SESSIONS & SPEAKERS

Systems change is complex. Who are the partners? What are the concrete ways they can work together to improve access to, and retention in college? Different stakeholders in the system including program providers, school district and higher education personnel, advocates and policy makers can use data in practical ways to create a far more seamless college access and success system. Join us as we share and discuss lessons from prior evaluations of access and success initiatives on how data can be used by different system players to define, improve, and connect their work.

A new and innovative evaluation framework for out-of-school science offers important tools for the OST field. Join us to discuss key OST science observation and survey tools and to examine the new and instrumental "Framework for Evaluating Impacts of Informal Science Education Projects." We'll also highlight a new website that contains a suite of tools for assessing the quality and impact of out-of-school science programs based on a review of the OST and informal science fields.

Successfully transitioning from an exciting pilot program into a fully-scalable transformational initiative is difficult to achieve. Through this highly interactive session, participants will be guided though small group discussions and will examine the critical considerations of designing funding initiatives where large-scale impact is the goal. Reflecting on their own organization’s past, present and future initiatives, participants will consider their efforts in light of these critical considerations. Participants will also learn how these factors have enabled a few pilot schools to become the basis of a statewide initiative in Indiana to invest significantly in a large-scale adoption of the New Technology High School model.

In the new American political context there are unique opportunities to influence state and national policies and to mobilize education-organizing groups. Public policy, research and education organizing are strategies that can work in tandem to propel school reform forward. How can we take “what works” at the individual school level and translate it district-wide and state-wide? Join us to consider lessons learned from the PICO organizing network regarding the challenges of innovation and scale, and as we consider the DOE’s plans for partnering with community and faith-based organizations. Participants will also consider these strategies and opportunities within the context of their districts and schools.

As a growing number of K-12 schools add preschool classrooms and as the Obama Administration begins to recognize early education as the starting point for educational success, it is critical to re-think the “K”-12 framework. What can early education learn from the K-12 model and what early education practices can K-12 embed into its system? This session will identify emerging lessons from Illinois in integrating early learning into principal preparation. Participants will also envision public policies and practices that would create a more seamless learning continuum.

Rural high-needs districts face many of the same challenges of urban - and some suburban - high-needs school systems. In such districts community-wide economic stress, poverty, poor nutrition and health, drug use and other factors dramatically inhibit student achievement. In addition, rural high-needs district face unique challenges related to teacher recruitment, financial stability and both district and school board governance. Join us as we consider how education grantmakers can assist rural high-needs districts in addressing their unique challenges by considering education improvement in the context of the health of the overall community.

Chicago’s community schools model is integral to President Obama’s and Secretary Duncan’s vision of schools as centers of community. Chicago foundations partnered with Secretary Duncan when he was C.E.O. of the Chicago Public Schools to make community schooling a key focus of his educational improvement strategy and, ultimately, to enable more than 150 of the District’s 600 plus schools to become community schools. Join a non-profit leader, a CPS official and policy advocate as they discuss comprehensive efforts to equip non-profits and schools to partner effectively, institutionalize the community schools strategy at the District level and to secure new sources of public funding to sustain and expand community schools in Illinois.

After more than fifty years of experimentating with integrated schools, African-American males continue to academically underachieve relative to their same race and same sex peers. Across the nation Black male students are over-represented in categories reflecting poor academic achievement and are under-represented in those indicating academic success. Join us as we discuss the successes and challenges of a program in New York City in which leading legal and financial services firms have joined hands with education grantmakers to pilot the Winning Strategies Initiative - an effort to improve Black male representation in the pipeline to higher education.

The economic and social outcomes gained from a college education yields a range of benefits in the lives of individuals, communities and society at large. Yet, a debate continues regarding higher education in the 21st century in which students should be awarded access. Some argue that the needs of undocumented students are not a priority of educators and educational institutions, especially in challenging economic times. Others contend that access to in-state tuition -- regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, language, culture, economic or immigration status -- is a long-term economic strategy that bolsters a state’s economies and allows the United States to become a truly competitive player in the global market. This session will share the strategies, lessons and challenges of two statewide coalitions that bring together unlikely partners to advance educational access for all qualified high school graduates.

The growth of state-wide Pre-Kindergarten education efforts poses significant challenges to America's K-12 education system. Going forward, expectations for education will begin with Pre-K for three and four year-olds and will extend through college. Obvious challenges include standard-setting; educator preparation and credentialing; data systems that track student progress from Pre-K through postsecondary; and accountability. Chief among these challenges are how to develop national standards that reflect the fact that Pre-K – not Kindergarten – will be the beginning of our education system, and how we'll then integrate Pre-K into appropriately-designed state and local data collection systems.

