About the Symposium
In this unique three-day virtual event, school and district leaders are invited to join Education Week to discuss the top issues and challenges confronting leaders today. We’ll tap into the deep reporting knowledge of Education Week’s editorial staff and research team; convene experts, practitioners, and researchers; and celebrate the 2022 Leaders To Learn From honorees.
Through a variety of session formats, guests, and topics, each day will offer attendees the opportunity to dive into the ever-changing landscape which school and district leaders are charged with navigating. Attendees will leave with actionable takeaways that can be adopted and adapted to schools and districts everywhere.
Gain insight from leaders, innovators, and influencers to:
- Rebound faster from the disruptions of the 2021-22 school year
- Learn proven tactics to help guide your strategy for the 2022-23 school year
- Discover the latest findings and best practices delivered to you by Education Week’s K-12 journalists, experts, and Research Center
- Find inspiration and community
Symposium Sponsors
Agenda
May 9
Teaching & Learning
The 2021-22 school year wasn’t a smooth onramp to more-typical teaching and learning as we’d hoped or anticipated. But it did bring a clear and urgent picture of the state of student learning and the teaching profession. Just as multiple data sources show the large-scale need to make up for lost learning time and academic setbacks, the nation’s teacher corps is in a state of volatility that will make the imperative of catching students up especially challenging. During this day, we will tackle issues that can help school and district leaders brainstorm solutions and set priorities for the 2022-23 school year and beyond, including:
• Millions of students need ongoing academic supports to make up the ground they lost in the pandemic’s disruptions of learning. What are the best sources for understanding what the scale of student learning recovery is in our schools and districts?
• What are the best practices, supported by evidence, that leaders should prioritize and use to craft a broader strategy for learning recovery?
• What does accelerated learning really mean and how can systems and schools support teacher efforts to do it effectively? For districts already trying specific strategies, what are the challenges they are encountering?
• What strategies can school and district leaders use to improve teacher and staff morale and stave off the possibility of a talent drain at this critical time?
1:00pm ET
Welcome & Opening Remarks
Beth Frerking is Education Week’s editor-in-chief.
1:10pm ET
Flash Briefing: How Teachers Spend Their Time
How many hours do teachers work each week? How do they spend their time? How do they think they should be spending their time? This flash briefing will address these questions by drawing upon the results of first annual Merrimack College Teacher Survey, commissioned by Merrimack College and conducted by the non-profit, non-partisan EdWeek Research Center in January and February of 2022.
Holly Kurtz, PhD
Director,
EdWeek Research Center
1:30pm ET
Leadership Interview: Out-of-the-Box Ideas for Supporting Literacy and STEM Learning
As the COVID-19 pandemic raged in 2021, Susan Gilley hit the road with a modern-day bookmobile that coupled hands-on science experiments, reading materials, computer devices, and classroom space for students who couldn’t come to school or had broadband access problems. Gilley, the executive director of federal programs and instructional technology for Arkansas’ Harrison school district, will talk in this session about how district leaders can use what they have to create innovative, rich STEM and reading experiences for students.
Sarah D. Sparks covers the teaching profession and pedagogy for Education Week.
Susan Gilley
Executive Director of Federal Programs and Instructional Technology,
Harrison Public Schools, Harrison, Ark.
Susan Gilley is the executive director of federal programs in the Harrison, Ark., school district, where she’s worked since 2011. Gilley started her education career as a business teacher more than 25 years ago. She’s also worked as a technology coordinator in St. Joe Public Schools and Bergman Public Schools in Arkansas. She’s one of EdWeek’s 2022 Leaders To Learn From.
1:50pm ET
Panel Discussion: Acceleration and Other Best Practices for Learning Recovery
The academic effects of the pandemic are stark. Data show that three years of disrupted learning have slowed student progress across subjects and demographic groups. Over the next few years, schools are faced with the challenge of catching kids up: Identifying and implementing the strategies that will have the most impact, and figuring out how best to make use of the federal and state funding available for academic recovery. This panel will explore the research base behind different approaches and take a deep dive into how one district and one state department of education are tackling the task ahead.
Sarah Schwartz
Staff Writer,
Education Week
Kelly Kane
Executive Director of Elementary and Early Childhood Education,
Tulsa Public Schools, Okla.
Matthew A. Kraft
Associate Professor of Education and Economics,
Annenberg Institute at Brown University
Gwen Perea Warniment
Deputy Secretary for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment,
New Mexico Public Education Department
2:45pm ET
Leadership Interview: What ‘Equity’ Looks Like on the Ground
Student disengagement and absenteeism rose during the pandemic. Leaders in Connecticut’s Hartford School District mounted an all-hands-on-deck effort to find those students and provide academic and enrichment support, through a Saturday Academy, to get them back on track. In just one semester, the number of “missing” students fell to 50 from 2,600. In this conversation, Leslie Torres-Rodriguez and Madeline Negrón will share their strategies for keeping students and families engaged and on track amid the ups and downs of the pandemic years—and beyond.
