Deeper Learning in ESSA Implementation and School Intervention

All4Ed, the National Conference of State Legislators, and National Association of State Boards of Education convened state legislators, state education board chairs, state education agency leaders, and governors’ education advisors to discuss implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in states. The convening covered themes in submitted state plans and feedback from the U.S. Department of Education (ED), as well as school intervention strategies that will ensure all students have access to an excellent education and deeper learning opportunities.

States that had already submitted ESSA plans saw how their plan compares to other states and how ED is responding to the plans. States still working on their plans learned from those that have already submitted their plans and how they set long-term goals, selected accountability indicators, engaged with stakeholders, addressed the 95% assessment participation requirement, and more.

Welcome & Opening

Welcoming remarks from Lindsay Dworkin, Director of Policy Development and State Government Relations for the Alliance for Excellent Education, John White, Superintendent for the Louisiana Department of Education, and Sec. John B. King, Jr, President and Chief Executive Officer for Education Trust and former Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education.

State Leadership to Drive Deeper Learning Through ESSA

The importance of setting the state’s vision for educational excellence and designing and enforcing an accountability system that will ensure all students have access to excellent and equitable educational opportunities. Panelists:

• Jim Porter, Chairman, Kansas State Board of Education (District 9)
• Sen. Mimi Stewart, New Mexico State Senate (District 17); Chairman, Legislative Education Study Committee
• John White
• Kris Amundson (moderator), President and Chief Executive Officer, National Association of State Boards of Education

Best Practices from Submitted State Plans

Best practices from state plans submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, including accountability indicators, approaches to identifying schools for intervention and support, and supporting deeper learning for all students. Panelists:

• Chad Aldeman, Principal, Bellwether Education Partners
• Anne Hyslop, Senior Associate of Policy and Advocacy, Chiefs for Change
• Kathryn Young, Senior Policy Advisor, EducationCounsel
• Phillip Lovell (moderator), Vice President of Policy Development and Government Relations, Alliance for Excellent Education

Lessons Learned from Submitted State Plans

State policymakers who submitted ESSA plans to ED share lessons learned regarding policies and politics of the process, from accountability obstacles and opportunities to stakeholder engagement and feedback received from ED. Panelists:

• Jessica Baghian, Assistant Superintendent of Assessments and Accountability Office, Louisiana Department of Education
• Donna Johnson, Executive Director, Delaware State Board of Education
• Angelika Schroeder, Member, Colorado State Board of Education (District 2)
• Sen. Mimi Stewart
• Michelle Exstrom (moderator), Education Program Director, National Conference of State Legislatures

School Improvement 2.0: New Vision, New Opportunities

How states can support districts and schools in reimagining school intervention approaches and strategies, including how states can push beyond remediation and embed deeper learning into school improvement policy. Panelists:

• Linda Darling-Hammond, President and Chief Executive Officer, Learning Policy Institute
• Gov. Bob Wise (moderator), President, Alliance for Excellent Education; Former Governor, West Virginia

ESSA and Intervention: Opportunities and Requirements

An overview of opportunities and requirements within ESSA regarding school intervention, with examples of promising state policies on school intervention within state ESSA plans. Panelists:

• Jessica Cardichon, Director of Federal Policy and Director of Washington, DC, Office, Learning Policy Institute
• Laura Jimenez, Director of Standards and Accountability, Center for American Progress
• Phillip Lovell (moderator)

School Improvement: What Works? What Doesn’t?

An overview of the history of school intervention, including what has been successful, what has failed to turn around low-performing schools, and key elements of state school improvement policy, such as monitoring, evaluation, and funding considerations. Panelists:

• Robert Slavin, Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Research and Reform in Education; Cofounder, Success for All Foundation
• David Steiner, Executive Director, Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy; Member, Maryland Board of Education; Former State Commissioner of Education, New York State Education Department
• Phillip Lovell (moderator)

Setting the Right State Conditions for Success in School Intervention

Policies and practices states can implement to set conditions for successful school intervention at the local level, with perspectives from practitioners and policymakers on what states can do—and avoid—to balance monitoring/oversight with local tailoring and innovation. Panelists:

• Michael Moriarty, Member, Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
• Kunjan Narechania, Assistant State Superintendent, Louisiana Department of Education
• Kevin O’Gorman, Chief Academic Officer, Berkeley County School District (SC)
• Kathryn Young
• Kris Amundson (moderator)

Economic Imperative of Getting Education Right

Gov. Bob Wise provides information that policymakers can use to convey to constituents the importance of education from an economic perspective.

Comprehensive Intervention in High Schools

ESSA requires states to identify high schools with a graduation rate below 67% for comprehensive intervention. This session will provide state policymakers with specific examples of evidence-based interventions that effectively turn around low-performing high schools. Panelists:

• Robert Balfanz, Director, Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University
• Renee Faulkner, Senior Program Manager, Jobs for the Future
• Janice Wells, Principal, South Shore International College Preparatory High School (Chicago, IL)
• Leslie Flores Valmonte, Senior Policy Consultant, IDEATE California; Executive Director, United Way of Greater Los Angeles’s Linked Learning Coalition
• Phillip Lovell (moderator)

Targeted Intervention Models

ESSA requires states to identify schools with “consistently underperforming” subgroups of students for targeted intervention. This session provides state policymakers with examples of evidence-based targeted interventions, including information on effective strategies to support English learners. Panelists:

• Christopher R. McBride, Director, Mariposa Academy (Reno, NV)
• Robert Slavin
• David Steiner
• Phillip Lovell (moderator)

U.S. Department of Education Feedback on ESSA State Plans

Panelists:

• Ashley Eden, Chief of Staff, New Mexico Public Education Department
• Karen Field Rogers, Deputy Secretary of Education, Delaware Department of Education
• Anne Hyslop
• Phillip Lovell (moderator)

Communications and Stakeholder Engagement

Recommendations from communications experts regarding effective strategies for communicating with constituents and building support for the state’s ESSA plan, and opportunities for continuing stakeholder engagement after ESSA plans have been submitted and approved. Panelists:

• Jonathon Dworkin, Communications Director, The New DEAL
• Guy Johnson, Senior Program Manager, Partners for Each and Every Child
• Jim Porter
• Adam Ezring (moderator), Director of Policy, Collaborative for Student Success

So You Submitted Your ESSA Plan, Now What?

Key implementation and communications opportunities for states after submitting their ESSA plans, policies that states propose to develop after submitting their ESSA plans, and the steps they are taking to do so.Panelists:

• Anne Hyslop
• Lindsay Dworkin (moderator)