AAPF18 Agenda

Wednesday November 14

3:00 P.M. - 4:30 P.M
Pre-Conference - DASS Data Collaboration: An Invitation
Room: Coronado A
Presenters: Everardo Carvajal, Susanne Coie, John Fox, Michael Wegner
  • How are your at-promise students progressing, compared to their peers in similar schools? DASS schools lack good comparative data, but these comparisons are important for schools’ internal understanding as well as for external accountability purposes. Our group of California DASS school networks is seeking partners for a new pilot data project. With UCLA storing data securely, the pilot aims to compile benchmark assessment data. Results will be sorted by assessment and by type of DASS (or similar) program. In this session, we invite our colleagues to explore next steps in our data collaboration.
​​3:30 P.M. – 6:00 P.M.
Registration
5:00 P.M – 6:00 P.M.
Welcome Reception

Thursday November 15

7:00 A.M. – 8:00 A.M.
Registration and Breakfast
8:00 A.M. – 9:00 A.M. 
Welcome and Keynote Address:
​Colorado State Senator Rhonda Fields to Keynote
BREAKOUT SESSIONS I
​9:15 A.M. – 10:15 A.M.
ESSA and Washington
Strand: Implementing Effective Alternative Accountability Policies and Data
Presenters: Laurie Shannon, Susan Canaga, Lance Sisco, Doug DeMint
Room: Coronado A/B
Presentation Materials: Powerpoint
  • This session will discuss the data used to identify the schools in improvement under ESSA and the lessons learned from that process (nearly all of Washington’s Comprehensive secondary schools and Comprehensive low graduation rate schools are an alternative/reengagement or institutional schools). The implications for this are immediate in building supports for these schools (the WSIF) and longer term for changes we need to make in our data collection and identification for the next cohort. We will share our current model of supporting the identified schools in a multi-tiered system with cross agency and collaborative partner supports.
Designing an Entire School by and for At-Promise Youth
Strand: Teaching Students: Serving the Whole Student
Presenters: Cesar Cruz, 3 Youth Designers: Nathalie Carvajal, Rubi Pelayo, Ventura Flores
Room: Coronado C
Presentation Materials:
  • Veteran educator Dr. César A. Cruz and 3 youth panelists will present "Designing an Entire School by and for At-Promise Youth". This engaging panel will speak about the process of creating a grass-roots, community based school built on gang, youth, street and indigenous assets called Homies Empowerment based out of Oakland, California. In this workshop, participants will hear about out-of-the-box strategies to engage at-promise youth in community and school settings to channel the warrior, healer, hustler and scholar within.
Mass Customized Learning: The “how to” for competency-based learning
Strand: Teaching Strategies and Learning Strategies for At-Promise Students
Presenters: Jan Bryan
Room: Coronado D
Presentation Materials: Powerpoint
  • Education has been described as “an industry existing in a world that requires a profession.” Mass customized learning (MCL) places profession and achievement above tradition, norms, convenience, and habit. Based on Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow theory, MCL considers teachers and learners as equal partners; working together to find intense focus toward mastery rather than to stagnate in a state of apathy and boredom. Please bring your experiences and ideas to this session as we identify the characteristics, and inevitable consequences, of MCL. In doing so, we summarize the shared teacher/learner responsibilities required for competency-based learning for At-Promise Youth, and unify instruction, practice, and assessment to the point that they are—once and for all—seamless and indistinguishable.
Accenture's Skills to Succeed Academy
Strand: Workforce Community and Post-Secondary Partnerships to Support Reengagement and Dropout Prevention 
Presenter: Esther Kim
Room: Tidelands
Presentation Materials: Powerpoint
  • The Accenture Skills to Succeed Academy is a free, online program that helps young people build their futures. Through a gamified, learn-by-doing approach, the Academy helps students gain the skills and confidence to make career decisions, find and get a job, and be successful in their jobs. The Skills to Succeed Academy was created in consultation with subject-matter experts and job seekers themselves to understand the jobseeking process – from unemployment to employment – and how to address barriers along the way. It features young characters from a variety of backgrounds and situations to make it realistic, relevant, and engaging for youth.