Denisa R. Superville was an assistant editor at Education Week who focused on principals and school leadership.
Leslie Torres-Rodriguez
Superintendent,
Hartford Public Schools, Conn.
Leslie Torres-Rodriguez has led Hartford Public Schools, in Hartford, Conn., as superintendent, since 2017.
Equity has been a central focus of Torres-Rodriguez’s work in Hartford, where she’s spearheaded initiatives to redesign the school system into one that’s responsive to the needs of students, families, and the community. That effort has led to new magnet and neighborhood schools.
Dr. Torres-Rodriguez received the 2019 Connecticut Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (CALAS) Award for Educational Leadership. She also serves on the Hartford Promise board and co-chairs the Mayor’s Cabinet for Young Children.
She’s one of EdWeek’s 2022 Leaders To Learn From.
Equity has been a central focus of Torres-Rodriguez’s work in Hartford, where she’s spearheaded initiatives to redesign the school system into one that’s responsive to the needs of students, families, and the community. That effort has led to new magnet and neighborhood schools.
Dr. Torres-Rodriguez received the 2019 Connecticut Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (CALAS) Award for Educational Leadership. She also serves on the Hartford Promise board and co-chairs the Mayor’s Cabinet for Young Children.
She’s one of EdWeek’s 2022 Leaders To Learn From.
Madeline Negron
Chief Academic Officer,
Hartford Public Schools, Conn.
Madeline Negrón is the chief of academics, teaching, learning and student supports at Hartford Public Schools in Hartford, Conn.
In that position, she oversees curriculum and instruction; college-and-career readiness; multi-lingual learner services and extended-learning programs.
Dr. Negrón started her education career as a math and science teacher. She’s worked as a magnet school principal, director of instruction and early education and as an adjunct professor focusing on school leadership.
She’s one of EdWeek’s 2022 Leaders To Learn From.
In that position, she oversees curriculum and instruction; college-and-career readiness; multi-lingual learner services and extended-learning programs.
Dr. Negrón started her education career as a math and science teacher. She’s worked as a magnet school principal, director of instruction and early education and as an adjunct professor focusing on school leadership.
She’s one of EdWeek’s 2022 Leaders To Learn From.
3:05pm ET
Industry Perspective: Assess Before You Address: Evaluating the Residual Effects of the Pandemic on Learning
Content provided by SAS
Across the country, education experts are trying to grasp the impact of the pandemic on K-12 students. Recent studies tend to paint a bleak picture of the effect on the aggregate of students across the country. However, analyzing longitudinal data to compare expected students’ outcomes to how they did perform in 2021 is riddled with unexpected nuances.
Having an accurate assessment through empirical results recognizes that each child is unique and that the pandemic has affected different students in different ways. The data provides insights into the need to target to help students recover from lost instructional time.
As statewide studies are released, Former South Dakota, Secretary of Education, Melody Schopp, will share the research highlights. Having this information is one way to understand the pandemic’s educational impact that will help to guide recovery.
Across the country, education experts are trying to grasp the impact of the pandemic on K-12 students. Recent studies tend to paint a bleak picture of the effect on the aggregate of students across the country. However, analyzing longitudinal data to compare expected students’ outcomes to how they did perform in 2021 is riddled with unexpected nuances.
Having an accurate assessment through empirical results recognizes that each child is unique and that the pandemic has affected different students in different ways. The data provides insights into the need to target to help students recover from lost instructional time.
As statewide studies are released, Former South Dakota, Secretary of Education, Melody Schopp, will share the research highlights. Having this information is one way to understand the pandemic’s educational impact that will help to guide recovery.
Melody Schopp
Director of Education Industry Consulting,
SAS
Dr. Melody Schopp is the director of education industry consulting at the SAS Institute, supporting the Education Practice to empower education leaders and states to use analytics to improve student outcomes. Following two decades of classroom experience, Dr. Schopp entered the South Dakota Department of Education where she served in numerous director positions to include Deputy Secretary. She was appointed Secretary of Education by Governor Dennis Daugaard in 2010 and served for seven years.
