Deeper Learning in ESSA Implementation and School Intervention
July 19-21, 2017 New Orleans, Louisiana
Archived video from the event is available at the bottom of this webpage.
Update on ESSA State Plans: What is in state plans and feedback thus far? The highs, lows, and confusing.
School Intervention: We know how states will identify schools for support; now what?
The Alliance for Excellent Education, 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 the status of the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in states. Archived video from the event is available at the bottom of this webpage.
The convening covered the status of ESSA implementation in states, including themes in submitted 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 percent assessment participation requirement, and more.
SESSIONS
July 19, 2017
Welcome & Opening
State Leadership to Drive Deeper Learning Through ESSA
In this session, panelists discuss the importance of setting the state’s vision for educational excellence and designing/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
In this session panelists highlight best practices from state plans submitted to the U.S. Department of Education (ED), 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
July 20, 2017
Lessons Learned from Submitted State Plans
State policymakers who submitted ESSA plans to ED will share lessons learned regarding policies and politics of the process. Topics include accountability obstacles and opportunities, 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
In this session panelists discuss how states can support districts and schools in reimaging 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
In this session panelists will provide an overview of opportunities and requirements within ESSA regarding school intervention. In addition, speakers will share 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, Vice President of Policy Development and Government Relations, Alliance for Excellent Education (moderator)
School Improvement: What Works? What Doesn’t?
In this session panelists will provide an overview of the history of school intervention, including what has been successful and what has failed to turn around low-performing schools. Information will be provided on key elements of state school improvement policy, including 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, Vice President of Policy Development and Government Relations, Alliance for Excellent Education (moderator)
Setting the Right State Conditions for Success in School Intervention
In this session panelists will describe policies and practices that states can implement to set conditions for successful school intervention at the local level. Perspectives will be shared by practitioners and policymakers on what states can do—and what to avoid—to balance monitoring/oversight with allowing for local tailoring and innovation at the school/district levels.
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.
Panelists:
- Lindsay Dworkin (moderator)
- Gov. Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education
Comprehensive Intervention in High Schools
ESSA requires states to identify high schools with a graduation rate below 67 percent 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, Vice President of Policy Development and Government Relations, Alliance for Excellent Education (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, Vice President of Policy Development and Government Relations, Alliance for Excellent Education (moderator)
U.S. Department of Education Feedback on ESSA State Plans
July 21, 2017
Communications and Stakeholder Engagement
In this session panelists will provide state policymakers with recommendations from communications experts regarding effective strategies for communicating with constituents and building support for the state’s ESSA plan. Panelists will also discuss effective strategies 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?
In this session panelists will discuss key implementation and communications opportunities for states after submitting their ESSA plans. It will also discuss 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, Director of Policy Development and State Government Relations, the Alliance for Excellent Education (moderator)
Supplemental Materials
- CCSSO Principles of Effective School Improvement Systems – Council of Chief State School Officers
- Diplomas Now – Findings from the First Decade and What’s Next – Diplomas Now
- How to Scale College in High School – College in High School Alliance
- California’s Linked Learning Related Bills – Linked Learning Alliance
- The Linked Learning Advantage – Linked Learning Alliance
- Taking Stock of the California Linked Learning District Initiative – SRI International
- School Interventions That Work: Targeted Support for Low-Performing Students – Alliance for Excellent Education and the Johns Hopkins School of Education, Institute for Education Policy
- American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action – Alliance for Excellent Education
- Early College Designs: Transforming High School For All Students – Jobs For The Future
- ESSA and Intervention: Opportunities and Requirements – Center for American Progress, Learning Policy Institute
- Linked Learning: An Evidence-Based Approach to Equity, Excellence, and Accountability – Leslie Valmonte
- Evidence-Based Interventions for English Learners – National Institute For Latino School
Leaders - School Improvement at Scale: What Works? What Doesn’t? – Johns Hopkins University
- Deeper Learning in ESSA Implementation and School Intervention – Alliance for Excellent Education
- Overview of Submitted ESSA State Plans – Alliance for Excellent Education
- David Steiner New Orleans PowerPoint – Johns Hopkins University
- Building a Grad Nation: Annual Update – Johns Hopkins University
- So You Submitted Your ESSA Plan… What Comes Next? – Chiefs for Change
- Overview of ED Feedback on ESSA State Plans – Alliance for Excellent Education
- Developing Improvement Systems that Support Deeper Learning for All – Lina Darling-Hammond