Panelists
Shael Polakow-Suransky, Chief Academic Officer and Senior Deputy Chancellor,
New York City Department of Education
Sharon Robinson, President and Chief Executive Officer,
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education

The Gordon Commission on the Future of Assessment in Education—a panel of distinguished experts in testing, education practice, and policy chaired by the eminent psychologist Edmund W. Gordon—issued a report in March that calls for transforming assessment to better support teaching and learning by measuring a broader set of knowledge and skills and by identifying how students think, not just documenting what they know and can do. These changes would have profound effects on teachers and schools in the coming decades.

In this webinar—the first of two that will examine the Gordon Commission’s findings and their implications—panelists explored what these findings suggest for classroom and school practice. Commission member Shael Polakow-Suransky discussed the implications for schools and school districts; Sharon Robinson discussed the implications for teachers and teacher education; and Bob Wise, also a commission member, moderated the discussion.

Support for this webinar is provided in part by
the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Panelists
Jessica Cardichon, Director of Federal Advocacy, Alliance for Excellent Education
Fred Jones, Legislative Associate, Alliance for Excellent Education
Phillip Lovell, Vice President of Federal Advocacy, Alliance for Excellent Education

The Alliance for Excellent Education held a webinar that will provide an update on what’s happening with education policy in Washington, DC.

Earlier this month, President Obama released his Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 proposed budget, which allows the president to set forth his administration’s values and priorities and provide a framework advancing policies and legislation and the extent to which they should be funded. Members of the Alliance’s federal advocacy staff provided information on the president’s budget proposal, as well as other federal education policy updates, including

• an analysis of the President FY 2014 Budget request for the U.S. Department of Education (ED);
• an update on the budget process and the role of sequestration in that process;
• a status update on ED’s waivers from key provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act and other ED programs; and
• the latest on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

902 Hart Senate Office Building

Participants
Mitchell Curry, Principal, Scott Morgan Johnson Middle School (McKinney, TX)
Lindsay Fryer, Professional Staff Member,
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Workforce
Michael Gamel-McCormick, PhD, Senior K–12 Education Policy Advisor
U.S. Senate HELP Committee (majority staff)
Robbie Hooker, EdD, Principal, Clarke Central High School (Athens, GA)
Daniel Wiebers, Principal, Trenton R I-X High School (Trenton, MO)
Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education

The Alliance for Excellent Education and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) held a discussion about the role of school leaders in creating a culture of high expectations that will help all students graduate from high school ready for college and a career. The event focused on the efforts principals are leading as schools transition to implement college- and career-ready standards. The MetLife Foundation–NASSP Breakthrough Schools project identifies, showcases, and recognizes middle and high schools that are achieving at high levels or dramatically improving student achievement while serving a large number of students who are most at risk of dropping out.

The panel discussion highlighted three schools—Clarke Central High School (GA); Scott Morgan Johnson Middle School (TX); and Trenton R I-X High School (MO)—that have been recognized by the Breakthrough Schools project for exemplifying the core areas of collaborative leadership, personalization, and access to a rigorous and differentiated curriculum for all students.

The Alliance for Excellent Education and NASSP offers a special thank you to U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, honorary host of this event.

This event is made possible with support from

Panelists
Robert Balfanz, PhD, Codirector, Everyone Graduates Center;
Research Scientist, Center for Social Organization of Schools, Johns Hopkins University
John Bridgeland, President and Chief Executive Officer, Civic Enterprises
John Gomperts, President and Chief Executive Officer, America’s Promise Alliance
Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education

The Alliance for Excellent Education held a webinar on the success in addressing the dropout crisis taking place in high schools and school districts all across country.

This latest comprehensive high school graduation rate research finds that for the first time the United States is on track to meet the national Grad Nation goal of graduating 90 percent of high school students by 2020. The national high school graduation rate increased 6.5 percentage points from 2001 (71.7 percent) to 2010 (78.2 percent). From 2006–10, each year showed an average growth of 1.25 percentage points. As a result of this acceleration, more than 200,000 additional students received diplomas in 2010 than in 2006. If this rate is maintained during the second decade of this century, the nation will reach its 90 percent graduation rate goal by 2020.

The 2013 report update of Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic, released February 25, 2013, by Civic Enterprises, the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, the America’s Promise Alliance, and the Alliance for Excellent Education shows that the nation is slowly but surely making progress.