3:25pm ET
Leadership Interview: Transforming a District by Putting Students' Well-Being First
Dr. Lateshia Woodley has been building student supports in Kansas City Public Schools by relying on trauma-informed practices—a priority informed by her own experiences. By recognizing and addressing factors in students’ lives that might prevent them from learning or being involved in school, Woodley and her team are improving student achievement and attendance. In this session, Dr. Woodley will explain her methods, the strategy behind them and the outcomes she has seen throughout her career.
Eesha Pendharkar was a reporter for Education Week covering race and opportunity in education.
Dr. Lateshia Woodley
Assistant Superintendent of Student Support,
Kansas City Public Schools, Mo.
Dr. Lateshia Woodley was an alternative education student now district administrator that specializes in working with at promise students and turnaround school transformation initiatives. Since 2008, Dr. Woodley has worked as a turnaround leader to help bring about positive changes in some of the lowest performing schools in Georgia and now in Missouri. She is a 2022 Leader To Learn From.
3:55pm ET
Industry Perspective: The Future Is Human: The Transformation From Human to Digital to Human + Digital Instruction
Content provided by Varsity Tutors
What happens when we extend the landscape of human connection in the classroom? The emergence of digital tools revolutionized education and allowed for greater personalization. Now, we can take that a step further and provide a human connection across all the learning modalities inside and outside of the classroom. Join the conversation about the future transformation of education that combines the greatest technology tools with the most imperative element, human connection.
What happens when we extend the landscape of human connection in the classroom? The emergence of digital tools revolutionized education and allowed for greater personalization. Now, we can take that a step further and provide a human connection across all the learning modalities inside and outside of the classroom. Join the conversation about the future transformation of education that combines the greatest technology tools with the most imperative element, human connection.
Maurice Bakley
Publisher,
EdWeek Market Brief
Anthony Salcito
Chief Institution Business Officer,
Chief Institution Business Officer, Varsity Tutors
4:15pm ET
Panel Discussion: A Profession in Crisis, Findings From a National Teacher Survey
The first annual Merrimack Teacher Survey, which was commissioned by Merrimack College and conducted by the non-profit, non-partisan EdWeek Research Center, identified serious challenges related to teacher morale. In this moderated discussion, we will discuss what school and district leaders can do to effectively address teacher morale.
Holly Kurtz, PhD
Director,
EdWeek Research Center
Linda Darling-Hammond, Ed.D.
President and CEO, Learning Policy Institute,
Learning Policy Institute
Linda Darling-Hammond leads the Learning Policy Institute, conducts and communicates independent, high-quality research to improve education policy and practice. From 1994–2001, she was executive director of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, whose 1996 report What Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future was named one of the most influential reports affecting U.S. education in that decade. She led the Obama education policy transition team in 2008 and the Biden education transition team in 2020.
César Morales, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools,
Ventura County, California
César Morales is the first Latino and the first person of color to serve as Ventura County Superintendent of Schools, where he leads the Ventura County Office of Education, an agency that employs nearly 1,000 people, provides teacher training and administrative support services to all the County’s 20 school districts, operates schools for students with special needs, and offers career education to students countywide. He received the El Concilio Latino Leadership Award in 2021 and the Excellence in Educational Leadership Award of the University Council for Educational Administration in 2019. Dr. Morales was a 2017 Leader to Learn From.
Dan Krause, Ed.D.
Principal, Willowbrook High School,
DuPage High School District, Ill.
Daniel Krause is the principal of Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, Ill., in DuPage High School District 88. He served as president of the Illinois Principals Association during the 2019-20 academic year. Krause has led Willowbrook since 2007. He started his education career in 1995 as a math teacher. He’s also worked as a director of math and science and applied technology, as well as an assistant principal. Krause was named DuPage County High School Principal of the Year in 2013 by the state principals’ association.
4:40pm ET
Ideas Into Action: A Conversation With Kurt Russell, the 2022 National Teacher of the Year
Kurt Russell, who teaches high school history in Oberlin, Ohio, was named the National Teacher of the Year for his commitment to a culturally relevant curriculum and making sure that all students have the tools they need to succeed. In this discussion, Russell will share lessons from his 25-year career in the classroom, the importance of a more diverse teaching profession (and how to get there), and his thoughts on how district and school leaders can create and sustain the working conditions that teachers need to thrive.
Madeline Will is an assistant managing editor for Education Week, leading coverage of school leadership and general education trends.
Kurt Russell
2022 National Teacher of the Year
Kurt Russell, a 25-year veteran of the classroom, is the 2022 National Teacher of the Year. Russell teaches history at Oberlin High School in Oberlin, Ohio, where he was born and raised; his classes include African American history, which he has taught since the late 1990s, and Race, Gender, and Oppression, a class he developed. He also serves as faculty adviser for the student-led Black Student Union, whose work has led to positive impacts for students across racial groups.