    At this presentation, you will learn:
    • Who Accenture is
    • Why Accenture created the Skills to Succeed Academy
    • What makes the Academy different from other career readiness programs
    • How the Academy prepares students to make smart career decisions
    • How teachers/advisors can use the Academy with students
    • What your school/organization needs to do to gain access to our free, Skills to Succeed Academy
​10:15 A.M. – 10:45 A.M. ​
Coffee and Networking Break
BREAKOUT SESSIONS II
​10:45 A.M. – 11:45 A.M.
Scaling, Spreading, Evaluating Reengagement
Strand: Workforce Community and Post-Secondary Partnerships to Support Reengagement and Dropout Prevention 
Presenter: Andy Moore
Room: Coronado A/B
Presentation Materials: Powerpoint
  • Continued growth within the Reengagement Network prompts questions about scaling strategies – for instance, moving to the state policy level – as well as the strength of the evidence base for the effectiveness of physical and virtual reengagement centers. Join this session to discuss and debate paths forward, and contribute to the exploration of third-party evaluation – all in the framework of environmental factors such as low unemployment and ESSA plans that don’t take on alternative accountability directly. Together, let's tackle questions such as: What can we learn from recent efforts to create new state reengagement policy in Oregon and California, as well as from longer-standing policy in Washington and Colorado? What's our best route toward launching an evaluation of what works in reengagement, within particular cities and across the Network?
Game Changing Results: The Impact of Personalized Guidance and Support in Reengagement Education
Strand: Teaching Strategies and Learning Strategies for At-Promise Students
Presenter: Joe Herrity, Courtney Portal
Room: Coronado C
Presentation Materials: 
  • Over the past three years, Kids in Common led a collaborative pilot to bring Jobs for the Future’s Back on Track model to Santa Clara County. Kids in Common worked with reengagement schools and community based organizations to implement the Enriched Preparation phase of the model. In March, a quasi-experimental analysis was conducting found that students receiving our personalized support were three times as likely as a comparison group to stay in school and graduate. In this session, Kids in Common’s OYP team will share key learnings and successful practices.
Mass Customized Learning: The ‘How-To’ for Competency-Based Learning
Strand: Teaching Students: Serving the Whole Student
Presenter: Jan Bryan
Room: Coronado D
Presentation Materials:
  • Education has been described as “an industry existing in a world that requires a profession.” Mass customized learning (MCL) places profession and achievement above tradition, norms, convenience, and habit. Based on Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow theory, MCL considers teachers and learners as equal partners; working together to find intense focus toward mastery rather than to stagnate in a state of apathy. Please bring your experiences and ideas to this session as we identify the characteristics and consequences of MCL, summarize the shared teacher/learner responsibilities required for competency-based learning for At-Promise Youth, and unify instruction, practice, and assessment to the point that they are finally seamless and indistinguishable.
Culture: Creating Integrated Academics & Socio- Emotional  Environments for At Promise Education  
Strand: Teaching Strategies and Learning Strategies for At-Promise Students
Presenter: Laura Hernandez-Flores, Joelle Hood
Room: Tidelands
Presentation Materials: Google Slides, Powerpoint
  • Research clearly shows that social and emotional factors greatly affect our sense of belonging in a learning environment, our beliefs about our own capacity, our behaviors, and our performance. Explicitly addressing these crucial aspects of culture and learning can transform students' learning experiences and propel them towards academic achievement. In this session, participants will be introduced to NTC's Optimal Learning Environment framework as a lens in which to examine teachers' self-efficacy when working with at-promise youth. Within an optimal learning environment, the diverse needs of each learner are addressed with an ever present attention to equity, continuous academic, social, and emotional growth.
12:00 P.M. – 1:30 P.M. 
Awards and Scholarships Luncheon
BREAKOUT SESSIONS III
​1:45 P.M. – 2:45 P.M.
Alternatives across America
Strand: Implementing Effective Alternative Accountability Policies and Data
Presenters: Jody Ernst, Jim Griffin
Room: Coronado A/B
Presentation Materials: Powerpoint
  • Momentum Strategy & Research has recently updated its Alternative School and Performance Database and will summarize the state of alternative schools and programs across the 50 states and DC. Attendees will learn about the number, type, variety, and distribution of alternative schools across the country, including student enrollment and general profiles. Momentum will also preview findings on national performance trends for measures such as cohort graduation rates, proficiency outcomes on state standardized assessments and the relationship found between state education policies and performance outcomes. Attendees will leave with an understanding of how their states’ policies can impact alternative school performance outcomes as well as the ability to set informed targets for alternative school accountability. In addition, Momentum will announce a new partnership with the National Charter Schools Institute, including a recently awarded federal dissemination grant, and discuss how this partnership will increasing opportunities for school and authorizer involvement in shaping alternative accountability research, policy, and practice.
