April 11-12, 2018 | The Mayflower Hotel
On Wednesday, April 11, and Thursday, April 12, 2018, our EdWeek Leaders To Learn From were recognized at an exclusive event in Washington, D.C., that featured presentations and discussions on school leadership and education policy. Featured speakers included John Hattie, professor of education, director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and author of “Visible Learning”; Peter DeWitt, author of “Collaborative Leadership: 6 Influences That Matter Most” and Education Week opinion blogger; and EdWeek Leaders To Learn From honorees from the past 5 years.
Event Videos
Browse specific panels below. (For a full agenda, scroll down.)
Event Agenda
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
9:30 a.m.—11:30 a.m.
Registration and coffee meet-up
Hall of Leaders opens.
Optional: Gather with fellow attendees and mingle over coffee with the outstanding Leaders To Learn From selected by Education Week.
11:30 a.m.—1 p.m.
Kick-Off Lunch
Join fellow attendees in the grand ballroom for a luncheon. Network with other district leaders who share your interests and begin the discussion on the issues and challenges you face.
1 p.m.—2:20 p.m.
Leader recognition begins
Education Week President and CEO Michele J. Givens begins the day recognizing our first group of Leaders. In conversations with reporters who profiled them, they’ll share their stories from the stage.
2:20 p.m.—2:50 p.m.
Follow the Leaders
2nd Floor
Join the Leaders you’ve just heard from for a half-hour lightning round of questions, answers, and inquiry, when you’ll have the opportunity to engage directly with these exceptional district administrators.
3 p.m.—3:30 p.m.
Deep Dive Discussions
2nd Floor
Choose one of our featured hot topics and spend an hour diving more deeply into the subject area that interests—or perhaps challenges—you most in the work you do.
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
Evie Blad, Staff Writer, Education Week
There’s a growing swirl of interest around social-emotional learning as promising research findings and new policies, like the Every Student Succeeds Act, motivate many schools to explore SEL. But there are many questions to be answered as the movement scales up. For starters: What exactly is SEL? Can it be measured? What are the essential elements of a good SEL strategy? And how can schools and states both prepare and help teachers create supportive communities for their students and embed these principles into their instruction? We’ll dive in and talk about what educators are seeing on the ground.
Supporting Principal Instructional Leadership
Julio César “JC” Contreras, Principal Supervisor/Head of 69ý, KIPP San Antonio, Texas
Join Julio César Contreras, Leaders To Learn From 2016, to review key practices and moves that will enhance the support, growth, and alignment between a principal supervisor and principal, which will positively affect student achievement. In a conversation with Contreras, you will learn strategies about:
• How to structure your time and focus as a principal supervisor and coach
• Importance of coaching through observation and feedback
• Leading a district with a narrowed focus on student impact
Learn more about Contreras’ work
Personalized Learning
Benjamin Herold, Staff Writer, Education Week
Personalized learning has emerged as one of the hottest, most muddled, most controversial trends in education. How are district leaders trying to make school more personalized? How does that jibe with the messages coming from Betsy DeVos, Mark Zuckerberg, and a wide range of ed-tech companies and state policymakers? What challenges are schools facing as they actually begin implementing personalized-learning models? Together, we’ll cut through the hype and confusion to tackle these questions.
STEM Education
Stephen Sawchuk, Associate Editor, Education Week
STEM continues to be on policymakers’ lips even though the research is far from clear on how coursetaking in these fields leads to improved college and work success. How should schools best create STEM pathways for students? Should Algebra 2 remain a graduation requirement or give way to statistics? And as more states and districts adopt the Next Generation Science Standards as their blueprint, how are schools handling the challenge of finding matching curriculum and resources? Join this session for a lively look at the key trends in STEM.
3:30 p.m.—4 p.m.