5:00pm ET
Day One Closing Remarks
May 10
The Well-Being of Students and Staff
The physical, mental, and emotional health of students and staff has been profoundly affected by the pandemic, deep political divisions, and an unrelenting cycle of hardship and difficult news close to home and around the world. The data on child well-being is stark, and survey after survey of the K-12 workforce over the past two years show sobering levels of stress, burnout, depression, and serious consideration of leaving the profession. Stack that on top of the long, hard work required for learning recovery, and it feels like a daunting, if not downright impossible, responsibility for schools for next year and beyond. On this day, you will hear from experts and practitioners about ideas, strategies, and solutions they are trying to address without sacrificing the well-being and job satisfaction of the adults. We will tackle important questions including:
• With limited resources to address mental health challenges, what is realistic for most schools to do, and how can school and district leaders avoid alienating teachers and other key staff?
• Are we putting the chief enterprise of teaching and learning at risk by asking principals, teachers, and other staff to focus so much on student mental health and well-being?
• What types of support do teachers most want from their leaders? How can you avoid the perils of superficial self-care initiatives?
• Who else can help? And what would that look like?
• There’s lots of joy and resilience in our schools. We’ll share some of those moments.
1:00pm ET
Opening Remarks
1:05pm ET
Flash Briefing: District Demands for SEL, What They Want From Organizations in the Market
School districts are investing heavily in programs to support social-emotional learning, and as a result, education companies have scrambled to create products and services meant to address those student needs. Over the past two years, EdWeek Market Brief has surveyed district officials about what they want from SEL products and programs. In this briefing, EdWeek Market Brief Managing Editor Sean Cavanagh talks about what districts are asking of companies, and what K-12 officials need them to get right.
Sean Cavanagh
Managing Editor,
EdWeek Market Brief
1:25pm ET
Leadership Interview: Language Access, A Key to Strengthening the School-Family Bond
Often, parents who speak a language other than English are left to feel like an afterthought, which can cause them to disengage from the school community or be less likely to advocate for their child. Marifer Sager, who oversees language access services for the Portland, Ore., school district, is working to change that by making sure all translations are clear, timely, and culturally appropriate. In this discussion, Sager will share strategies to better engage linguistically diverse families and communities.
Madeline Will is an assistant managing editor for Education Week, leading coverage of school leadership and general education trends.
Marifer Sager
Senior Manager, Language Access Services Department and Multicultural Affairs,
Portland Public Schools, Portland, Ore.
Marifer Sager leads the Language Access Services department at Portland Public Schools in Oregon, providing services for more than 10,000 students and their families in more than 130 languages. She is an advocate for language access as a key component of racial equity and social justice, and believes that the strategic use of language can reshape the narratives of traditionally marginalized groups and ultimately transform systems. She is a 2022 Leader To Learn From.
1:45pm ET
Panel Discussion: Beyond Superficial Self-Care, What Support for Teacher and Staff Well-Being Should Look Like
The past few school years have been incredibly stressful for teachers, with many quitting the profession or planning to leave as soon as possible. To help teachers cope with what many say has become an emotionally draining, bottomless workload, administrators around the country are turning in part to the wellness and self-care practices that have become increasingly popular over the past decade. But their efforts to encourage teachers to do yoga, try meditation or breathing exercises often aren’t helping teachers, and in some cases, may be counterproductive. What are some better ways to support educators through this difficult period? Get tips, do’s and don’ts in this discussion.
Alyson Klein
Assistant Editor, Education Week
Alyson Klein is a veteran education writer who has covered K-12 schools for more than a dozen years. She covers the latest developments in educational technology, including topics such personalized learning, data privacy, digital curricula, cybersecurity, and teacher professional development. She is also the lead writer for Technology Counts, Education Week’s annual report about the state of educational technology.
Tiffany Moyer-Washington
English Teacher,
Hartford, Conn.
Tiffany Moyer-Washington has been teaching for more than 17 years. As an English teacher she’s had the opportunity to teach 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th grade as well as a number of elective courses like Public Speaking and Women in Literature. She is a published poet and enjoys spending time with her wife and four children.
Louise Williamson
English Teacher,
Southern California
Louise Williamson teaches language arts, AVID, and peer education in the Sweetwater Union High School district (Calif.) and was selected as their Teacher of the Year for 2018. She is a Teach Plus fellow (2021-22), advocating for a whole-child approach to education at the policy level. Louise has developed and presented at workshops on mindfulness, self-care, and growth mindset to her fellow educators.
