21st Century Learning

Ohio NEA NBCT Policy Summit

While I will be sharing Part 3 & 4 of my keynote, (see previous posts) I didn't want to let too much time slip by before I bragged a little on Ohio! This seems very appropriate considering their outstanding win in last night's game.

Check out the pics from the breakout sessions!

On Thursday of this past week, 600 NBCTs gathered at the Ohio NBCT Policy Summit  in Columbus. This unique event, hosted by an impressive coalition of state and national education organizations, brought NBCTs from Ohio together to generate specific public policy recommendations to promote the success of all students and eliminate the disparities in achievement among demographic groups. Policy makers need to hear what accomplished teachers say about the most vexing teaching and learning challenges confronting public schools. Ohio's NBCTs gave policy makers concrete, workable recommendations for state and local policies that will foster the conditions for high-quality teaching and learning for all students.

The day (agenda) included in-depth discussions and recommendations on educating high-needs students, closing all achievement gaps, and staffing high-needs schools. The NBCT Policy Summit was an opportunity for some of Ohio’s most accomplished teachers to make a difference for thousands of educators and the students and families they serve. It is hoped that through exploration of critical teaching and learning issues with peers from across the state, the participants will gained new information and will now build collegial networks beneficial to their practice and their school communities.

Breakout Topics
There were 10 breakout topics that were offered in 25 breakout sessions led by trained facilitators who were also NBCTs. This is where I come in. I had the privilege of helping these facilitators prepare for the task. These fantastic teachers truly rose to the occassion doing an incredible job of  guiding participants through passionate discussions that resulted in well constructed policy recommendations that were shared in the afternoon session with a panel of policy makers.

I led the virtual training of the facilitators in Elluminate prior to the event with Melissa Rasberry of the Center for Teaching Quality and Randy Flora of the Ohio Education Association, leading them through the process which they used in the breakout sessions.

Randy Flora discusses plans for Policy Summit follow-up with participant.

Follow-up
All of the discussion and recommendations captured at the Summit  will be considered in the compiling of a policy report that will be released in March of 2007 via the Ohio Education Association Web site.

This was the 5th NEA Summit I have helped to lead. Other states include: North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Washington State.

A copy of NC's policy report can be seen here. This will be a similar format to the report being developed for Ohio.

Other posts related to the Summits can be found here.

NEA NBCT Washington State Policy Summit

The recent NEA NBCT Washington State Policy Summit was simply incredible. It was evident in every way that this group strives for excellence.

More than 200 National Board Certified Teachers gathered in Seattle Oct. 21 to craft policy recommendations that would ensure students in high-needs schools have access to our most-accomplished teachers.

About 225 National Board teachers, plus about 75 representatives of supporting organizations, attended the one-day policy summit.

Washington's gathering was the fourth state summit of board-certified teachers I have helped put together.

"The summit was historic in that it put National Board Certified Teachers in the role of 'policymakers for the day,' noted Jim Meadows, WEA's National Board certification expert. "NBCTs provided many recommendations that, if implemented systematically, could help enhance student learning in high-needs schools."

My Role
Serving as a consultant for the Center for Teaching Quality and the NEA, my role with each of these state summits has been to virtually train (in Elluminate) the hand selected National Board certified teachers to be facilitators of breakout sessions that  use a  well defined process to  produce  well crafted policy recommendations that are then shared with policy makers in  an afternoon session.

The Facilitators
Washington's facilitators were outstanding. They took participants through each stage of the breakout process with such professionalism. The comments and ideas that were generated will certainly bring value added to educational reform initiatives around staffing and supporting high needs schools across the state.

If you would like to see other pictures from the summit please check out the flickr photo stream.

These are the facilitators for Washington State's Policy Summit

Bruce Becker
Christina Carlson
Rita Chaudhuri
Frank Dellino
Kristin Edlund
Carolyn Fragner
Karen Hatley
Sandra Hoffman
Kim McClung
Beth McGibbon
Dora Noble
Dennis O'Conner
Miki Paulson
Cindy Rockholt
Becky Schmuck
Nancy Shimeall
Diana Stray
Sara Van Donge
Sue White
Tom White
Lisa Wison
David Wright

The Agenda
The day begain with a welcome from Rita Chaudhuri, NBCT Tacoma
and the Convener Welcoming was given by–
Terry Bergeson, State Superintendent and Charles Hasse, WEA

I got to spend some time with Terry  Bergeson and was so impressed. The stories that were told about her life as a teacher leader and the inroads she has made on behalf of children made her standout as a role model in my mind.

