8:30 AM–9:30 AM • Tidelands Student Welcome: Kowser Elmi Keynote: Dr. Terrence Roberts, Lessons from the Little Rock Nine (Video below or click here)
9:40–10:40 AM • Tidelands Demonstrating the Value of Reengaging Over-Age, Under-Credited Students This session focuses on methods used to illustrate the macro- and micro-level benefits of dropout recovery. The seminal work of the Alliance for Excellent Education quantified the socioeconomic impact of dropout re-enrollment and graduation. Two school networks will share the data to tell the story of the students served and the outcomes obtained. This presentation will be followed by extensive small group discussion to learn what data our colleagues are collecting and explore ideas for aggregating the data. Presenters: Jessica Cardichon, Director of Federal Advocacy, Alliance for Excellent Education; Paula Anderson, Education Director, High School For Recording Arts; Linda Leigh, Director of Public Information and Communications, SIATech Presentation File | Video
10:50–11:50 AM • Tidelands Incorporating At-Promise Students into Social Justice Agendas While dropout recovery is receiving growing recognition among education groups, there remains a need to increase partnerships with civil rights advocates, social service agencies, and others serving out-of-school youth. Learn how successful partnerships are growing to provide wrap-around services and advocacy for the students and advocacy for students and communities. Presenters: Mala Thakur, Executive Director, National Youth Employment Coalition; Aaron Scholl, Vice Principal, YouthBuild Charter School of CA; and Chris Leone, Chief Academic Officer, Our Piece of the Pie Presentation File, Part 1 | Presentation File, Part 2 | Video
12:00–1:00 PM • Black Swan Courtyard Patio Lunch
1:10–2:00 PM • Tidelands Providing Relevance for Over-Age, Under-Credited Students Explore how schools serving over-age under-credited students create partnerships to provide the plethora of non-academic services that these students require. Learn how one school uses recording studio classrooms to provide students with a basis in financial literacy, work-readiness, and entrepreneurship. Examine how schools partner to provide job training, counseling, health care, financial support, residential placement, soft skills training, and more. Presenters: Delaine Eastin, Former California Superintendent of Public Instruction; Tony Simmons, Program Director/Development, High School for Recording Arts. Presentation File
2:10–3:00 PM • Tidelands What Will It Take to Change the Conversation Among Funders Foundations and others fund charter schools and other educational change organizations focused on “competition” with traditional schools or college preparation. In part due to the inappropriateness of traditional accountability measures, schools serving dropouts or over-age students are often left behind in the search for grants and other funding. Join a discussion with funders and schools who serve the most at-risk students to develop strategies for building alliances to support your school and students. Presenter: Caprice Young, President, Education Change Group; Telca Karen Porras, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Presentation File
3:15 PM–4:15 PM • Tidelands Local Initiatives for Alternative Accountability Learn how state and district policies are providing cutting edge non-cognitive metrics, recognizing student growth measures, treating out-of-cohort graduates, and more. Three local initiatives will be presented. Portland Public Schools, the largest urban school district in the Pacific Northwest, has recently adopted a pilot report card using alternative metrics. Chicago Public Schools, the nation’s third largest school district, has adopted an alternative accountability policy for schools serving over-age and undercredited students. Buckeye Community Hope Foundation in Ohio is a nonprofit charter school authorizer involved in developing assessment measures for dropout prevention and recovery schools with the Ohio Department of Education as part of their recent ESEA Waiver. Presenters: Carla Gay, Portland Public Schools; Tracy Templin,Chicago Public Schools; Jennifer Robison, Buckeye Community Hope Foundation Presentation File
4:25 PM–5:25 PM • Tidelands Advanced Working Session on Alternative Education Accountability Goals This session is intended for education leaders who have developed and/or are in the process of developing performance measures for alternative education students. Join your peers in a facilitated working session to create Key School Design Principles and Performance Measures. Participants will work in groups to create rigorous yet realistic academic and nonacademic performance measures designed to improve post-secondary college and career readiness and outcomes for alternative education students. Presenters: Aretha Miller, Founder/CEO The Venn Group, New York; and Leslie Talbot, Founder & Principal, Talbot Consulting, New York. Presentation File
4:25–5:25 PM • Coronado Ballroom B (2nd Floor) Making the Most of Common Core While states are deciding what standardized tests will be administered, vendors are making item banks and other tools available to schools for formative assessment and other purposes. Learn how to use these tools to inform instruction and increase student success. Presenter: Cheryl Ballou, Director of Operations, Renaissance Learning Presentation File
5:30 PM–6:30 PM • Black Swan Courtyard Patio At-Promise Reception
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2013
8:00–8:30 AM • Coronado Ballroom A/B Breakfast
8:30–9:00 AM • Coronado Ballroom A/B The Authorizer’s Perspective: NACSA Report The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) created a working group on accountability for alternative charter schools to better answer the fundamental question: How can authorizers maintain high expectations for all students and all schools, and at the same time hold alternative charters accountable for their performance, taking into account their unique circumstances and populations? Learn more about the findings of this working group and future directions of NACSA’s recommendations for reforming states’ accountability policies for alternative public schools. Presenter: Nelson Smith Presentation File 9:00–10:30 AM • Coronado Ballroom A/B Upping Our Game: A National Repository This interactive presentation challenges you to “show us your data.” Momentum Strategy & Research (MSR) is building a data repository of alternative school measures from schools across the country. The goal of this initiative is to analyze that data to help you develop appropriate expectations for your students and schools. By collecting student-level data ranging from statewide assessment results to measures of re-engagement and attitudes toward learning, MSR will have the ability to analyze the typical gains achieved across a large set of alternative schools—arming schools with the information needed to tell the story of the school’s success. During this session, RAPSA and MSR leadership will describe the project and invite you to provide feedback to help set both short- and long-term priorities of Alternative Accountability Data. Presenters:Linda Dawson, CEO, SIATech and President, RAPSA; Jim Griffin & Jody Ernst, Momentum Strategy & Research, Colorado Presentation File TAKE THE SURVEY
10:30 AM–12:00 PM • Coronado Ballroom A/B Advocating for Your Programs and Students Hear what some schools are doing to expand public and political awareness of the need for meaningful accountability measures. Join a conversation with representatives from State Legislatures and Congress about what they are involved in and how you can impact their colleagues. Presenter: Ernie Silva, Director of External Affairs, SIATech Presentation File