2:40pm ET
Industry Perspective: Leadership Lessons: Strengthening Social-Emotional Learning Practices for Students and Staff
Content provided by Panorama
Join author Dr. Christopher Soto of Everyday Self-Care for Educators: Tools and Strategies for Well-being, for a conversation on how practical strategies for creating socially-emotionally strong students and teachers benefits everyone. We’ll be discussing and celebrating examples of resilience, plus you'll leave with simple practices to effectively advocate for a focus on well-being in your educational spaces.
Join author Dr. Christopher Soto of Everyday Self-Care for Educators: Tools and Strategies for Well-being, for a conversation on how practical strategies for creating socially-emotionally strong students and teachers benefits everyone. We’ll be discussing and celebrating examples of resilience, plus you'll leave with simple practices to effectively advocate for a focus on well-being in your educational spaces.
Takeru “TK” Nagayoshi is the 2020 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year, Professional Learning Director for Community Events at Panorama Education, and a former high school AP English and research teacher in New Bedford, Mass.
Dr. Chris Soto
Social-Emotional Learning + Mental Health Coordinator,
Durham Public Schools, N.C.
Dr. Chris Soto is the Social-Emotional Learning + Mental Health Coordinator for Durham Public Schools. He is co-author of the book Everyday Self-Care for Educators and teaches the course Leading Teams and Building Learning Communities at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.
3:00pm ET
Leadership Interview: Improving Student Well-Being Through Telehealth
Ben Thigpen, superintendent of Jones County Public Schools in rural North Carolina, understands how challenging it is for students and staff members in his district to access healthcare. A severe shortage of healthcare professionals in the area means scheduling a routine trip to the doctor can take weeks; a doctor appointment itself can result in an entire day lost from school or work. But through a creative partnership between his school district and a nearby medical school, Thigpen brought healthcare directly to school campuses.
Elizabeth Heubeck
Reporter, Education Week
Ben Thigpen
Superintendent,
Jones County School District, N.C.
Dr. Ben Thigpen, superintendent for Jones County Public Schools in Trenton, North Carolina, began a career in education in 1989 as a high school English teacher and football/baseball coach. After ten years as a classroom teacher, he served as an administrator in the following capacities: assistant principal, principal, central office director, and assistant superintendent. Dr. Thigpen earned an undergraduate degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and master’s and doctorate degrees from North Carolina State University.
3:20pm ET
Panel Discussion: A Mental Health Imperative: Strategies Schools Can Use To Support Students
As a nation, we’re confronting a mental health crisis of unprecedented proportions. Students are suffering the fallout of the pandemic, and we see it in their chronic absences, their behavior, and their escalating need for mental health support. This panel will feature the insights and experiences of a school counselor and a district student-support leader, who are using effective strategies to help students.
Catherine Gewertz was a writer for Education Week who covered national news and features.
Mike Abraham
Director of Student Well-Being,
Hilliard City Schools, Ohio
Mike Abraham is the director of student well-being in the Hilliard City Schools in Ohio. He oversees a range of initiatives designed to support the mental health of students and staff. One of his top priorities is changing the culture to enable frank conversations about mental health, suicide, and substance abuse.
Teshia Stovall Dula, Ed.S.
Gwinnett County Schools, Ga.,
Professional School Counselor
Teshia Stovall Dula is one of five finalists for the 2022 American School Counseling Association Counselor of the Year. The 2020 Georgia School Counselor of the Year, Teshia also works as an adjunct professor. Her first published book, STEAM for The School Counselor, won the 2018 Gwinnett County Public School’s Counseling Writer’s Award and the 2018 Georgia School Counseling Association’s Writer’s Award.
4:15pm ET
Industry Perspective: Centering Kids in the Educational Experience
Content provided by Open Up Resources
Are you offering a “kid-centered” educational experience to your students? In this session, Dr. Childs explores why it is important to center kids in the educational experience, who is being served by the educational system, how high-quality instructional materials play a role, and what is next for kids in education.
Kristopher Childs, Ph.D.
Chief Academic, Equity, & Social Justice Officer,
Open Up Resources
Prior to joining Open Up Resources, Dr. Childs was a National Mathematics Content Specialist with a textbook publisher. He also served as Assistant Professor of STEM Education at Texas Tech University, former project director of The Cognitively Guided Instruction Project at the University of Central Florida, Lead Mathematics Instructor at Bethune-Cookman University and a public-school mathematics teacher in urban school settings at the secondary level.
4:35pm ET
Leadership Interview: Engaging Parents and Families With Authenticity
A strong connection between schools, families, and communities can help power everything from attendance initiatives to academic improvement efforts. There are many hurdles schools must overcome to build trust and communication with families. For some, generations of inequality have shaped their views of schools. For others, educators have never made an effort to communicate on their schedule—or in their language. In this conversation, Jenna Monley, deputy chief of family and community engagement for Philadelphia schools, will discuss how to build an equitable family engagement strategy that touches on all areas of school operations.