Industry Perspective Sessions
2nd Floor
Stay right where you are, because in this half hour of your topical discussion, you’ll hear from industry leaders making a difference in:
• Social-Emotional Learning – Content provided by Second Step, by Committee for Children
Joan Duffell, Executive Director, Committee for Children, creators of the Second Step Program
“Ignite an SEL Revolution in Your District”
69ý and communities around the world are discovering the benefits of social-emotional learning (SEL). It empowers educators; creates successful learners; and connects students, staff, and families with a common language. And yes, it boosts academics. Joan Duffell, executive director of Committee for Children, will showcase districts transformed by the Second Step SEL Program and share best practices for igniting an SEL revolution in your own school community.
• Instructional Leadership – Content provided by Scholastic Education
Ron Mirr, Senior Vice President, Family and Community Engagement & Learning Supports, Scholastic Education
“Moving From Good to Great: Harnessing the Power of Families to Support Learning”
For schools and districts across the U.S., family engagement is rapidly shifting from a low-priority recommendation to an important part of education reform. As educational leaders consider how to build strong partnerships with families, they are not always sure of how best to focus their efforts. This session highlights what educational leaders can do to move along a more effective pathway to harnessing the power of families to support student success.
• Personalized Learning – Content provided by Curriculum Associates
Elizabeth Bassford, Executive Director, Content & Implementation, Curriculum Associates
“The Road to Equity Is Paved With Data”
How do we shepherd emotional fortitude in the school setting for all students? James Comer reminds us, “There can be no significant learning without a significant relationship.”
Join us for an exploration of the social/emotional elements of a powerful, growth-centered school culture. Advance the conversation from what students can’t do—the albatross of traditional assessments and their role in bias—to what they can and will do when we personalize the experience for each and for all, using the full throttle of adaptive, blended learning.
• The Science of Learning – Content provided by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Rose Else-Mitchell, Chief Learning Officer, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
“The Learning Journey: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Improving Outcomes”
The science of learning sits at the nexus of a number of disciplines – including cognitive science, research and efficacy, ethnography and data analytics – all of which are key to uncovering the most effective ways to improve student outcomes. In her Industry Perspectives session, Else-Mitchell will explore the importance of applying a holistic pedagogical approach (marrying evidence-based content and services, social emotional learning and thoughtful use of data) to deepen learning experiences for students and empower teachers to maximize their impact.
4:15 p.m.—5:15 p.m.
Closing Keynote: Engagement as a Lever for Equity and Achievement
In this keynote conversation, Leaders To Learn From honorees from the past 5 years of Education Week’s special report on excellence in district leadership will explore the evolving field of parent and family engagement. They will discuss key conditions and practices for creating a culture in which parents and educators work as partners to support student success and school improvement.
Our moderated panel will discuss conditions for engagement and share effective strategies by exploring:
• The shift from family engagement as a program to family engagement as a practice
• The intersections between instruction and engagement
• How engagement strategies linked to learning have a greater impact on student outcomes
• How to overcome barriers to effectively engage every family
Guests will include:
Michele Brooks, 2013 Leader To Learn From, and Principal, Transformative Solutions
Learn more about Brooks’ work.
Tracy Hill, 2014 Leader To Learn From, and Executive Director, Office of Family and Community Engagement, Cleveland Metropolitan School District
Learn more about Hill’s work.
Patricia Spradley, 2015 Leader To Learn From, and Chief of Parent and Community Engagement, Springfield Public 69ý, Springfield, Mass.
Learn more about Spradley’s work.
D’Lisa Crain, 2016 Leader To Learn From, and Family-School Partnerships Administrator, Washoe County School District, Reno, Nev.
Learn more about Crain’s work.
Trise Moore, 2017 Leader To Learn From, and Director of Equity & Family Engagement, Federal Way Public 69ý, Federal Way, Wash.
Learn more about Moore’s work.
5:15 p.m.—7 p.m.
All-Attendee Reception
Thursday, April 12, 2018
7 a.m.—8 a.m.
Networking Breakfast
Hall of Leaders
8 a.m.—9 a.m.
Opening Keynote: Visible Learning Mindframes: How Educators Think Matters
Grand Ballroom
John Hattie
Professor of Education and Director, Melbourne Education Research Institute,
University of Melbourne, Australia, and Author, Visible Learning
John Hattie’s landmark Visible Learning research concluded that one of the most important influences of student achievement is how teachers think about learning and their own role. These powerful mindframes, which should underpin every action in schools, are founded on the principle that teachers are evaluators, change agents, learning experts, and seekers of feedback who are constantly engaged with dialogue and challenge.