Upstream Collaborative: Redesigning Alternative Education for Equity and Student Success
Strand: Implementing Effective Alternative Accountability Policies and Data
Presenter: Javier Guzman
Room: Coronado C
Presentation Materials:
  • Engage in an interactive workshop that shares the work of the Upstream Collaborative (30 schools spread throughout California and Washington), which seeks to redesign alternative education in the country to maximize students’ potential. We will learn about the work of redesign, the moves made by communities of practice and school leaders to unleash powerful learning experiences for students, who are regarded as individuals with passions and interests capable of high quality work.
The Next Step: Best Practices to Bridge At Promise Students From High School to College
Strand: Teaching Students: Serving the Whole Student
Presenters: Curt Peterson, Molly Ward
Room: Coronado D
Presentation Materials: Powerpoint
  • “In 2017 at the AAPF a unique partnership between Highline Public Schools and South Seattle College that brings re-engagement students to a college campus to earn a diploma was explained. In 2018, how those students take the next step and bridge into college will be presented. What has worked, what has failed, data on graduates, creative ways to address barriers and best practices for college success learned over two decades working with re-engagement students will be discussed.”
Equitable Access to Challenging Courses 
Strand: Teaching Strategies and Learning Strategies for At-Promise Students
Presenters: Phil Morales, Nicole Pyle
Room: Tidelands
Presentation Materials: Powerpoint , Google Slides
  • Curriculum design and instruction delivery can create equitable access to challenging courses for diverse learners. Various instructional practices and examples will be shared during this session.
2:45 P.M. - 3:00 P.M.
Coffee and Networking Break
BREAKOUT SESSIONS IV
​3:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.
Accountability Systems for Alternative High Schools
Strand: Implementing Effective Alternative Accountability Policies and Data
​Presenters: Michael Rothman, Laura Jimenez
Room: Coronado A/B
Presentation Materials: Google Slides
  • Eskolta and the Center for American Progress produced a report reviewing the innovative efforts of New York City to reimagine accountability metrics for schools serving overage, under-credited youth. This was then supported through analysis of seven years of data on a single cohort of 70,000 New York City high school students. In this session, we will share our findings and recommendations, and facilitate questions around why graduation, testing, and climate measures need to be rethought and the implications for carrying out this work. Accountability is too often discussed only in relation to changing cut scores, but in fact this is about rethinking methods of calculation, attribution, comparison, and cohorting students.
Trauma Informed Systems: Strategies for Working with Trauma Exposed and 'High-Risk' Students
Strand: Teaching Strategies and Learning Strategies for At-Promise Students
Presenters: Amy Lansing
Room: Coronado C
Presentation Materials:
  • This presentation builds on prior knowledge of how trauma and adversity exposure impact school readiness, academic engagement and academic performance. Considerations for implementing a trauma informed system and understanding implicit bias are touched upon, while the primary emphasis is on practical - and portable - tips for how to work with youth and adults from a trauma informed perspective. While most educators understand that their students experience significant challenges, translating that knowledge into effective practices are challenging. This presentation lays out an interpersonal framework for developing and maintaining healthy and positive relationships that promote the very trust that is essential for curiosity, learning and engagement.
Game Changing Results: The Impact of Personalized Guidance and Support in Reengagement Education
Strand: Workforce Community and Post-Secondary Partnerships to Support Reengagement and Dropout Prevention 
Presenters: Joe Herrity, Courtney Portal
Room: Coronado D
Presentation Materials:
  • Over the past three years, Kids in Common led a collaborative pilot to bring Jobs for the Future’s Back on Track model to Santa Clara County. Kids in Common worked with reengagement schools and community based organizations to implement the Enriched Preparation phase of the model. In March, a quasi-experimental analysis was conducting found that students receiving our personalized support were three times as likely as a comparison group to stay in school and graduate. In this session, Kids in Common’s OYP team will share key learnings and successful practices.