Jenna Monley
Deputy Chief, Family and Community Engagement,
School District of Philadelphia
Jenna Monley is the deputy chief of family and community engagement for the Philadelphia school district. She has bolstered family engagement in the school district by improving communications, creating avenues for parents to work with teachers, and giving the community forums to air problems. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from West Chester University and a master’s in business administration from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. She is a 2022 Leader To Learn From.
5:15pm ET
Recognition Program: 2022 Leaders To Learn From Recognition Ceremony
Denisa R. Superville was an assistant editor at Education Week who focused on principals and school leadership.
Stephen Sawchuk
Associate Editor,
Assistant Managing Editor, Education Week
Stephen Sawchuk is an assistant managing editor for Education Week, leading coverage of teaching, learning, and curriculum. He won an award for beat reporting from the Education Writers Association in 2020 and was a 2017 Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan. His work has also appeared in smithsonian.com, The Hechinger Report, and the Huffington Post. He holds degrees from Georgetown and Columbia universities.
May 11
Leadership
School and district leaders have been whipsawed by an unpredictable pandemic; fiery debates over health and safety precautions, as well as what’s being taught in classrooms; and an acute staffing crisis, just to name a few. Along with those external pressures, leaders may be carrying a heavy internal weight—borne out of second-guessing high-stakes decisions they’ve had to continually make. How will these experiences change our K-12 leaders at the school and district level? What lessons have we learned? You will hear and learn from your peers who will talk about big lessons they are drawing from the last two years and how it’s shaping their priorities for their school communities longer-term, and get answers to questions about the new and future challenges for leaders and to the overall field of K-12 leadership, including:
• How have the hardships of the last two years made you a better leader and a better decisionmaker? And how can you build a more bottom-up decision-making culture that draws on the experience and knowledge of district administrators, principals, and teachers?
• What are the skills and tools current and future leaders need to move forward, emerging from the crisis of COVID to tackle the big challenges for public education that the pandemic exacerbated?
• What will it take to bring more women into higher levels of leadership in our school systems?
• How do we reset from the pandemic and ensure our students and other stakeholders are able to do the same?
1:00pm ET
Opening Remarks
1:00PM ET
Leadership Interview: Leadership Ideas into Action, Strategic Thinking, Planning, and Execution
Long before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a dynamic leadership duo in the Union County, N.C. district managed to tackle three of the most pressing challenges for districts these days: They invested in mental-health supports, technology as a learning tool rather than flashy gadgets, and small-group tutoring for students needing extra help. Doing so took vision, strategic planning, and an eye to execution. In this session, Superintendent Andrew Houlihan and Casey Rimmer, Union County’s director of innovation and ed-tech, will talk about how to move from great ideas into sustainable programs that can weather disruptions.
Alyson Klein
Assistant Editor, Education Week
Alyson Klein is a veteran education writer who has covered K-12 schools for more than a dozen years. She covers the latest developments in educational technology, including topics such personalized learning, data privacy, digital curricula, cybersecurity, and teacher professional development. She is also the lead writer for Technology Counts, Education Week’s annual report about the state of educational technology.
Andrew G. Houlihan
Superintendent,
Union County, N.C.
Andrew Houlihan is the superintendent of Union County school district in North Carolina. Before joining Union County, he served in a variety of leadership roles in Houston Independent school district. He is a 2022 Education Week Leader to Learn From.
Casey Rimmer
Director of Innovation and Education Technology,
Union County, N.C.
Casey Rimmer is the director of innovation and education technology for the Union County school district in North Carolina. A former sixth grade teacher, she’s spent her career in the district, where she helps teachers make the most out of educational technology and supports career-based programs for students. She is a 2022 Education Week Leader to Learn From.
1:20pm ET
Panel Discussion: Why Aren't More Women Running Our School Districts?
Women continue to be underrepresented in the top job, making up just a bit over a quarter of the superintendent leadership force; women of color are rarer still. Hear from some of the nation’s top women leaders about the obstacles they’ve faced, the opportunities they’ve seized, how the pandemic’s fallout, could reshape the leadership field, and strategies for communities that want to nurture—and hire—women leaders.
Stephen Sawchuk
Associate Editor,
Assistant Managing Editor, Education Week
Stephen Sawchuk is an assistant managing editor for Education Week, leading coverage of teaching, learning, and curriculum. He won an award for beat reporting from the Education Writers Association in 2020 and was a 2017 Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan. His work has also appeared in smithsonian.com, The Hechinger Report, and the Huffington Post. He holds degrees from Georgetown and Columbia universities.