Key report findings include the following:

• The national high school graduation rate increased 5 percentage points over four years (from 2006–10), including a sharp increase of 2.7 percentage points from 2009 to 2010.
• From 2002 to 2011, the number of “dropout factories” decreased by 583.
• While increases in African American and Hispanic high school graduation rates drove the accelerated pace, significant disparities remain. The nation’s ability to close these gaps will determine whether it meets and maintains a 90 percent graduation rate by 2020.

This webinar shared details from the report, including information on states and student demographics making the largest gains in high school graduation rates.

Supplemental Material

• Presentation - Building a Grad Nation (PDF)

Panelists
Robert L. Hughes, President, New Visions for New Schools
Lillian Pace, Senior Director of National Policy, KnowledgeWorks
Saskia Traill, PhD, Vice President of Policy and Research, The After-School Corporation (TASC)
Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education

The Alliance for Excellent Education held a webinar providing information and guidance to potential i3 applicants doing promising work in the area of secondary school reform.

The U.S. Department of Education announced on March 27, 2013 the start of the $150 million 2013 Investing in Innovation (i3) grant competition, releasing the program’s invitation for pre-applications for the “development” grant category and the notice of final priorities for the i3 program overall. The i3 program aims to develop and expand practices that accelerate student achievement, close achievement gaps, and prepare every student to succeed in college and in their careers. The revised invitation incorporates many of the public comments submitted to ED and includes a priority for projects that support the implementation of turnaround efforts at the secondary school level. It also includes greater clarification regarding the use of expanded learning time, competency-based instruction, digital learning, and increasing student access to rigorous and engaging coursework. The deadline for the pre-application is April 26, 2013.

This webinar provided guidance regarding the variety of ways to approach effective secondary school reform. Specifically, panelists discussed how applicants can incorporate high school design principles, the use of time, and the use of technology into their programs in the grant priority areas to help make their i3 applications stronger and more competitive.

Supplemental Material

• “What High Schools Could Be”
• ExpandEDSchools Policy and Research Reports

Panelists
Mary Lou Erlacher, Director of Workplace Learning Connection, Kirkwood Community College (Cedar Rapids, IA)
Lisa Gillis, Chief Academic Officer, Junior Achievement USA
Jayne Salinger, Director of Special Projects, Bar Association of San Francisco
Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education

The Alliance for Excellent Education held a webinar to learn about work-based learning opportunities and how they can better prepare students for postsecondary learning and a successful career.

Work-based learning is gaining attention among policymakers and practitioners as an effective strategy for linking education and workforce development, both in and out of the classroom and school walls. Panelists shared examples from a continuum of work-based learning opportunities that include helping a student become aware of the different career options available in a twenty-first-century economy; exploring career options that are of interest to a student; applying academic, technical, and workplace skills in real-world situations; and training for specific occupations or postsecondary learning experiences. Panelists also discussed the range of stakeholders involved in providing work-based learning opportunities, the different settings where it can occur, and ways that technology is helping to advance the career-focused experiences of students worldwide. Panelists also touched upon obstacles and barriers to providing high-quality work-based learning experiences.

Bob Wise, president of the Alliance and former governor of West Virginia, moderated a conversation with three work-based learning experts. Mary Lou Erlacher is director of Workplace Learning Connections at Kirkwood Community College, which among other things operates a reversed work-based learning program in rural Iowa. Lisa Gillis is chief academic officer with Junior Achievement USA, which uses experiential learning to foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy skills in students in grades K–12. Jayne Salinger is director of special projects at the Bar Association of San Francisco, which supports various work-based learning programs through its Justice and Diversity Center, such as mock trials, legal-themed projects, and a law-themed high school in the San Francisco area.

Supplemental Material

• Presentation - Mary Lou Erlacher (PDF)
• Presentation - Lisa Gillis (PDF)
• Presentation - Jayne Salinger (PDF)

Support for this webinar is provided in part by the James Irvine Foundation.

Panelists
Jennifer Barnett, Technology Integration Specialist, Childersburg High School (Talladega, AL)
Melinda George, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, NCTAF
Michael King, Principal, Dodge City Middle School (KS)
Maribeth Luftglass, Assistant Superintendent and Chief Information Officer, Fairfax County Public Schools (VA)

Please join the Alliance for Excellent Education on Thursday, May 23, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (ET), for the seventh in its series of webinars for Project 24. This webinar will look at the role of ongoing professional learning for staff that can build the capacity to implement powerful personalized learning environments that prepare all students for college and a career.

Every school leader knows about the district that bought the expensive devices, which then sat unwrapped on shelves because of a failure to invest in quality professional development. In this webinar, the Project 24 panel of experts will share their lessons learned on how to integrate and embed powerful professional learning experiences for all teachers and staff. Michael King will explain how quality professional development plays a role in his school. Maribeth Luftglass will share lessons learned from a large-scale technology deployment, and Jennifer Barnett will share her perspective on what it takes to create an environment where teachers are empowered, collaborative learners.