The Keynote Address was given by Eric Liu, Washington Learns/Guiding Lights Network/State Board of Education
and was absolutely awesome. I grabbed two clips for you and uploaded to YouTube. I will embed them here... they were taken with my digital camera so video isnt that great, but audio is perfect.

 

Interactive Session Highlights

One of the highlights of the day was an interactive polling session led by:

Barnett Berry, Center for Teaching Quality
Ana Elfers, University of Washington
Tom Charouhas, NBCT
Anne Walker, NBCT

Facilitated Process
It has been very satisfying watching breakout process work in four states now as a strategy for bringing NBCTs together and in under two hours resulting in several well crafted policy recommendations.

Break Out Topics

Leading from the Classroom: Fostering Teacher Leadership in High-Needs Schools:

Incentives for Teaching: Monetary and Non-Financial Rewards for Teaching in High-Needs Schools:

Growing Our Own: Developing National Board Certified Teachers in High-Needs Schools:

Recruiting and Supporting Teachers of Color into National Board Certification and into High-Needs Schools:

Diversifying the Teaching Force: Attracting, Recruiting and Supporting Future Generations of Diverse Teachers:

Building Collaborative Cultures: Opportunities to Think, Plan and Learn:

Cultural Competence: The Knowledge, Skills and Support Needed to Effectively Teach Students in High-Needs Schools:

Professional Development: Career-long Opportunities for Teaching, Learning and Growth in High-Needs Schools:

Mentoring and Induction: Comprehensive Support Systems for New Teachers in High-Needs Schools:

Conditions and Strategies for Closing the Achievement Gaps: Roles for NBCTs

Lunch

During lunch keyleaders shared. A National Perspectives from National Partners

Kevin Teeley, NBPTS Board Member & WEA Executive Board Member

Joseph Aguerrebere, President, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

Segun Eubanks, National Education Association

Lunch and all the food and snacks were outstanding! Washington really knows how to throw a summit! Dessert was a special treat!

 

Presentation of NBCT Summit Recommendations

The recommendations that were crafted through the breakout sessions were presented by the following NBCTs.

Richelle Ward, NBCT
Lori Fujimoto, NBCT
Debra Blodgett-Goins, NBCT

 Legislative Panel Policy Conversation

Representative Glenn Anderson, House Education Committee Member
Ann Daley, Executive Director, Washington Learns
Roger Erskine, Professional Educator Standards Board
Senator Rosemary McAuliffe, Senate Early Learning, K-12, and Higher Education Chair
Representative Dave Quall, House Education Chair

The conversation was lively between NBCTs and the policy makers. Challenges were given and accepted. The recommendations that were shared will be shared soon on the WEA Web page.

The next summit is in Ohio. See you there!

 

 

Keynote: Former U.S. Secretary of Education and South Carolina Governor Richard W. Riley

As I said in the last post  I just got back from the SC NBCT Policy Summit where Richard W. Riley gave the keynote. I was so impressed. He began his keynote by praising National Board as being a good idea and how the teachers who go to great lengths to attain National Board are the gold standard of education.

He feels that NB certification will allow us to develop a generation of teacher leaders. Riley said by having America's best teachers at the policy table keeps policy makers from accepting quick fixes that won't work. He shared how Terry Dozier, SC ToY,  who went on to be a National ToY, and teacher in residence under Riley when he was the US Secretary of Education, kept him from making wrong choices. He said she always kept them honest and focused on what was important. When researchers would come in and share strategies he said he would look over at Terry and she would say, "Mr Secretary, it sounds good, but it won't work." He told us that her wisdom on such issues was priceless and that he always took her advice and used it.

He went on to suggest how we need to develop many more incentives to keep our best teachers in schools. He suggested that NB certification is one way to do that. He called for a cultural and organizational vision change at a district level. That we needed to change the learning environment that surrounds teachers if we want more effective classrooms. He said this only happens when we move from a top down form of leadership and adopt collaborative leadership models. And we need to be encouraging teachers to step forward and lead for change.

He spoke out in favor of pay-for-performance for teachers if it was structured so that it was fair and based on multiple measures, not just standardized tests. Riley feels if adopted pay-for-performance will make teaching more professional. He said that we need to move forward, but that will only happen if we are willing to break new ground and change the current paradigm on teaching. According to Riley, this includes looking closely at teacher quality, smaller schools, smaller classrooms, greater community involvement, providing better after school activities and creating better pathways to college. Making sure the arts, music, foreign language and PE are part of the school day. Standards should be about a love of learning. Teachers need to be reaching standards in creative ways... making sure students have a love for learning.