Susana Cordova
Deputy Superintendent of Leading and Learning,
Dallas Independent School District
Before joining Dallas ISD as deputy superintendent, Susana Cordova served as superintendent of Denver Public Schools. Cordova has more than 30 years of experience in education as a teacher and school leader at elementary, middle and high school levels. As superintendent in Denver, Cordova led significant improvements in student outcomes over the past five years, including an 8% increase in graduation rates and a 10% improvement in Latino/a student graduation rates. In 2020, under her leadership, students completed more than 31,000 rigorous courses with a passing rate of 89%, and elementary multilingual students outperformed their peers across the state in reading. Cordova was honored as an Education Week Leader to Learn From in 2018.
Barbara Jenkins
Superintendent,
Former Superintendent, Orange County Public Schools
Dr. Barbara Jenkins has been dedicated to serving the needs of students for 30 years. She was named superintendent for Orange County Public Schools in 2012. In January 2017, she received a presidential appointment as a director of the National Board of Education Sciences. She serves as chairman of the board for the Council of Great City Schools and is a member of Chiefs for Change and the Florida Council of 100. She is a board member for Educational Testing Service and is past president of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.
Kyla Johnson-Trammell
Superintendent,
Oakland Unified School District
Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell has led Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) as Superintendent since July 2017. Before rising to the top job, she spent most of her 22 years working in education there as a teacher, principal, and district administrator. She has served as a principal coach, an associate superintendent of leadership, curriculum and instruction, and a lead network superintendent, and interim deputy superintendent. She has received numerous awards and honors, including the Outstanding District Leadership Award. She holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Pennsylvania, a teaching credential from California State University, Hayward, an administrative credential (M.A.) and her Ed.D in Educational Leadership from the University of California, Berkeley.
Julia Rafal-Baer
Co-founder,
ILO Group
Julia Rafal-Baer, Ph.D., is the co-founder and Managing Partner of ILO Group, a women-founded, education strategy and policy firm. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Rafal-Baer served as a top education advisor to school districts and state education agencies across the country. Previously, Dr. Rafal-Baer served as Chief Operating Officer of Chiefs for Change, serving as as a developer, trainer, and trusted confidante to the nation’s most effective state education leaders and superintendents. She graduated from the George Washington University, holds a dual M.S. from CUNY: Lehman College in Special Education and Childhood Education, and a Master of Philosophy in Education Research and a Ph.D. focused in comparative education policy from the University of Cambridge, where she was a Marshall Scholar.
2:05pm ET
Leadership Interview: Financial Planning That Prioritizes Student Achievement
K-12 schools got an unprecedented burst of federal relief funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, but many districts are wary of making bold investments they'll have to roll back once the funds run out or expire in 2024. Derek Richey, chief financial officer for the Cleveland district, wants his school system to make tangible impacts for students and seize the opportunity to emerge from the pandemic stronger than before. In this conversation, Richey and Staff Writer Mark Lieberman will discuss the balancing act of spending prudently while acting aggressively to meet students' needs, all under the umbrella of a broader vision for the chief financial officer role as a vehicle for improvements.
Mark Lieberman is a reporter for Education Week who covers school finance.
Derek Richey
Chief Financial Officer,
Cleveland School District, Ohio
Derek Richey is a graduate of Wabash College (Crawfordsville, Indiana) with Master’s degrees in Business Administration and Education Leadership from London Business School and the University of Missouri, respectively. He has previous professional experiences with IBM and Cerner (healthcare IT and services) before transitioning to K-12 education, first with Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and currently with Cleveland Metropolitan School District, where he serves as the Chief Financial Officer. He is married with three kids (all boys) and a dog.
2:25pm ET
Industry Perspective: From the Classroom to the Corner Office
Content provided by Cambium
Ashley Andersen Zantop began her career as an elementary school teacher and collegiate coach, which ignited her passion for social impact. She has devoted her career to closing the opportunity gap and creating great outcomes in education through the power of social enterprise and innovation. In 2020, she joined Cambium as COO, helping to lead Cambium through the most challenging time the education industry has ever seen. Recently named CEO, Ashley will speak to the lessons she has learned throughout her career, including what it was like leading new teams through a pandemic; how her experiences will impact her leadership style as CEO; and the importance of asset-based leadership in dynamic conditions.