With our nation's economy weakened, the need for skilled, educated workers is more important than ever. Traditionally overlooked post-secondary education for low-income, low-skilled adults - mostly at the community college level - may be the most effective way to refuel our nation's economy and help such workers advance to higher-paying jobs. Join us to explore how four foundation's (Gates, Joyce, Lumina and Mott) investments are changing the way adults access, finance, and successfully acquire post-secondary credentials and degrees.

As schools and communities across America re-imagine where, when, and how students learn, innovative uses of time and learning are emerging. Learn how three different initiatives - Massachusetts' Expanded Learning Time initiative, New York City's Expanded Time Pilot and Elev8 New Mexico - are integrating summer, afterschool, and expanded learning time to create a different school day and year that better prepares students for success. Participants will also gain a deeper understanding of the approaches required to launch significant public policy efforts while exploring the potential role education grantmakers can play in supporting expanded learning opportunities.

How will urban school districts radically improve the quality of instruction and expectations for learning in order to raise the bar on students’ performance to an internationally competitive level? What capacity do educators need to address the learning needs of 21st century students? Using Chicago’s multi-year effort to improve instruction in all core curriculum areas, this discussion will explore: 1) what it takes to strengthen capacity in two areas: math/science and social sciences; 2) what intellectual resources are required; and 3) what challenges emerge for partnering universities and other intermediaries, districts, and foundations.

Education is at the center of both President Obama’s economic recovery plan and the Administration’s public policy agenda. In light of Secretary Duncan's framing of the stimulus funding as an opportunity for innovation and reform - and not simply as a plug for declining state revenues - many education funders see the next few years as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform the American education system. Join us as we examine how the stimulus is helping drive educational change and equity, how state officials and the public view the federal role in education, and how education grantmakers can help support and institutionalize innovative education reforms.

Education grantmakers are, more frequently, working to build fields of practice through their grantmaking. In this work assessing progress and deciding on next steps to improve a field is an inherent challenge. Using California’s multiple pathways field as an example, the Bridgespan Group created a 5-part framework to objectively assess the major elements of a strong field. This session will introduce the framework, apply it to several fields within education and provide attendees with a concrete tool to use in their own grantmaking efforts.

Closing the College Gap: Giving Underserved Students the Chance to be a Part of America’s Grand Plan explores partnerships that help the growing number of low-income, minority and first-generation college students earn degrees and join the educated workforce America needs to compete in the 21st century. Today, only about 34% of underserved students graduate from college - and money isn’t the only barrier. This session explores the role that private and federal funding plays in stimulating partnerships that promote college success initiatives – and serve to answer the key questions that matter in constructing strategies so that all students can succeed in college.

Fifty years after Brown, equal education is far from a reality for many students, particularly students of color. As education reform moves to the forefront of public debate there is a unique moment to make this “opportunity to learn” a galvanizing force for diverse efforts to instill this as a basic right. Join us as we focus on leveraging collaborative grantmaking strategies to create public will and public policy change at both the state and federal levels that will hold the stewards of our America's resources accountable for providing the resources our children need to succeed.

As our nation faces a duanting number of young people dropping out of school, entering gangs and engaging with drugs, one initiative in Baltimore City is combatting this trend by helping older youth actualize their talents and skills. Learn about Baltimore’s innovative out-of-school time initiative where non-profit organizations hire young people to teach/ train or share knowledge with other young people about algebra, debate, videography, and more, while also learning skills like project and non-profit management, budgeting, effective communication and leadership.

With more than 5,000 schools predicted to be in restructuring in the 2009-2010 school year there is increasing interest in strategies that turn around failing schools. Despite this interest, there have been few examples of bold approaches that work in transforming schools. In this interactive session, participants will have the opportunity to learn and ask questions about the successful work of three nonprofits leading the transformation of schools in some of America's most challenging districts. Successful turnaround school operators will present a case study of their work so far, providing an in-depth look into the successes, challenges, and lessons learned associated with turning around entire urban schools.

President Obama has made how America's teachers are paid a national conversation. Historically a politically-sensitive conversation, join us as we consider the meaning of various models of teacher compensation including pay for performance/ merit pay/ and alternative compensation that have been implemented in several districts in recent years. Panelists will provide an overview of the issues and challenges that have surfaced through these implementations and will examine the lessons learned, the roles foundations have played and opportunities going forward including existing federal support.