Aims for Education- Alfred North Whitehead said - The rhythms of education occur in three stages: Romance, Precision, and Generalization. Romance makes precision palatable. Without romance precision dulls the mind and causes the student to concentrate on inert dead knowledge. In recent years precision has become king in education and we have moved the love of learning (romance) to the side.

Then Richard Riley said something I felt worthy of a quote.

If our children love to learn, they will learn to live and in doing so will become engaged, active citizens. Yes, all graduates need to learn 21st century skills in order to prosper and thrive in this knowledge based economy. But we also need to give them the capacity to work in teams, the ability to communicate is so important, a sense of wonder about the world, and a commitment to serve others.

He went on to discuss how with the innovation of the Internet and the increasing demand that all children learn 21st century skills to respond the our increasingly "flat work" that we hear so much about, things will have to change. Riley reminded us that when you think about change just over the last few years it has moved so very quickly. Yet with all the change... the teaching profession has remained fixed and has become stuck in the 20th century. The rest of the world is putting a premium on team work and becoming more collaborative, yet teachers remain locked in the outdated paradigm of the "stand alone" teacher. We send our most inexperienced teachers into the toughest classrooms and close the door. The message is clear-- you are on your own. No wonder we loose so many teachers. We have to move to a paradigm that recognizes that more is better than one. Even the best educator becomes better when collaborating. Preach it Riley!

He continued to describe how teachers are leaving right at the time when they should be getting into the top of their game. Riely posed the following...How do we change the culture of the teaching profession? How do we create a new definition of 21st century teaching? He suggests we need to create a new foundation of education and make each child the responsibility of the entire learning team.

He then asked, "Will you answer the call to action? " Schools need strong learning teams, more rewarding professional career paths for retaining our best teachers, better teacher preparation programs, and teaching preparation must become more embedded in a collaborative school culture. Riley feels we need to prepare the next generation of teachers to work collaboratively and overcome the isolation that so many new teachers feel.

He closed with this...In these challenging times in our nation we all have a patriotic duty to perform. There are many types of patriotism. He gave credit to those who are protecting our country and said regardless of what we think about the war - we all stand passionately behind the troops.  He then suggested that teachers have their own role to play as patriots in making this nation stronger. Every time a teacher captures the imagination of a child through art, music or language this nation gets a little more hopeful. Every time teachers keep a young person from dropping out of school our nation becomes more secure. Every time we get a child to attend college we become stronger. And every time we get a college student to become a math or science teacher-- our nation moves one step forward into a vibrant future. Teachers are giving their all to help the children of our nation prepare for a world that is rapidly changing and becoming increasingly more complicated. But if we are to be successful we will have to make principled changes in the way we define school and education overall.

I say-- "You Rock" Richard Riley! Who says the old guard doesnt get it? Richard W. Riley is one patriot who indeed does get it. I hope we all are willing to heed his advice.

SC NBCT Policy Summit

A Conversation Among South Carolina’s National Board Certified Teachers

Supporting and staffing high-needs schools is a critical issue for the state of South Carolina. I just got back from Columbia, South Carolina, the site of the SC Summit where the purpose was to use the voices of some of SC's most accomplished teachers to make practical, specific recommendations to the individuals who can impact policy at the local and state level.

Working as a consultant for the CTQ, my role was to equip 20 National Board Certified teachers (NBCT) to facilitate 10 break out sessions (9 of them repeat sessions done twice for two different groups) around various content topics that relate to supporting some of SC's most needy students using a process I designed for that purpose.

Dr. Ed Epps, one of the NBCT facilitators with which I had the privilege of working, is pictured below during one of his sessions.

Hodges Consulting Group, one the sponsors of the Summit, quoted Ed Epps in their press release about the event.
"I'm looking forward to coming together with my fellow NBCTs to explore fresh solutions for South Carolina's schools," said NBCT Dr. Ed Epps, a veteran English language arts and creative writing teacher at Spartanburg High School in Spartanburg, S.C. "All children can learn, but not all can learn in the same way. The challenge we, as educators have—and what this Summit affords the opportunity for—is finding effective and efficient ways for supporting our students, our schools and therefore, our communities."

