9:45 AM -- 11:45 AM
Exploring the Benefits and Challenges of Involving Students in Policymaking (session #241)
As more states and districts express an interest in engaging students in policymaking, this interactive session with students will examine why and how to infuse and sustain the youth voice in decision and policymaking processes. Student engagement policies and practices from states and districts will be explored in student-facilitated small group discussions, increasing participants’ knowledge and skills on engaging youth in policymaking. Participants will examine resources, benefits, challenges, landmines and strategies to authentically engage students in policymaking.

PARTICIPANTS
	Hank M. Bounds, Superintendent of Education, Mississippi State Department of Education, Mississippi; ECS Commissioner

9:45 AM -- 11:45 AM
The Postsecondary Challenge: Increasing Student Success, Ensuring Affordability and Maintaining Costs (session #242)
Many state policymakers have set ambitious goals to increase the production of college graduates and maintain college affordability during a time of limited state resources for colleges and universities. In addition, postsecondary institutions are stepping up their efforts to increase the percentage of students who graduate from their institutions. Unfortunately, these efforts are not always coordinated and in some cases, are working at cross-purposes. This session will explore the current challenges facing policymakers and postsecondary leaders as they attempt to increase the educational attainment of their citizens at a time of rising college costs and declining public resources.

PARTICIPANTS
	Matt Gianneschi, Senior Policy Analyst, Office of the Governor, State of Colorado, Colorado
	William E. Kirwan, Chancellor, University System of Maryland, Maryland
	Raymund A. Paredes, Commissioner of Higher Education, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Texas; ECS Commissioner
	Travis Reindl, Program Director, Jobs for the Future, Massachusetts

9:45 AM -- 11:45 AM
Policy Levers You Can Promote on Monday (to reduce the achievement gap) (session #243)
This session’s goal is to flush out what policy components need to be in place to: · Add high-quality instructional time for the kids who need it most · Ensure access to relevant, high quality curriculum, instruction and supports.

PARTICIPANTS
	Rosita Apodaca, Fellow, Institute for Learning, Texas
	Andres Garcia, KIPP Alumni Association, Texas
	Paul Reville, Chairperson, Massachusetts State Board of Education, Massachusetts

9:45 AM -- 11:45 AM
Needed: More and Better K-12 Math and Science Teachers – Are America’s Universities Responding? (session #244)
The efforts and successes of two high profile national initiatives aggressively targeting the issue of recruiting and preparing more and better math and science teachers into the K-12 teaching profession - The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) Science and Math Teacher Imperative (SMTI) - will be the focus of this session. The esteemed panelists will offer a national view point of these progressive initiatives rounded out by on-the-ground perspectives to inform the audience of the realities, challenges and successes of these transformation efforts.

PARTICIPANTS
	Elizabeth Lodal, Former Principal, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Virginia; ECS Commissioner
	Peter McPherson, President, National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, District of Columbia
	Valerie Otero, Assistant Professor of Science Education, University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado
	Mary Ann Rankin, Dean, College of Natural Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Texas
	John L. Winn, Program Director, National Math & Science Initiative, Texas

2:00 PM -- 4:00 PM
Having the Funding Follow the Student ... Can it Work? (session #256)
The idea of switching from a traditional district-based funding formula to a more a student-based system (what some call a weighted student formula) is beginning to gain ground in some states. This session will look at this topic through the eyes of a policymaker and researcher, both of whom have worked with this system, as well as through the perspective of an individual from outside the school finance community.

PARTICIPANTS
	Nicholas Donohue, President & CEO, Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Massachusetts
	Lawrence O. Picus, Lawrence O. Picus and Associates, LLC, California
	Norman Sakamoto, Majority Whip & Chairman, Senate Education Committee, Hawaii; member, ECS Steering Committee, ECS Commissioner, ECS Executive Committee and ECS National Forum Committee
	Daniel Thatcher, Research Analyst II, National Conference of State Legislatures, Colorado

2:00 PM -- 4:00 PM
Why Do Some Schools Do Better? How Do We Bridge the Gap Between Research and Policy for English Language Learners (session #257)
The demographics of our nation’s schools are facing a dramatic change—rural, suburban and urban districts are seeing increasing numbers of English language learners. While these students are confronted with many challenges on their paths to English proficiency and overall academic achievement, policymakers also face challenges to implementing best practices into policy. This session will help policymakers bridge the gap between research and policy.

PARTICIPANTS
	Margarita Calderón, Research Scientist, Johns Hopkins Center for Research and Reform in Education, New York
	Florence Shapiro, Chair, Senate Education Committee, Texas; ECS Commissioner
	Claire Sylvan, Executive Director and Founder, Internationals Network for Public Schools, New York
	Sharon Vaughn, Executive Director, Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin, Texas

2:00 PM -- 4:00 PM
"You Want Fries with That? Improving High School Graduation Rates in the States” (session #258)
Across the nation, states and districts are struggling to improve high school completion rates, with varying results. This session provides perspective on what the research says about improving high school graduation rates, as well as state education agency and local perspectives on preventing students from dropping out.