9 a.m.—10 a.m.
Leader recognition begins
Education Week President and CEO Michele J. Givens introduces our second group of Leaders for 2018. In conversations with reporters who profiled them, they’ll share their stories from the stage.
10:20 a.m.—10:50 a.m.
Follow the Leaders
2nd Floor
Join the Leaders you’ve just heard from for a half-hour lightning round of questions, answers, and inquiry, when you’ll have the opportunity to engage directly with these exceptional district administrators.
10:50 a.m.—11:20 a.m.
Networking Reception Break
2nd Floor atrium
Take a break with your new colleagues and fellow participants to enjoy refreshments, network, and discuss what you’ve learned.
11:20 a.m.—11:50 a.m.
Deep Dive Discussions
Hold onto your seats and dive even deeper into the subject area that interests—or perhaps challenges—you most in the work you do:
Teacher Professional Development: What schools are doing to make it more meaningful and relevant
Liana Loewus, Assistant Managing Editor, Education Week Teacher
Teacher professional development: Ideally, it’s an opportunity for growth, skill-building, and rejuvenation. Yet far too often it’s seen as an exercise in futility. The emphasis on fulfilling PD requirements, which are generally measured in “seat time,” can lead to teachers taking courses that have little to do with what they want or need to improve their craft. But some schools and districts are looking to change that dynamic. They’re entrusting teachers to create their own PD plans, encouraging collaboration with colleagues in place of one-off seminars, and measuring in personal growth rather than hours.
Assessment
Catherine Gewertz, Senior Contributing Writer, Education Week
The last five years have seen a whirlwind of debate and activity on testing. States rushing to embrace tests designed for the common core, and then abandoning those tests. An assessment backlash that put districts under pressure to cut back local tests. More states using college-entrance exams to measure high school learning. A big push to measure learning by demonstrating competency, through projects and portfolios. The testing landscape can be confusing and multilayered, but we’ll make sense of it together in this fun, free-ranging conversation.
English-Language Learners
Corey Mitchell, Staff Writer, Education Week
Meeting the needs of English-language learners has emerged as one of the biggest challenges in education today. Many district leaders are grappling with how their schools can effectively educate this special population and the numbers bear out their concerns: despite recent gains, English-learner graduation rates in most states lag well behind the national average. We’ll explore who these students are and what they need from schools—inside and outside of the classroom—to succeed on the path to learning English and earning a high school diploma.
Early Learning
Christina Samuels, Associate Editor, Education Week
Scores of researchers agree: high-quality early-childhood programs have a positive impact on the academic trajectory of young children. But what counts as “high quality?” And how do education leaders ensure that the children who need such programs have access to them? These questions raise thorny issues around funding, teacher workforce development, and curriculum, among others. Join us for a discussion that explores how some communities have invested in early education, and the challenges that remain.
11:50 a.m.—12:20 p.m.
Industry Perspectives
2nd Floor
For the first half of these topical discussions, hear from industry leaders making a difference in:
• Teacher Professional Development – Content provided by Corwin
Karen Flories, Professional Learning Consultant, Corwin
“Impacting Teacher Practice and Student Outcomes With Effective Professional Development”
This session will strengthen leaders’ understanding of key areas of professional development that need to be a focus for evidence collection. In addition, leaders will explore seven key themes that are linked to effective professional development that not only shift professional practice, but also positively impact the growth and achievement of students. Leaders will leave with an ability to evaluate their current professional development structure while identifying potential action steps moving forward.
