Presenter:

Karin Chenoweth, Education Trust and Achievement Alliance, Washington, DC

Strand 1: K-12 Improvement

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

4:45 PM – 6:00 PM

Session 11: State Efforts to Raise Standards

States are beginning to discover what parents, students, and higher education faculty have known for years—that meeting K-12 standards in most states does not signify readiness for college-level work or the demands of the workplace. Achieve Inc. is working hand-in- hand with educators and policymakers across the country to align expectations for high school completion with the demands of the world beyond high school. So far, more than half the states have signed up for an ambitious agenda of aligning high school course requirements, assessments, exit standards, and accountability metrics with the goal of graduating students who are ready for college and careers.

Presenter:

Mike Cohen, President, Achieve, Inc, Washington, DC

Strand 5: Policy Change

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

4:45 PM – 6:00 PM

Session 12: Courageous Choices in Some of the Nation’s Highest Achieving Urban Schools

The National Center for Urban School Transformation (NCUST) offers a National Excellence in Urban Education Award. In this session, we will describe our process for identifying nominees and vetting applications. We will emphasize the data that lead us to exclude schools from further consideration. We will present data tables describing the demographics and the achievement levels of each of our 17 finalists for the award.  In particular, we will share disaggregated state achievement results for our finalists in a way that contrasts with similar schools and state averages.

Presenter:

Joseph Johnson, Jr., Executive Director, National Center for Urban School Transformation (NCUST),

San Diego, CA

Strand 1: K-12 Improvement

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

4:45 PM – 6:00 PM

Session 13: Identifying Master Teachers

During this presentation participants will have the opportunity to discuss what evidence identifies a highly effective teacher and learn about other requirements for earning the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) Master

Teacher certification. We will describe a recent pilot study conducted with teachers in Florida, Ohio, and Louisiana to examine the four components of the Master Teacher certification. Participants will learn which measurable characteristics of teacher practice correlate with improving student achievement.

Presenters:

Joshua Boots, Director, Program Development and Evaluation, American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE), Washington, DC

David Saba, President, ABCTE, Washington, DC

Strand 2: Teacher Quality

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

4:45 PM – 6:00 PM

Session 14: Extending the School Day: A Formula for Success

Carver’s extended day program targets Grade 1 through Grade 5 students who need additional support in various content areas. This workshop will provide participants with a snapshot of a successful extended day model. Presenters will make available information on scheduling, implementation and assessment.

Presenters:

Alicia Spencer, Principal, Carver Elementary School, Newport News, VA

Kathy Bohince, Reading Specialist, George Washington Carver Elementary School, Newport News, VA

Sharon Smith, Reading First Coach, George Washington Carver Elementary School, Newport News, VA

Strand 1: K-12 Improvement

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

4:45 PM – 6:00 PM

Session 15: Connecting Student Learning to Best Practices: If What We See is What We Get, Are We Getting What We See?

How do we know that instruction affects student learning? Do the tools we use to evaluate instruction help us identify the practices that contribute to student learning? In this session, participants will contribute to a discussion on best practices and their relationship to student learning. Findings of a recent research study of 62 lessons from teachers with varying levels of effectiveness will be used to engage participants in an

activity and conversation that will suggest the use of a different lens to define effective instruction.

Presenter:

Pamala Carter, Principal Investigator, Public Education Foundation, Chattanooga, TN

Strand 2: Teacher Quality

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

4:45 PM – 6:00 PM

Session 16: Cross-Sector Partnerships to Close the Gaps in College and Career Readiness

In this session, school district and university partners will share their experiences in developing and implementing California’s Early Assessment Program (EAP) and Expository Reading and Writing Course. The purpose of these initiatives is to improve high school students’ preparation for college and careers. Session presenters will provide an overview of the key components of EAP, including the course. The session will highlight one teacher and her students’ results.

Presenters:

Beverly Young, System Vice Chancellor, Teacher Education and Public School Programs, California State University, Long Beach, CA

Nancy Brynelson, Co-Director, Center for the Advancement of

Reading, California State University, Sacramento, CA

Julie Detloff, English Teacher, Ridgeview High School, Bakersfield, CA

Strand 3: University, Community & School District Partnerships

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

4:45 PM – 6:00 PM

Session 17: How to Accelerate Underserved Students

This session explores how Advancement Via Individual Achievement (AVID)’s system of acceleration and support not only prepares low-income students for college and careers, but can be a catalyst for building a college-going culture that transforms entire schools. Participants will be introduced to evidence-based strategies and case studies, honed over 26 years of practice, which are currently being used in 2,700 schools in 39 states and 15 countries.

Presenters:

Linda Powell-McMillan, National Director of Program Development, Advancement Via Individual Achievement (AVID) Center, San Diego, CA

Granger Ward, Executive Vice President, California &

Initiatives, AVID Center, San Diego, CA

Jim Nelson, Executive Director, AVID Center, San Diego, CA

Strand 1: K-12 Improvement

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

4:45 PM – 6:00 PM

Session 18: The Berea College GEAR UP Partnership: A Formula for Effective Change

This presentation illustrates the processes and experiences of a successful school reform project. Transformation is occurring because of partnerships across the board: university, school district, administrators, teachers, community, parents, and students. Participants will learn about partnership building, communication, data collection and analysis, and intentional planning. For Berea College GEAR Up, the result is an environment and structure that has laid a strong foundation for school reform.

Presenters:

Judy Kim, Evaluator, Berea College GEAR UP, Pensacola, FL

Dreama Gentry, Director, Berea College GEAR UP, Berea, KY

Strand 3: University, Community & School District Partnerships

Thursday,

November 8, 2007

4:45 PM – 6:00 PM

Session 19: Educational Data on the Web: Parent-Friendly Tools and Resources from GreatSchools.net

This workshop introduces participants to GreatSchools.net, which provides test scores, teacher and student statistics, unique school ratings summarizing academic performance, and parent reviews of the nation’s K-12 schools. GreatSchools users can easily see how the standardized test score performance of a school compares with nearby schools; how

a school’s grade-level test scores have changed over time; and whether a school has achievement gaps between groups of students. Space is limited and seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Presenter:

Amy Rickerson, Product Manager, Data Team, GreatSchools, San Francisco, CA

Strand 1: K-12 Improvement

Friday, November 9, 2007

Friday,

November 9, 2007

9:45 – 11:00 AM

Download Power Point Presentation

Session 20: The Battle for Achievement

Centered in the middle of the nation’s War Fighting Center of Fort Riley, Kansas, Keith L. Ware Elementary has a 65 percent mobility rate, and 79 percent of the students qualify for free- or reduced-price lunch. Low test scores placed Ware

on the state list of schools in need of improvement in 1999. Today it is one of the highest achieving schools in the state. The Ware Elementary administrative staff will demonstrate how a school can become an award winning institution with sustained academic excellence. A belief system coupled with a vision and plan for implementation is the cornerstone of the sustained improvements and performance experienced by these students of military families. The challenges have not changed, but academic excellence has been achieved for the past five years.

Presenters:

Deb Gustafson, Principal, Keith L. Ware Elementary School, Fort Riley, KS

Jennifer Black, Assistant Principal, Keith L. Ware Elementary School, Fort Riley, KS

Lisa Akard, Teacher, Keith L. Ware Elementary School, Fort Riley, KS

Strand 1: K-12 Improvement

Friday,

November 9, 2007