PARTICIPANTS
	John Q. Easton, Executive Director, Consortium on Chicago School Research University of Chicago, Illinois
	Scott Hochberg, Representative, Texas
	Karen Soule, Superintendent, Somersworth SAU Office, New Hampshire
	Robert Wells, Project Director, New Hampshire Department of Education, New Hampshire

2:00 PM -- 4:00 PM
Developing and Delivering a Statewide Coaching Program for School Leaders (session #259)
The session will provide an overview of the components of a statewide coaching program for school and district-level leaders. The session facilitators will: · Describe the funding sources necessary to develop a coaching program · Discuss the attributes of new-to-position school-level leaders · Discuss the recruitment and training of executive coaches · Share sample curriculum materials used during training institutes · Discuss the findings of an ongoing program evaluation.

PARTICIPANTS
	Roger Sampson, President, Education Commission of the States, Colorado; member, ECS Executive Committee
	Gary Whiteley, Program Director, Alaska Administration Coaching Project, Alaska

10:15 AM -- 12:15 PM
Creating the 21st Century Community College: Aligning Policy and Practice to Increase Student Success and Meet Workforce Needs (session #348)
Fulfilling expectations to maintain access, ensure success and respond to regional workforce needs in a time of limited resources requires community colleges to be more innovative and entrepreneurial. This session will examine how community colleges can align their efforts to effectively balance their commitment to access, success and workforce preparation. Those in attendance will examine how policymakers, community college leaders and business leaders can work together to develop policy and implement strategies to achieve all three of these important goals.

PARTICIPANTS
	Julian L. Alssid, Executive Director, Workforce Strategy Center, New York
	Richard Kazis, Senior Vice President, Jobs For The Future, Massachusetts
	John B. Lee, President, JBL Associates, Inc., Maryland
	Paul W. Sechrist, President, Oklahoma City Community College, Oklahoma

10:15 AM -- 12:15 PM
No More Parallel Play: Governors’ Symposia on Early Learning and the Early Grades (session #346)
The roots of children’s academic success or failure are already firmly in place by grade 3. Even gains made by many children in high-quality pre-K programs can fade if they are not supported by continued high-quality learning experiences in the early elementary years. Policies and practice that effectively align early learning and the early grades (P-3) represent effective strategies for closing the achievement gap. These policies and practices are emerging in some pioneering states as part of an enlarged focus on school readiness that links two separate and distinct systems—early care and education, and public education. Governors in several states have convened key policymakers and education leaders from early care and education, and K-12 education to work together to create strategies to effectively link systems through transition and alignment. This session highlights the proceedings, outcomes and lessons learned from these Governor’s Summits on Early Learning and the Early Grades.

PARTICIPANTS
	Tony Berkley, Evaluation Manager, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Michigan
	Harriet Dichter, Deputy Secretary, Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Public Welfare, Pennsylvania
	Janice M. Gruendel, Governor's Senior Policy Advisor, Children and Youth Co-Chair Early Childhood Education Cabinet, Office of Govenor M. Jodi Rell, Connecticut
	Sharon Lynn Kagan, Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family Policy, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York
	Kristie Kauerz, Early Childhood/P-3 Policy Director, Office of Lieutenant Governor Barbara O'Brien, Colorado
	Eva Lester, Early Childhood Policy Advisor, Division of School Readiness, Office of Governor Janet Napolitano, Arizona
	Sandy Miller, Director, Office of Early Childhood Education, Ohio Department of Education, Ohio

10:15 AM -- 12:15 PM
Preparing and Supporting Teachers for Urban Schools (session #347)
The nation’s education system continues to be plagued by a gap in academic achievement between students of different racial/ethnic groups. Many lower performing students are enrolled in urban schools. One challenge faced by many of these schools is how best to prepare quality teachers for urban settings and support them as they begin their careers. This session will present two programs that are addressing this challenge through unique partnerships between colleges and urban K-12 schools. The process of establishing these programs, necessary elements and results of these efforts will be presented along with a “view from within” by a distinguished teacher grappling with the challenges of teaching in an urban setting.

PARTICIPANTS
	Neema Avashia, Teacher, John W. McCormack Middle School, Massachusetts
	Jennifer Frish, Kindergarten Teacher, Chicago Public Schools, Illinois
	Liam S. Goldrick, Director of Policy, New Teacher Center at UCSC, Wisconsin
	Jesse Solomon, Director, Boston Teacher Residency, Massachusetts
	Amy Treadwell, Induction Coach, Chicago Public Schools, Illinois
	Lisa Vahey, Director, Chicago New Teacher Center, California

10:15 AM -- 12:15 PM
Using Growth Models to Measure Student Performance (session #349)
Nine states are involved in a pilot project to use "growth models" to supplement the current adequate yearly progress (AYP) approach for measuring school performance under No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The U.S. Department of Education has extended this option to any state that meets specific criteria. This working session will help participants understand the purposes and types of growth models, the necessary components to put in place to sustain such an approach, and how growth models can be used to move beyond NCLB student proficiency goals to ensure students are ready for college and work. Participants will have the opportunity to work with representatives from the pilot states and accountability experts to develop plans for growth models in their own states.

PARTICIPANTS
	Chrys Dougherty, Director of Research, National Center for Educational Accountability, Texas
	Charity Smith, Assistant Director of Accountability, Arkansas Department of Education, Arkansas
	Robin R. Taylor, Associate Secretary of Education, Assessment and Accountability, Delaware Department of Education, Delaware