Using Data to Assess and Teach Numeracy and Literacy
Strand: Implementing Effective Alternative Accountability Policies and Data
Presenters: Nicole Pyle, Phil Morales, Danita Smith, Sally Brown
Room: Tidelands
Presentation Materials:
  • In this session, participants will discuss literacy and numeracy data sources, key processes for data collection, effective use of formative and summative data, data analysis professional development, and data-driven instruction. Multiple research-based perspectives on teaching and assessing numeracy and literacy will be shared.
4:00 P.M.  – 4:30 P.M.
Networking and Reflections Break
4:30 P.M. – 5:30 P.M. ​
Evening Reception

Friday November 16

7:00 A.M. – 8:00 A.M. ​
Breakfast
BREAKOUT SESSIONS V
​8:30 A.M. – 9:30 A.M.
Cultivating Agency and Student Aspirations: Piloting Individualized Life Plans among Opportunity Youth
Strand: Serving the Whole Student
Presenter: Jonathan Mathis
Room: Coronado A/B
Presentation Materials: Powerpoint
  • Successful academic pursuits often includes students’ sense of agency and achievement, as moderated both in and outside of the classroom. This session will showcase an iterative pilot initiative designed to articulate and expose opportunity youth to their aspirations. Participants will experience a typical on-boarding and coaching experience, discuss interventions, and analyze sustainability, through this case. Attendees will acquire a comprehensive approach to best support opportunity youth in actualizing aspirations.
California's DASS - A Deep Dive into Alternative Accountability Measures
Strand: Workforce Community and Post-Secondary Partnerships to Support Reengagement and Dropout Prevention 
Presenter: Jorge Ruiz de Velasco, Cindy Kazanis, Linda Leigh
Room: Coronado C
​Presentation Materials: Powerpoint
  • Last year, the California Alternative Schools Taskforce met at the Alternative Accountability Policy Forum to discuss proposals to develop a one-year graduation rate and other policies to support accountability among alternative schools. This year, California has adopted a one-year graduation rate and is working on further metrics to accurately assess the work that alternative schools do. Join us in a session that promises a deep dive into how that metric works and what it took to become the first state to offer a way for alternative schools to reflect their success in graduating students who are far behind in terms of credits earned or who were reengaged after dropping out of traditional high schools. Meet Cindy Kazanis, Director of the California Department of Education’s Analysis, Measurement & Accountability Reporting Division, and Jorge Ruiz de Velasco from Stanford’s Gardner Institute as they walk through how California adopted a one-year graduation rate and what schools need to do to be counted. If you work in an alternative school setting in California, this is your session. Learn about what data is being collected, how it will be presented on the California Dashboard, and what you need to consider in assigning students to the one year to graduate status. This session will be moderated by Linda Leigh, SIATech’s Director of Public Information and Communications. Linda was among the very first dropout recovery school leaders to develop a reporting system consistent with this new metric.
Evaluation and Continuous Improvement in Alternative Education
Strand: Implementing Effective Alternative Accountability Policies and Data
Presenters: Chris Mazzeo, Nicole Pyle
Room: Coronado D
Presentation Materials: Powerpoint
  • This workshop will focus on building the capacity alternative education providers to evaluate their programs, either internally or in partnership with external research. Areas of focus will include identifying measurable goals and outcomes, developing a theory of change, and generating implementation feedback for continuous improvement.
Developing Alt Measures/ESSA
Strand: Implementing Effective Alternative Accountability Policies and Data
Presenters: Lisa DiGaudio, Sara Asmussen, Ed Peterman
Room: Tidelands
​Presentation Materials: Powerpoint
  • The implications for ESSA regulations are far-reaching, and without proper guidance from state and federal officials, alternative accountability measures may potentially hurt many schools that serve at-promise students across the country. The presenters of this session will discuss the work done at two New York City Transfer Charter Schools: John V. Lindsey Wildcat Charter School, and New Dawn Charter High School regarding alternative accountability measures, and the implications of the new ESSA regulations on New York City's at-promise students. Participants will have the opportunity share best practices around these issues. Session goals include (1) Ideas around developing accountability measures that make sense for schools (2) Troubleshoot issues in accountability for at-promise students that are off-track and (3) Identify weaknesses in the current ESSA plan that can be addressed with state education leaders.