The experts will also discuss the importance of having a wide range of opportunities for professional learning, as well as how to incorporate research-based strategies; make the most of peer-to-peer learning; and make professional development more goal oriented. Melinda George, vice president and chief operating officer of NCTAF, will moderate the discussion and panelists will address questions submitted by viewers from across the country.

Please direct questions concerning the webinar to alliance@all4ed.org.

NOTE: If you are unable to watch the webinar live, an archived version will be available
at http://www.all4ed.org/webinars the day after the event airs.

Panelists

The Alliance for Excellent Education held the sixth in its series of webinars for Project 24. This webinar gave insight into the number one question associated with digital learning: how in the world do I pay for this?

Every school district faces a challenging budget landscape, and school leaders are no strangers to making hard choices. At the heart of Project 24 is the belief that the transition to personalized, learner-centered environments that successfully prepare all students for college and a career through digital learning is possible for every school district in America. This webinar provided lessons from the field on how to maximize available resources to provide the best possible education to all students.

The Project 24 panel of experts shared their stories. Gail Pletnick provided insights onto how Dysart Unified School District sets its budget priorities to ensure that students have access to the tools they need. Erin Frew discussed how she uses technology effectively in a high-poverty school, and Peg Cagle shared experiences from the classroom and as a teacher leader.

The panel also discussed how to align budgets to strategic plans; how to move from unstable to more predictable funding streams; and how to measure return on investment. Bob Wise, president of the Alliance and former governor of West Virginia, moderated the discussion.

Please direct questions concerning the webinar to alliance@all4ed.org.

NOTE: If you are unable to watch the webinar live, an archived version will be available
at http://www.all4ed.org/webinars approximately one or two business days after the event airs.

Panelists
Linda Darling-Hammond, EdD, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education,
Stanford University; Director, Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education
Dennis Van Roekel, President, National Education Association
Gene Wilhoit, Partner, Student Achievement Partners
Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education

The Common Core State Standards will require new assessments that measure students’ abilities to design and conduct investigations, analyze data, draw valid conclusions, and report findings—the kinds of deeper learning competencies necessary in the twenty-first century. But developing these new assessments poses challenges, particularly around funding. How can states and districts support the development and implementation of new assessments that might be more costly than current tests? What might make these assessments more affordable?

The Alliance for Excellent Education held a webinar to explore findings from a new study from the Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE) at Stanford University that answers questions related to the challenges posed by new Common Core State Standards assessment requirements. It provides data on what states and districts currently spend on tests, showing that education systems currently spend more than is commonly believed. And it offers options for reducing costs for high-quality assessments.

Linda Darling-Hammond, director of SCOPE and coauthor of the study, explained the study and its findings. Gene Wilhoit, partner with Student Achievement Partners, and Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association, discussed its implications for state policy. Bob Wise, president of the Alliance and former governor of West Virginia, moderated the discussion.

Supplemental Material

• Presentation (PDF)

This webinar is made possible with support from the
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Panelists
Linda Darling-Hammond, EdD, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education, Stanford University
Michael DeBell, School Board President, Seattle Public Schools
Anthony Jackson, PhD, Vice President for Education, Asia Society
Ben Levin, PhD, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Education Leadership and Policy,
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education

The Alliance for Excellent Education held a webinar on the Asia Society’s Global Cities Education Network, which works to identify effective strategies in urban school systems in North America and Asia to transform learning and achieve equity.

The Global Cities Education Network benchmarks internationally informed practices that enable urban systems to provide the vast majority of students with the opportunity to attain high-level skills, regardless of their cultural or economic background. The panelists discussed high-priority problems of practice—the need to develop and sustain a high-quality teaching force and improve the educational outcomes for low-performing and diverse students. They discussed practice-based studies on these issues that offer potential solutions and policy options to meet these common challenges. Bob Wise, president of the Alliance and former governor of West Virginia, moderated the discussion.

Supplemental Material

• Presentation - Linda Darling-Hammond, EdD (PDF)
• Presentation - Anthony Jackson, PhD (PDF)
• Presentation - Ben Levin, PhD (PDF)

This webinar is made possible with support from

Please direct questions concerning the webinar to alliance@all4ed.org.

NOTE: If you are unable to watch the webinar live, an archived version will be available
at http://www.all4ed.org/webinars usually one or two days after the event airs.