Presentation Handouts and Videos

Click here to access the meeting agenda in PDF format.

(For a more accessible format of the presentations, contact the SEDL Webmaster)

Day 1 / July 21, 2010
Presentation video for ESEA Blueprint for Reform
ESEA Blueprint for Reform
The National Perspective—
A Blueprint for Reform
9:00–10:30 a.m.

Carl Harris, EdD, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), U.S. Department of Education

Kandace Jones, MBA, Special Assistant, OESE

Facilitator: Vicki Dimock, PhD, TXCC Director

Keynote: A Research Perspective on Turning Around Persistently Low-Performing Schools
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Presentation video for Turning Around Persistently Low-Achieving Schools
Turning Around Persistently Low-Achieving Schools: Lessons from Chicago
This session will focus on research conducted by Dr. Elaine Allensworth for the Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) at the University of Chicago. Dr. Allensworth's research focused on the structural factors that affect high school students' education attainment, including research on school organizational structure, instruction, and early indicators of dropping out of school. Currently, she is leading a mixed-methods study of the transition to high school as well as studies on the effects of curricular reforms on instruction, grades, test scores, high school graduation, and college attendance.

Her recent book entitled, Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago, authored with current and former researchers from CCSR, provides a detailed analysis of why students in 100 public elementary schools in Chicago were able to improve substantially in reading and math over a 7-year period and students in another 100 schools were not. Using massive longitudinal evidence, the study yields a comprehensive set of school practices and school and community conditions that promote improvement.

Elaine Allensworth, PhD
Chief Research Officer, Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago


Facilitator: Camille Chapman, MEd, SEDL Program Associate
Working Lunch—Priority Area Interest Group Discussions
12:00–1:00 p.m.

Participants will have lunch in cross-state groups based on their priority area interest. They will share perspectives about the work their state is doing or planning to do in that area as well as consider the implications of that work on the goal of preparing students for college and careers.

Facilitator: Stella Bell, EdD, SEDL Program Associate
Turnaround Schools Practitioner Panel
1:00–2:30 p.m.
Presentation video for Turnaround Schools Practitioner Panel
Turnaround Schools Practitioner Panel

A panel of district and school leaders will discuss strategies for turning around chronically low-performing public and charter schools.

Celina Estrada-Thomas, PhD, Principal, Bastrop High School, Bastrop, TX

Rayne Martin, Chief of Innovation, Louisiana Department of Education

Tony Recasner, PhD, President, FirstLine Schools, New Orleans, LA

Annesa Thompson, MEd, Superintendent, Marked Tree School District, Marked Tree, AR

Facilitator: Camille Chapman, MEd, SEDL Program Associate

Concurrent Sessions
2:45–5:00 p.m.

Session A - Priority Area: College- and Career-Ready Students
Presentation video for How Can Assessment Support Students to be College and Career Ready?
How Can Assessment Support Students to be College and Career Ready?


College-ready means that a high school graduate has the knowledge/skills to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing college courses; and career-ready means a high school graduate has the knowledge/skills to succeed in the postsecondary job training/education necessary for a chosen career (Achieve Inc., 2009). The purpose of this session is to further explore the meaning of and methods for producing college- and career-ready students.

Joy Eichelberger, EdD
SAS (Standards Aligned System)/School Improvement and Response to Instruction and Intervention Specialist
Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network
Pennsylvania Department of Education

Margaret Heritage
Assistant Director for Professional Development
National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST)
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Roderick Sams, EdD
Principal, Newton High School, Covington, GA

Facilitators: Robyn Madison-Harris, EdD, SEDL Program Associate, and Ann Neeley, EdD, SEDL Program Associate


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Session B - Priority Area: Meeting the Needs of English Learners and Other Diverse Learners: What Matters for Staying On Track and Graduating in Chicago Public Schools: A Focus on Students with Disabilities
What Matters for Staying On-Track and Graduating in Chicago Public Schools: A Focus on Students with Disabilities


This session reports findings from a study that looked at the freshman year course performance of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students who receive special education services. The presentation first describes how students with disabilities performed in their 9th grade courses by looking at their grades, course failures, absences and on-track status. We then examine whether these course performance indicators are useful for identifying students who are at risk of dropping out. Finally, we look at how academic behaviors, such as attendance and study habits, affect course failures and grades of students with disabilities.

Julia Gwynne, PhD
Senior Research Analyst
Consortium on Chicago School Research
University of Chicago

Mindee O'Cummings, PhD
Special Education Coordinator and Technical Assistance Liaison
National High School Center
Washington, DC

Facilitators: Ada Muoneke, PhD, SEDL Program Associate, and Blanca Quiroz, PhD, SEDL Program Associate


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Session C - Priority Area: A Complete Education: Strategies for the Design and Implementation of a Comprehensive PreK–12 STEM System
Strategies for the Design and Implementation of a Comprehensive PreK–12 STEM System


Within the broader context of a complete education in all content areas for all students, state and local education agencies (LEAs) must design and implement a comprehensive PreK–12 STEM strategy to strengthen instruction and student learning in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

This session focuses on both state and local perspectives. Through presentations and structured conversations, three state-level officials from the region will outline each state's STEM strategies and initiatives and the efforts that such programs entail. In addition, two LEA practitioners from those states will discuss the challenges, support, and success that were inherent in the local implementation of state STEM initiatives. All practitioners will share specific strategies they have used to strengthen STEM instruction, align the use of limited resources with more meaningful student engagement and achievement—all while supporting the implementation of college- and career-ready standards often through the application of "outside-the-box" thinking and innovative problem-solving techniques.