• Teacher Coaching – Content provided by New Teacher Center
Lynn Kepp, Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, New Teacher Center
“Beyond Coaching: Evidence-Based Teacher Induction That Drives Student Success”
Additional Presenters:
Deonne Medley, Director, Office of Teacher Support and Development, Baltimore City Public 69ý
Shana Warburton, Mentor Program Lead, Baltimore City Public 69ý
Ensuring that teachers are ready to provide students with an equitable high-quality education requires more than a buddy system or mentor program. Through New Teacher Center’s independent i3 research and over 20 years of expertise, they’ll share what they’ve learned about what moves the needle for student outcomes. Hear directly from district leaders who will share how the NTC induction program has positively impacted their district, accelerated educator effectiveness, and improved student success.
• Early Learning – Content provided by Waterford Institute
Benjamin Heuston, President & CEO of Waterford Institute
“It Takes a Village: Partnering With Parents and Communities for School Readiness Success”
In early education, the youngest years are the most important. Although schools are typically at the tail-end of efforts made by parents and community organizers in preparing children to enter kindergarten, districts can reach out to and engage with parents and community partners to assist with kindergarten readiness before students begin school. Utilizing 21st century solutions that start in the home and bridge into early elementary contributes to each child’s success.
• Assessment – Content provided by Renaissance Learning
Gene Kerns, chief academic officer, Renaissance
“Unlocking Student Talent”
Educators help students build expertise. Despite their critical role in the overall process, many teachers are unaware of the research on how expertise is truly developed. Guided by the inaccurate folklore around talent we unconsciously limit the aspirations of our students and ourselves and fail to align our schools and classrooms for optimal growth. You can promote expertise systematically and consistently, and research documents this. Kerns’ session will focus on:
⁃ Essential research covering the 100-year span of the study of expert performance.
⁃ The actual role that genes and innate talent play in our overall success.
⁃ The qualities of “deliberate practice,” heralded as “the most powerful approach to learning that has yet been discovered.”
⁃ Practical ideas on implementing the “science of expertise” in our schools and classroom.
12:30 p.m.—1 p.m.
Sneak Peek: 2019 Keynote Presentation and Workshop
Collaborative Leadership
In Conversation With Peter DeWitt
Join Peter DeWitt (author of Collaborative Leadership: 6 Influences That Matter Most and Education Week opinion blogger) and Commentary Editor Elizabeth Rich, as they give you a sneak peek at his 2019 Leaders To Learn From keynote presentation on elevating your impact as a leader by building collective efficacy among staff.
1 p.m.—2 p.m.
Networking Lunch
Speakers
Featured Speakers
Michele Brooks
Principal, Transformative Solutions, and former Assistant Superintendent of Family and Student Engagement, Boston Public 69ý
2013 Leaders To Learn From
Brooks is a parent activist, education organizer, and advocate, whose work of empowering families and transforming the engagement structures and policies of schools and districts spans more than 20 years. She served as the assistant superintendent for family and student engagement for the Boston public schools from 2008 to 2015. Prior to that role, Brooks was a member of the Boston School Committee and principal consultant for Transformative Solutions, an education consulting firm that focuses on organizational development, evaluation, and program development for schools and school districts.
Brooks began her parent-engagement work in 1990 at Boston’s J. E. Burke High, where she founded the first high school family center in a Boston public school. Her work at Burke has been documented in the film “A Tale of Two Partnerships” produced by the Institute for Responsive Education. She also served as the founding director of the Boston Parent Organizing Network from 1999 until 2005.
Julio César “JC” Contreras
Principal Supervisor/Head of 69ý, KIPP San Antonio, Texas
2016 Leaders To Learn From
Contreras has served as a classroom teacher, an elementary school reading interventionist/coach, a director of operations, assistant principal, principal and a principal supervisor. This is his fifth year as a principal supervisor and in his current role, he is responsible for the academic outcomes of three schools: two elementary dual-language academies and a middle school.
As an executive cabinet member, Contreras also informs regional practices to other KIPP departments and chiefs to ensure alignment of district support to schools. Contreras has presented to external organizations on principal supervisor strategies and instructional leadership.
D’Lisa Crain
Family-School Partnerships Administrator, Washoe County School District, Reno, Nev.
