At the Council on Foundation's Annual Conference, GFE co-designed a track of sessions focusing on a broad range of topics across the education pipeline.

GFE members can attend the conference at the discounted COF member rate. Register using discount code 2553.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Globalization and the Challenge for Education Improvement, 1:30-3:30 pm

Today, the United States is the only industrialized nation whose next generation is on pace to be more poorly educated than the last. The stakes for education improvement have been raised significantly in this era of globalization and the rapid development of other nations. Once the envy of the world, improvements in the education system of the United States have not kept pace with improvements in other countries. Broad-based acceleration of education improvement that benefits all children requires a comprehensive and coherent set of strategies for district reform, teacher quality, and higher standards.

Presenters: Andreas Schleicher, Indicators and Analysis Division (Directorate for Education), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Session Designers: Lydia Logan, vice president and executive director, Chamber of Commerce Institute for Competitiveness; Dan Leeds, board chair, Alliance for Excellent Education; Chris Shearer, director of grantmaking, National Geographic Education Foundation

Federal Policy and Advocacy: Fixing No Child Left Behind and What Foundations Can Do About It, 4:30-6 pm

Fixing No Child Left Behind (a.k.a. the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) is moving to the front burner this year. Possible changes in this federal policy will impact the resources, structure, and governance of public schools for decades. Join philanthropic leaders in a roundtable discussion about key proposals for changing education policy to reflect the values of accountability, community, choice, equity, and innovation to improve student outcomes across the spectrum from early education to college readiness. Learn appropriate and effective actions for foundations to help shape and build the public will to reform the future of America’s public education system.

Moderator: Former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise, president and CEO, Alliance for Excellent Education

Presenters: Barbara Chow, education program director, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; John Jackson, president, The Schott Foundation for Public Education; Stefanie Sanford, deputy director US program, policy, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Ann Segal, director for Disadvantaged Children and Families, Wellspring Advisors, LLC

Session Designers: Dan Leeds, board chair, Alliance for Excellent Education; Jason Franklin, board of directors, North Star Fund

Monday, April 26, 2010

Getting Out of the Catch-Up Business: PreK-3rd as the First Indispensable Step, 10:30-noon

By third grade, children must have the knowledge, skills, and disposition to succeed in school. By then, children must develop the skills to read, to learn, to understand and use mathematical concepts, and to be engaged in a learning community of peers and adults. Doing so requires that students begin early with quality pre-kindergarten and continue with instruction that builds on what children have learned and what they will be expected to learn. This approach (known increasingly as Pre-K-3rd) is being tried across the country. These years are the first, indispensable link in a Pre-K-16 education system that prepares all students for college.

Moderator: Ralph Smith, executive vice president, The Annie E. Casey Foundation

Presenters: Jerry Weast, superintendent, Montgomery County, Maryland, public schools; Timothy Knowles, John Dewey director, Urban Education Institute, University of Chicago; Ruby Takanishi, president and CEO, Foundation for Child Development

Session Designer: Fasaha M. Traylor, senior program officer, Foundation for Child Development

It is Rocket Science: The Imperative of STEM, 3:00-4:30 pm

Not only does the level of education attainment need to increase, but the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics need to attract a significantly greater number of students to drive our future economic success. What is really working and what is missing. Building a more expansive definition of what it means to be a well-educated person in the 21st Century.

Presenters: Bill Kurtz, dean, Denver School of Science and Technology; Michael Levine, executive director, Sesame Workshop; Patti Curtis, managing director, Washington, D.C., office, Museum of Science (Boston)/National Center for Technological Literacy Inc.

Session Designers: Deborah McGriff, partner, New Schools Venture Fund;
Lydia Logan, vice president and executive director, Chamber of Commerce Institute for Competitiveness

Seeking Excellence at Scale: Strategies for Urban School Reform, 4:30-6 pm

Educators have proven adept at creating individual high performance schools, and even networks of high performing schools. What remains elusive is creating a system of excellent schools. What does an excellent district look like? How does it function to support improvements in instruction? This panel will examine the efforts of the Denver Public Schools, as well as other systemic initiatives.

Presenters: Tom Boesberg, superintendent, Denver Public Schools; Charles Payne, the Frank P. Hixon Professor in the School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago; John Deasy, deputy director, education, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Cathy Lund, senior program officer, Walton Family Foundation; Phil Gonring, senior program officer, Rose Community Foundation

Session Designers: Phil Gonring, senior program officer, Rose Community Foundation; Chris Tebben, executive director, Grantmakers for Education

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Building Systems for College Access and Success: Using Data as a Lever for Systemic Reform, 10–11:30 am

In an era of globalization and advanced technology, a basic education requires attainment beyond high school. This elevated standard challenges our existing systems to prepare students to be ready for post-secondary education, and our institutions of higher education to admit more students and ensure that those students persevere through completion.

Presenters: Margaret Long, research associate, OMG Center for Collaborative Learning; Jeanna Keller, program officer, Lumina Foundation for Education; Dan Challener, president, Public Education Foundation

Session Designers: Chris Tebben, executive director, Grantmakers for Education

Advanced Practice Institute: Successful Students. Productive Citizens. Thriving Cities, 1:45-3:30 pm

Successful schools and thriving communities go hand in hand. This session examines proven models of community engagement and community building to create and sustain high performing schools.

Presenters: Jeff  Edmonson, executive director, STRIVE, KnowledgeWorks Foundation; Geoff Green, Fund for Santa Barbara; Julie Kohler, program manager, Communities for Public Education Reform

Session Designers: Jason Franklin, board of directors, North Star Fund; Jillian Darwish, executive director, Institute for Creative Collaboration, KnowledgeWorks Foundation

Special events 

Dinner with Jacqueline Jones: GFE, The Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Foundation for Child Development invite you to join us for a no-host dinner with Dr. Jones, senior advisor for early learning in the US Department of Education, on Monday, April 26 from 6:15-8 pm. The discussion will focus on how federal education initiatives can help districts and states implement aligned and coordinated PreK-3rd programs.

Space at this event is limited, so please RSVP to mariah@edfunders.org if you wish to attend.

All for One Reception: Co-hosted with our colleagues in twenty-five fellow affinity groups on Monday, April 26 from 7 -11 pm.

Waiting for Superman Screening: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and GFE invite you to a screening of Waiting for Superman,  Davis Guggenheim's new documentary on public education. GFE screened the trailer of the documentary at the 2009 conference. Screening is on Tuesday, April 27, time not yet confirmed.

Discounted Conference Registration

GFE members can attend the conference at the discounted COF member rate. Register using Discount Code 2553.