9:30 A.M. – 9:45 A.M. ​
Coffee and Networking Break
BREAKOUT SESSIONS VI
​9:45 A.M. – 10:45 A.M.
Educators As Advocates for At Promise Students
Strand: Teaching Strategies and Learning Strategies for At-Promise Students
Presenters: Elisha Smith Arrilliga, Pamela Gibbs, Ernie Silva
Room: Coronado C
Presentation Materials:
  • Join Dr. Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Pam Gibbs, and Ernie Silva in a compelling session exploring how to work with policymakers to develop state laws and policies that support your students and programs. Elisha Smith Arrillaga serves as Co-Executive Director of the Education Trust–West, a research and advocacy organization focused on educational justice and the high achievement for all students. Dr. Smith Arrillaga leads the organization’s work around racial justice and has extensive expertise in leading initiatives using multiple strategies for impacting state policy – leveraging research, media, direct action, and policymaker engagement. Pam Gibbs is the Legislative Director for the Los Angeles County Office of Education, California’s largest educational agency providing a vast range of alternative education services. She has worked for the Legislative Counsel and legislators and has an inside view of how legislation gets developed. RAPSA Executive Director, Ernie Silva, has been an education advocate for two decades and works with education and equity groups on legislation to support at promise youth. This session promises an inside look at how you can impact policy development for your schools and students.
The A-Game
Strand:
Presenters: Jody Ernst, Jim Griffin
Room: Coronado D
Presentation Materials:
  • Momentum Strategy & Research and the National Charter School Institute (the A-TEAM) announce their newly awarded Federal CSP funded project, A-GAME (Advancing Great Authorizing and Modeling Excellence), which is focused on helping charter school authorizers implement evidence based methods of accountability for the alternative schools in their portfolio. Attendees will learn about the goals of the 3-year project and how schools (charter or non-charter alike), school districts, charter authorizers, and others can become involved and benefit from the project’s work.
Keeping Standards High for At-Promise Students in DC: The Story of One Authorizer and Two Schools
Strand: Teaching Students: Serving the Whole Student
Presenters: Shannon Hodge, Naomi Rubin DeVeaux, Colleen Paletta
Room: Tidelands
Presentation Materials: Powerpoint
  • All students can learn. Neither authorizers nor schools should lower standards for at-promise students. DC’s authorizer understands the issues facing these youth and continues to raise the bar for academic performance through their Alternative Accountability Framework without squelching new ideas or leaders. Moreover, two schools who have different populations and approaches have seen impressive results with their students. Through an interactive discussion, learn how authorizers and schools can keep standards high even when approaches vary.
10:45 A.M - 11:00 A.M.
Networking Break
11:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
Closing General Session:
The View from 3 State Departments of Education
Presenters: Cindy Kazanis, Erin Loften, Laurie Shannon, Jorge Ruiz de Velasco
  • This year’s closing general session will present a view of what’s really happening in State Departments of Education concerning Alternative Education. Join leaders from the California, Colorado and Washington state departments in an overview of how their states are addressing alternative school needs and what challenges remain. Presenters will talk about recent ESSA approvals, their alternative accountability initiatives, and what’s on the horizon as States increase expertise on alternative education. This promises to be an enlightening look at policy trends that will help guide school development and operations across the country. If you don’t know what your state is doing or if you want to impact how your state implements policy, this is the session for you! This general session will be moderated by Dr. Jorge Ruiz de Velasco – the Stanford researcher who has been instrumental in developing California’s new One Year Graduation Rate for alternative schools. He’ll be raising some of the hard issues that he’s heard from past AAPF attendees and will be seeking to include you in the dialogue. Panelists include Cindy Kazanis, Director of the Analysis, Measurement, and Accountability Reporting Division at the California Department of Education; Erin Loften, **** Colorado Department of Education; and Laurie Shannon, Program Supervisor for Reengagement, Graduation, and Truancy for the Office of the Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Don’t miss the AAPF General Session on Friday morning, November 16th!
AAPF Educational Policy Strands: 

the annual alternative accountability policy forum is aN Education policy conference from:
​Alternative Accountability Policy Forum
2605 Temple Heights Dr Suite F., 
Oceanside, CA 92056
(916) 712-9087