2016 Leaders To Learn From
Crain has been working on family-engagement efforts in Nevada’s second-largest school system since 2004. She previously was a development director for a health-related nonprofit, and served as a marketing director for a construction and engineering company. Crain has presented on the district’s parent-engagement efforts at numerous national conferences, including for the National PTA, the Education Trust, and the U.S. Department of Education.
Tracy Hill
Executive Director of Family and Community Engagement, Cleveland Metropolitan School District
2014 Leaders To Learn From
Hill has served as the executive eirector of family and community engagement for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District since August of 2010. Prior to this position, she served as the coordinator of the Family School Connection program at the Heights Parent Center in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and as pupil services coordinator for Strongsville City 69ý in Ohio. Hill has presented nationally about family engagement as a key driver to school improvement. Most recently, she participated in WGBH’s EdForum in Boston.
Trise Moore
Director of Equity and Family Engagement, Federal Way Public 69ý, Federal Way, Wash.
2017 Leaders To Learn From
Moore has worked in the Federal Way schools for 15 years developing, publishing, and implementing effective family and community engagement practices. She is presently enrolled in the Educational Leadership Doctoral program at City University of Seattle.
Patricia Spradley
Chief of Parent and Community Engagement, Springfield Public 69ý, Springfield, Mass.
2015 Leaders To Learn From
As chief officer, Spradley strategically engages key parents, community, and political and institutional partner support to assist with student achievement. She has been with the Springfield Public 69ý for more than 23 years. Currently, she is responsible for family education, the Parent and Community Engagement Center, the Parent Academy, Student Assignment Services, Homeless Educational Services, METCO and School Choice/Charters. She also served as workforce development director, training administrators and classroom teachers.
Keynote Speakers
John Hattie
Author, Visible Learning; Professor of Education and Director, Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne, Australia
@CorwinPress
Hattie has been professor of education and director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne, Australia, since March 2011. He was previously professor of education at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His research interests are based on applying measurement models to education problems.
He is past president of the International Test Commission, served as adviser to various ministers, chaired the New Zealand performance-based research fund, and in the last Queens Birthday awards was made “Order of Merit for New Zealand” for services to education.
Peter DeWitt
Author, Collaborative Leadership: 6 Influences That Matter Most, and Education Week opinion blog “Finding Common Ground”
@PeterMDeWitt
DeWitt runs competency-based workshops that focus on collaborative leadership and school climate. He was a school principal for eight years and taught elementary school for 11 years. He pens the opinion blog Finding Common Ground on edweek.org and has written several books for Corwin, including Dignity for All: Safeguarding LGBT 69ý, Collaborative Leadership: 6 Influences That Matter Most, and School Climate: Leading with Collective Efficacy.
Education Week Staff
Evie Blad, Staff Writer, Education Week
@EvieBlad
Blad is a reporter for Education Week who covers school climate, student engagement, social-emotional learning, discipline, nutrition, and student well-being. Before coming to Education Week in 2013, she was a reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, where she covered K-12 education at the state and local levels, higher education, and health issues.
Matthew Cibellis, Director of Programming, Live and Virtual Events, Education Week
@EdWeekEvents
Cibellis spearheads programming for Education Week’s live and virtual events. Before joining Education Week, Cibellis served as the public-outreach officer for 69ý Is Fundamental, the nation’s largest and oldest children’s literacy organization.
Michelle R. Davis, Contributing Writer, Education Week
@EWmdavis
Davis is a contributing writer for Education Week and a senior writer for Education Week Digital Directions who covers educational technology, including trends around digital education. Davis began working at Education Week in 2002 as a federal education reporter after covering Congress and the federal government in Knight Ridder’s Washington bureau.
Catherine Gewertz, Senior Contributing Writer, Education Week
@cgewertz
Gewertz is a reporter covering assessment and pathways from the middle grades to high school and beyond. Since joining Education Week in 1999, she has been the lead common-core reporter and has covered urban schools. Previously, Gewertz was a staff writer at United Press International and The Los Angeles Times.
Michele J. Givens, President and CEO, Editorial Projects in Education
@michelejgivens
Givens has been the president and CEO of Editorial Projects in Education, the nonprofit publisher of Education Week and edweek.org since June 2016. She joined EPE as general manager in 2001 and formally received the concurrent title of publisher in 2009.