Stacy Avery, Program Manager, State Initiatives
Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (T-STEM) Initiative Texas Education Agency

Tod Beers, MAE, Mathematics Director
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI), Alabama State Department of Education

Melody Crabb, MEd, Assistant Director/Internship Coordinator
STEM Academy, Lee High School/Nimitz Middle School
North East Independent School District, San Antonio, TX

Deborah Fletcher, MEd, Principal, St. Elmo Elementary School
Mobile County Public School System, Mobile, AL

Jan Lindsey, MPAff, Senior Director
Division of Dropout Prevention and College and Career Readiness Initiatives
Texas Education Agency

Facilitators: Ramona Chauvin, PhD, SEDL Program Associate, and Concepcion Molina, EdD, SEDL Program Associate


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Day 2 / July 22, 2010
Concurrent Sessions
9:00–11:30 a.m.

Session D - Priority Area: Great Teachers and Leaders
Lessons Learned: Measuring Teacher Effectiveness and Differentiated Compensation
Lessons Learned: Measuring Teacher Effectiveness and Differentiated Compensation


The federal focus has moved from putting a high-quality teacher in every classroom to a focus on quality teaching by an effective teacher. But how do states determine an effective teacher? The first part of this session will review measures of teacher effectiveness, from classroom observations to value-added models. Current federal priorities and state legislation focus on efforts to create comprehensive teacher evaluations that use multiple measures to identify effective teachers and support professional growth for all teachers. The second part of the session will look in detail at incentive pay, a private sector concept that is now gaining popularity as a strategy for school accountability. We will review theories of incentive pay and the challenges for adaptation to a public education setting, with practical guidelines for districts implementing incentives for teachers.

Laura Goe, PhD, Principal Investigator, Research and Dissemination
National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality

Jane Lincove, PhD, Assistant Professor of Public Affairs
Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
The University of Texas at Austin

Elizabeth Shaw, Executive Director, Human Capital Office
Louisiana Department of Education

Punita Dani Thurman, MBA, Executive Director, Strategic Initiatives
Fort Worth Independent School District, Fort Worth, TX

Facilitator: Jackie Burniske, MA, SEDL Program Associate


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Session E - Priority Area: Meeting the Needs of English Learners and Other Diverse Learners
Diverse Learners: English Language Learners
Presentation video for Lessons Learned: Measuring Teacher Effectiveness and Differentiated Compensation
Diverse Learners: English Language Learners


High-quality standards for English language arts (ELA) should articulate rigorous grade-level expectations to prepare students to be college and career ready. Teachers must teach English language learners (ELLs) to the same standards expected of students who are already proficient in English. However, because ELLs are acquiring English language proficiency and content area knowledge concurrently, they will require appropriate instructional support to meet these standards. This session will focus on research-based principles and practices to help English language learners meet high academic standards in language arts.

Diane August, PhD, Senior Research Scientist
Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, DC

Diana Garcia Marion, MEd, Bilingual/English as a Second Language (ESL) Coordinator, Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Houston, TX

Linda Simpson-Jones, MA, Director, Bilingual/ESL/Migrant Program
Bryan Independent School District, Bryan, TX

Facilitators: Ada Muoneke, PhD, SEDL Program Associate, and Blanca Quiroz, PhD, SEDL Program Associate


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Session F - Priority Area: Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students
Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students


This session will focus on national and state approaches aimed at providing a positive school climate and strengthening family and community engagement in order to support student success. Concrete strategies of using data to create safe and healthy environments will be explored as well as methods to strengthen family and community engagement.

Ann E. Chafin, MEd, Assistant State Superintendent
Division of Student, Family, and School Support, Maryland Department of Education

Edwin Darden, Esq., Director of Education Law and Policy
Appleseed, Washington, DC

Marilyn O. Watson, MEd, Education Program Specialist
Safe and Drug Free Schools, Georgia Department of Education

Facilitators: Marion Baldwin, MEd, SEDL Program Associate, and Sally Wade, EdD, SEDL Program Associate


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Common Core State Standards for English Language Learners
11:40 a.m.–12:10 p.m.

This brief presentation will describe why high-quality standards are imperative for ELLs, the common core English Language Arts standards that are focal for ELLs, and how schools and districts might assist ELLs in meeting the common core state standards.

Diane August, PhD, Senior Research Scientist
Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, DC

English-Language Learners and the Common Core Standards - August PDF icon
Planning Next Steps
12:10–12:30 p.m.

Robin Jarvis, PhD, Director, Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) at SEDL
Working Lunch: State Team Planning Sessions
12:30–2:00 p.m.
  • Alabama
    Facilitator: Robin Jarvis, PhD, SECC Director
  • Georgia
    Facilitator: Glenda Copeland, MA, SECC State Liaison
  • Louisiana
    Facilitator: Robyn Madison-Harris, EdD, SEDL Program Associate
  • Mississippi
    Facilitator: Debra Meibaum, MAT, SECC State Liaison
  • South Carolina
    Facilitator: Sandra Lindsay, EdD, SECC State Liaison
  • Texas
    Facilitator: D'Ette Cowan, EdD, SEDL Project Director