Summits to Help Local School Districts Improve Teaching and Student Learning Outcomes Through Effective Use of Digital Learning
WASHINGTON, DC – Today registration opened for twelve regional summits to help school district leaders improve teaching and student learning outcomes through the effective use of technology. The summits are free of charge and are led by the Alliance for Excellent Education and U.S. Department of Education with support from the Leading Education by Advancing Digital (LEAD) Commission and a coalition of more than thirty-five content partners. Nearly 500 school district leaders nationwide are expected to participate directly in the summits and more than 1,300 additional district leaders will benefit.
“School districts across the country are helping teachers harness the power of technology to create personal learning environments for all students,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “We want to make sure every child—whether he or she is in the inner-city, in a rural community, or on a Native American reservation—has access to knowledge and the chance to learn 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
The regional summits will be done in collaboration with local school districts and are open to district leadership teams on a first-come basis from districts where the superintendent has signed the Future Ready District Pledge—a promise to develop the human and technological capacity needed to personalize learning using digital tools. Already, more than 1,300 district superintendents nationwide have taken the pledge. (See the list of superintendents—sorted by state—who have taken the pledge.) Registration for the summits is available at www.FutureReadySchools.org.
“‘Future Ready’ isn’t just about technology,” said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia. “It’s about a more personalized approach to teaching and learning that ensures that all students have the skills they need to succeed in college and a career. Future Ready is about empowering teachers and leaders, helping students take charge of their own learning, and keeping parents engaged and informed.”
Today’s announcement builds on “ConnectED to the Future,” a White House convening recently hosted by President Obama that included more than 100 school district superintendents who had taken the Future Ready District Pledge.
The schedule for the regional summits is as follows:
| Date | Location |
| February 11-12 | Raleigh, North Carolina |
| February 17-18 | Vancouver, Washington |
| June 8-9 | Baltimore, Maryland |
| March 25-26 | Atlanta, Georgia |
| April 13-14 | Phoenix, Arizona |
| April 21-22 | West Warwick, Rhode Island |
| April 28-29 | St. Louis, Missouri |
| May 4-5 | Redwood City, California |
| June 11-12 | Denver, Colorado |
| June 15-16 | Wadsworth, Illinois |
| June 22-23 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| June 2015 (Date TBD) | Dallas, Texas |
Led by trained facilitators skilled at using technology and digital learning effectively, each regional summit will serve school district teams of up to four members. The summits will focus on a comprehensive set of issues that drive student learning including: curriculum, instruction, and assessment; professional learning; technology, networks, and hardware; budget and resources; data and privacy; use of time; and community partnerships.
The summits will provide district leaders with the resources and expert support to build digital learning plans that align with instructional best practices, are implemented by highly trained teachers, and lead to personalized learning experiences for all students, particularly those from traditionally underserved communities.
To provide ongoing support for the districts attending the regional summits and reach the thousands of districts that cannot attend in person, the Alliance is building a Future Ready Schools Leadership Network that will provide continuing support and tools to all districts that take the Future Ready District Pledge. As part of the network, which is sponsored by AT&T and McGraw-Hill Education, more than thirty-five national organizations representing administrators, parents, teachers, and parents will combine their resources with numerous state and local organizations in an unprecedented effort to ensure that every school district is truly future ready.
For more information about the Future Ready Regional Summits, visit www.FutureReadySchools.org.
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The Alliance for Excellent Education is a Washington, DC–based national policy and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring all students, particularly those traditionally underserved, graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship. www.all4ed.org