South Carolina is the third state to hold a NEA NBCT Summit to date; North Carolina and Oklahoma had sessions earlier in the year. And the NEA's work on the summits has just begun. Plans are underway to convene National Board Certified Teachers in three more states. If you would like to read the recommendations by NBCTs that came out of the NC Summit you can do so here. Some of these recommendations have already been enacted as policy.

The training for the NBCT facilitators began in Elluminate where we spent two 2-hour sessions talking about facilitation skills and reviewing the detailed process that would enable the participants to craft policy recommendations for  their discussions. The agenda for each breakout session was intense and included a round robin discussion on barriers, an affinity diagram that developed proactive and innovative solutions, weighted ranking of the categories in which the solutions fell, and then group collaboration to craft the policy statements around the top five categories dealing with supporting high-needs schools in the content area being discussed.

South Carolina's Summit NBCT discussion facilitators were an incredible group and did an outstanding job.

Bunny Bechamn, Kathy Crain, Cindy Pride, Andrea Derrick, Christine Dobson, Linda Dowling, Ed Epps, Louisa Jane Fleming, Carolyn Gaillard, Deborah Gatt, Vicky Gibson, Pamela Harris, Susan Keaton, Karen Leveaque, Bill McCormick, Deidre Murph, Buffy Murphy (SC's TOY and TLN's newest member), Ann Nichols, Leshonda Reed, and Yvette Robinson.

After the 40-some policy recomendations had been polished into the top 10, the NBCTs convened with SC policy makers to discuss them. The process doesn't end here— there are a number of important follow-up activities planned to build on the momentum of the SC NBCT Policy Summit, including policy papers, a discussion listserv, and plans for action at a district and local level.

While there were wonderful presenters throughout the Summit, including Buffy Murphy, SC's newest ToY; The Honorable Robert W. Harrell Jr., Speaker of the South Carolina House of        Representatives; and Inez M. Tenenbaum, South Carolina State Superintendent of Education; the highlight for me was hearing former U.S. Secretary of Education and South Carolina Governor Richard W. Riley speak. I knew of him from my friend and colleague Terry Dozier, director of the Center for Teacher Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth U., who served as the teacher in residence in his USED administration. His powerful speech blew me away! So much so, I've decided to do a separate post on his message.

All in all, the SC Summit was an incredible experience that will help bring about a quality education for every child in every classroom, in every school in South Carolina.

If you would like to see other pictures of the event please check out  Flickr.

 

Barnett Berry (CTQ), Karen Garr (NBPTS), Richard Riley, and Susan Carmon (NEA)

OK NBCT Summit

What will it take to get NBCTs in high needs schools? When we think about high needs/ hard to staff schools what are the barriers to utilizing the skills, knowledge and abilities of NBCTs? What actions can be put in place? What can individual NBCTs do? How do these actions translate into policy at the state and local level?

These were just a few of the questions that NBCTs, policy makers, principals, superintendents and other stakeholders grappled with at the Oklahoma NBCT Summit this last week.

My role? To train the NBCTs who facilitated the groups crafting the recommendations and develop the process that would extract these recommendations from groups 40+ strong. The 22 NBCTs were trained virtually on Elluminate and then in person the night before the summit.

The Governor was extremely supportive in these recommendations becoming action. View short clip here. There were over 500 NBCTs and interested stakeholders in attendance. There were ten facilitated groups who had the utlimate goal of crafting policy recommendations in the morning that would be shared with the legislative panel that afternoon. The recommendations were around 10 key topics related to staffing and supporting high needs schools. The topics are as follows:

* Collaborative Cultures * Cultural Competence * “Growing Your Own” * Incentives for Teaching * Leading from the Classroom

* Leading Teacher Leaders * Mentoring and Induction * Professional Development * Student Learning * Teacher Preparation

Each group followed a set process to generate 10 recommendations- out of which one from each group was shared in the afternoon session. The other recommendations, as well as other issues, suggestions, and concerns recorded during the summit will be compiled into a policy paper by the Center for Teaching Quality. It will be interest

ing to see the voice of accomplished teachers elevated as this NEA initiative moves across the nation. NC was the first Summit - the Center for Teaching Quality summarized the ideas generated at the summit in a report released in February 2006 entitled  Every Child Deserves Our Best  (PDF, 1 MB, 28 pgs). This document, which is being distributed to policy makers all over North Carolina, offers very concrete recommendations on ways to support excellent teaching in the state's most challenged schools.

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