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Midwest High School SIG Conference--Leading Successful High School Turnarounds: Learning from Research and Practice.
 

Agenda: Day 1 – AM

Wednesday, May 18

8:15 am -
9:00 am

Welcome & Opening Remarks

Presenters:
  • Joseph R. Harris
    Director, National High School Center
  • Barb Youngren
    Director, Great Lakes East Comprehensive Center
  • Carl Harris
    Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education
Presentation:
9:00 am -
10:15 am

Bold High School Reforms: Beyond Tinkering Around the Edges

Recognized high school improvement experts describe their innovative strategies and approaches for turning around low-performing high schools that go beyond tinkering around the edges.

Panelists:

Presentations: Handouts:
10:15 am -
10:30 am		 Break and Move to Topic Discussion Groups
10:30 am -
12:00 pm

Planning for SIG Implementation: Organizing for High School Change

This round of breakout sessions focuses on various aspects of planning and implementing high school improvement initiatives, including SIG.

a. Change and Implementation Research on Turning Around Low Performing Schools
Panelists will share and discuss the lessons learned from research on turning around chronically low-performing schools. The session will include an overview of the Institute of Education Science’s Practice GuideChange and Implementation Turning Around Chronically Low-Performing Schools, associated resources provided and developed by Doing What Works, as well as other salient research findings and resources.

Panelists:

  • Matt Dawson
    Director, REL Midwest
  • Yael Kidron
    Co-Project Director, Doing What Works Project; Research Team Leader, National High School Center
  • Sam Redding
    Director, Center on Innovation & Improvement
  • Moderator: Dawn Dolby
    Senior Consultant for School Turnaround, American Institutes for Research
Presentations: Handout: b. School Improvement Implementation Planning and Monitoring Tools
Panelists will share various planning and monitoring tools being used by states, districts, and high schools for planning and monitoring high school improvement efforts. These include SIG monitoring tools developed by North Carolina, several tools developed by the Center on Innovation & Improvement, and a new online self-assessment tool recently released by the National High School Center.

Panelists:
  • Donna Brown
    Program Monitoring Section Chief, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
  • Steve Underwood
    Director, Statewide System of Support. Idaho State Department of Education
  • Moderator: Todd Flaherty
    President and Chief Executive Officer, The College Crusade of Rhode Island
Presentations: Handouts: c. Engaging Stakeholders in High School Improvement Efforts
Panelists will discuss the important role of stakeholder engagement in high school improvement efforts, including perspectives on community-based supports and wraparound services, faith-based and community-based partnerships, and family support in Native American and other stakeholder groups.

Panelists:
  • Heather Foster
    Policy and Outreach Advisor, Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, U.S. Department of Education
  • Don Rosin
    Native American Center Director, Wisconsin Family Assistance Center for Education, Training, and Support; Multicultural Specialist, Region 4 Parent Technical Assistance Center
  • Bryan Samuels
    Commissioner, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, U.S Department of Health and Human Services
  • Moderator: Jan Serak
    Co-Director, Region 4 Parent Technical Assistance Center, Wisconsin Family Assistance Center for Education, Training, and Support
Presentation: d. Building Blocks of High School Reform and Lessons Learned
Panelists representing a variety of perspectives will informally share successes and challenges related to recent high school reform efforts, and interested participants will be given the opportunity to continue the discussion from the morning’s plenary session.

Panelists:
  • Don Fraynd
    Chief Officer, Office of School Improvement, Chicago Public Schools
  • Braden Goetz
    High School Group Leader, U.S. Department of Education
  • Jennifer Shea
    Program Manager, The School Turnaround Group, Mass Insight Education
  • Moderator: Mel Riddile
    Associate Director for High School Services, National Association of Secondary School Principals
Presentations: e. Building and Sustaining Collaborative Learning Opportunities to Support High School Improvement
Panelists will share their techniques, tools, and experiences in building collaborative learning opportunities and will highlight successes and challenges pertinent to high school improvement. This session will provide an overview of examples of collaborative learning opportunities at the state level, opportunities for building communities of practice on high school improvement topics, and an emerging collaborative problem-solving approach known as Rapid Development and Dissemination being promoted by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Panelists:
  • Tori Cirks
    Technical Assistance Consultant, Great Lakes East Comprehensive Center
  • Elizabeth Grant
    Special Assistant, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education
  • Moderator: Circe Stumbo
    President, West Wind Education Policy
Presentations: Handouts:

* Transcripts of presentation audio are available upon request.