2007 Education Trust National Conference

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Session9pt1Carney.ppt

Session9pt2Carney.ppt

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.

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.

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.

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.

School systems that raise achievement and narrow the quality gap also narrow the fairness gap between groups of students. The reason for this simultaneous benefit to both advantaged and disadvantaged students is illustrated and explained in detail. The talk discusses the ideas and the practices that have hindered the narrowing of the quality and fairness gaps, and describes the concrete steps we need to take right now to narrow both of them significantly.

Speaker:
E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Chairman and Founder, The Core Knowledge Foundation