Previously in her career, Givens was the consumer marketing director for Outside magazine in Santa Fe, N.M.; associate consumer marketing manager at Rodale Press in Emmaus, Pa.; and circulation director at McGraw-Hill in Washington, D.C.
She serves on the board of directors of the Center for Teaching Quality and is a member of the National Press Club.
Benjamin Herold, Staff Writer, Education Week
@BenjaminBHerold
Herold has covered educational technology for Education Week since 2013. Previously, he covered the Philadelphia school district for WHYY public radio station and the Philadelphia Public School Notebook.
Alyson Klein, Assistant Editor, Education Week
@PoliticsK12
Klein is a reporter for Education Week who covers the Trump administration’s K-12 policy, Every Student Succeeds Act implementation, and the politics of education. She has discussed education news on CNN, National Public Radio, C-SPAN, PBS, and other news outlets.
Lesli A. Maxwell, Assistant Managing Editor, Education Week Executive Project Editor, Leaders To Learn From
@l_maxwell
Maxwell oversees Education Week‘s reporters who cover school district news, leadership, English-language learners, civil rights, school safety and climate, school choice, and data. Previously, she was a staff writer who covered English-language learners, school districts, and leadership. Prior to Education Week, Maxwell was a state politics and higher education reporter for The Sacramento Bee.
Corey Mitchell, Staff Writer, Education Week
@c_c_mitchell
Mitchell is a reporter for Education Week who covers English-language learners, bilingual education, Native American education, and school district news and leadership. Prior to joining Education Week in 2014, Mitchell worked as a Washington-based correspondent for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Michele Molnar, Associate Editor, EdWeek Market Brief
@EdWeekMMolnar
Molnar is a reporter who covers industry and innovation for Education Week. She began working as a contributing writer for Education Week in 2012, covering parents’ influence on education.
Scott Montgomery, Editor-in-Chief, Education Week
@scottmdc | @educationweek
Montgomery is the editor-in-chief for Education Week, leading all the teams responsible for news coverage across EPE. He is a longtime digital news executive with deep experience in digital transformation and organizational change. Montgomery joined Education Week in July 2017 after five years as the Managing Editor for Digital News at NPR.
Elizabeth Rich, Commentary Editor, Education Week
@ehartrich
Rich is the Commentary editor for Education Week and edweek.org, overseeing the paper’s print and online opinion essays and blogs. She joined EPE in 2007 as an assistant editor and writer for Education Week Teacher.
Christina Samuels, Assistant Editor, Education Week
@OnSpecEd | @EarlyYearsEW
Samuels covers early-childhood education and special education for Education Week, where she provides insight, news, and analysis on issues affecting the nation’s youngest learners as well as students with disabilities. Before joining Education Week, Samuels was a staff writer at The Washington Post and the Miami Herald.
Stephen Sawchuk, Associate Editor, Education Week
@Stephen_Sawchuk
Sawchuk covers curriculum and instruction, with a focus on the Common Core State Standards, literacy, social studies, and STEM. He previously covered the teaching profession for Education Week and was a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan during the 2016-17 school year.
Sarah D. Sparks, Assistant Editor, Education Week
@SarahDSparks
Sparks is a reporter for Education Week who has covered education research and the science of learning for more than a decade. Sparks has published on education and other issues in Education Daily, the Republican-American, the Wall Street Journal, National Geographic Traveler, and others.
Denisa R. Superville, Staff Writer, Education Week
@drsuperville | @District_Doss
Superville has covered school districts and leadership at Education Week since 2014. Previously, Superville worked at The Record in New Jersey, where she covered breaking news, local governments, and schools.
Madeline Will, Staff Writer, Education Week
@Madeline_Will
Will is a reporter for Education Week who covers the teaching profession. She rejoined the staff in 2016 as the assistant editor for Education Week Teacher after previously interning at Education Week in 2014. In between, she worked as the publications fellow for the Student Press Law Center and interned at the Chronicle of Higher Education.