Just three years after it began, Achieving the Dream — a nationwide initiative supported by many funders — far surpassed its partners’ goals to begin improving the success rates of minority and low-income students in community colleges. But it also struggled with critical questions about next steps. Part of Grantmakers for Education’s unique-to-field case study series on effective grantmaking, this seminar will use the Achieving the Dream initiative to help grantmakers of all sizes reflect on the tough work of managing social-change initiatives, ways of involving and getting buy-in from partners with different missions and agendas, and how national and local funders work together. This highly interactive seminar is led by an expert case study instructor. Space is limited to ensure active discussion, and participants will be expected to read a case study in advance. Pre-registration required and must be done via the conference registration form.

Through this highly interactive session, participants will utilize strategies of a Leadership Practice Community. Participants will be invited to address their own challenges as grantmakers and to experience how to leverage the collective wisdom of session attendees. Thesession's latter portion will show participants how their experience demonstrates the work of the Hawaii Change Leadership Project to transform Hawaii’s public schools to focus on 21st Century Leading and Learning.

In partnership with education grantmakers and non-profit organizations, many of America's communitites are seeking strategies to expand access to out-of-school (OST) time programs. At the same time grantmakers are struggling with how to design/ support powerful OST approaches that are also scalable. What does scaling up mean for OST programs and how can we most effectively use philanthropic dollars to promote scale? To address these questions presenters and participants will discuss the guiding principles used to develop OST infrastructures, the potential benefits of shifting from initiative-based to field-building grantmaking, and the changes in outcomes that result from going to scale.

The core processes and basic curricular contents of public schooling have remained virtually unchanged for decades despite the fact that we know so much more about how children both acquire knowledge and, increasingly, build social networks through ground-breaking technologies. While the world has changed dramatically, America's schools have not. And yet during this period of non-change the American public has consistently spent more per pupil each year with essentially flat results. Join us to discuss and discover how hybrid learning environments can reboot learning and revolutionize education in America.

Are education grantmakers talking about education and reform efforts in ways that actually resonate? To affect large-scale change, grantmakers must develop a common understanding around how to talk about their work. Groundbreaking, evidence-based research reveals many Americans think about education in ways that are not consistent with much of the current messaging by education reformers and/or grantmakers. In an interactive format, participants will gain insight into how people think about education, and will begin to learn how to reframe their own work in ways that will maximize the impact of their grant making. Participants are encouraged to bring one document (press release, RFP, etc.) that illustrates its current messaging strategy.

Foundations often hope that disparate efforts will—without much intention—somehow align to transform the education system. We have learned from other places and sectors that system-level transformation requires common platforms that, by defining a few core standards and protocols, unleash innovation. Shared content, IT, network and financial architectures allow many users to shape and extend innovation. Participants in this panel will identify the most critical platform development efforts foundations could support and immediate opportunities for doing so in closer coordination with one another and with the U.S. Department of Education.

Public and private sector leaders have been forced to make tough decisions about early education amid deep budget cuts at all levels. Where are those cuts actually taking a toll on vulnerable families? How can grantmakers adjust their philanthropy to protect educational outcomes and maintain momentum for long-term system reform of early childhood systems? National and state leaders will share their stories, explain the rationales behind the hard choices they’ve had to make, and help education grantmakers identify strategies to assist during the current crisis.

If you think trying to influence policy in one state or community is daunting, come to this session to consider the challenges and the opportunities foundations face in supporting multi-state policy work. The Nellie Mae Education Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are supporting such an effort in New England. In this interactive session, participants will consider: 1) how the foundations-state efforts developed; 2) decision points presented by a changing policy context; and 3) how funders and states constantly and appropriately reassess such an investment.

The $2.5 billion grant program in President Obama’s budget aimed at improving college-completion rates reflects a shift in national attention from postsecondary access to postsecondary outcomes. In light of this shift, grantmakers have an opportunity to consider their role in promoting higher education outcomes. Recent experience suggests successful programs often leverage the comparative advantages of multiple institutions to promote college success for underserved students. This session will explore innovative partnerships between universities, community colleges, and high schools, and discuss grantmakers' roles in forging such partnerships as a strategy for improving postsecondary outcomes.

Since the mid-1990s, constituency building and advocacy for better public education have grown steadily in New York City, as organizations dedicated to that work have strengthened their internal capacity and increased their reach, visibility and sophistication. A new GFE case study explores how that growth has been fueled by the Donors’ Education Collaborative of New York, which pools its members’ financial resources and expertise to advance a complex set of shared grantmaking goals. The case study illustrates the importance—and challenges—of the sixth of Grantmakers for Education’s eight Principles for Effective Education Grantmaking: leverage, influence and collaboration. Led by an expert case study instructor, this session will probe fundamental questions about how funder collaboration works in practice. Pre-registration required and must be done via the conference registration form.