Ashley Andersen Zantop began her career as an elementary school teacher and collegiate coach, which ignited her passion for social impact. She has devoted her career to closing the opportunity gap and creating great outcomes in education through the power of social enterprise and innovation. In 2020, she joined Cambium as COO, helping to lead Cambium through the most challenging time the education industry has ever seen. Recently named CEO, Ashley will speak to the lessons she has learned throughout her career, including what it was like leading new teams through a pandemic; how her experiences will impact her leadership style as CEO; and the importance of asset-based leadership in dynamic conditions.
Ashley Andersen Zantop
CEO,
Cambium Learning Group
Ashley Andersen Zantop is the CEO of Cambium Learning Group. Ashley has been with Cambium since 2020, previously serving as COO. Andersen Zantop has more than two decades of experience in executive leadership roles in media, technology, publishing and ecommerce for K-12 education, consumers, and nonprofits globally.
2:55pm ET
Leadership Interview: The Pivotal Role of the School Librarian
The role of the school librarian changed dramatically during the pandemic. Melissa Jacobs, director of school library services in New York City, the country’s largest school system, was at the forefront of that transformation. She developed a blueprint to guide librarians in this new environment that included in-person, hybrid, and remote schooling. The framework has been used in schools as far away as New Zealand. In this conversation, Jacobs will discuss the pivotal role librarians play in schools and developing the next generation of school librarians.
Sarah D. Sparks covers the teaching profession and pedagogy for Education Week.
Melissa Jacobs
Director of School Library Services,
New York City School District, N.Y.
Melissa Jacobs is the director of library services for the NYC Department of Education/New York City School Library System. Melissa started her career as an elementary school librarian and then spent 14 years as the coordinator for library services. In addition to being named an EdWeek Leader to Learn From, Jacobs is a Library Journal Mover and Shaker, and has contributed to School Library Journal, Knowledge Quest, Teacher Librarian, and School Library Connection.
3:15pm ET
Industry Perspective: Equity: How to Facilitate Systemic Change
Content provided by Solution Tree
The onslaught of a global pandemic has unveiled a hidden truth educators in schools across the nation must embrace, inequities in our educational system continue to exist. This unfortunate reality will require schools and districts to embrace the necessary work to redesign an educational system never designed to be equitable. Hence, adult educators will have to embrace systemic change dictated by a collective growth mindset. How will leaders in schools facilitate these necessary changes? Join Luis F. Cruz, Ph.D as he shares insight that will be beneficial to all school leaders seeking necessary systemic changes in schools.
The onslaught of a global pandemic has unveiled a hidden truth educators in schools across the nation must embrace, inequities in our educational system continue to exist. This unfortunate reality will require schools and districts to embrace the necessary work to redesign an educational system never designed to be equitable. Hence, adult educators will have to embrace systemic change dictated by a collective growth mindset. How will leaders in schools facilitate these necessary changes? Join Luis F. Cruz, Ph.D as he shares insight that will be beneficial to all school leaders seeking necessary systemic changes in schools.
Luis F. Cruz, Ph.D.
Author, Former Educator,
Education Consultant
Luis F. Cruz, PhD, is the former principal of Baldwin Park High School and Holland Middle School, located east of Los Angeles, California. He has been a teacher at the elementary level and administrator at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Dr. Cruz is an educational consultant who presents throughout the United States on PLCs, school culture, the role of school leadership teams, RTI, and the conditions needed for students and parents learning English as a second language to be academically successful.
3:35pm ET
Panel Discussion: Finding a Balance, How to Create a Healthy, Supportive School Community
Your job is about helping others do theirs. And for more than two years, it’s been a juggling act—challenging even the most Zen of leaders. The nexus of student and staff retention, well-being, and learning are at the heart of every decision—and it can feel like there are no easy answers. District leader Theresa Rouse of Joliet Public Schools District 86 in Illinois, county leader Faris Sabbah of Santa Cruz, Cali., and Tyrone C. Howard, a UCLA researcher and AERA president-elect, bring their decades of experience as educators to a conversation on how to build relationships and reduce stress to create a more inclusive district.
Elizabeth Rich is the assistant managing editor, opinion for Education Week.
Tyrone Howard
Professor, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies,
Professor, School of Education & Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Tyrone Howard is a professor of education in the School of Education & Information Studies at UCLA and the author of several best-selling books. His research addresses issues tied to race, culture, access and educational opportunity for minoritized student populations. He is a native of Compton, Calif., where he also served as a classroom teacher. He is a member of the National Academy of Education and the current president-elect of the American Education Research Association, which is the nation’s largest organization focused on educational research and policy.
Faris Sabbah
County Superintendent of Schools,
Santa Cruz, Calif.
Faris Sabbah was raised in Iraq and Ecuador before coming to the United States for his higher education degrees in psychology, education, and educational equity. An educator for 30 years, Sabbah has served an instructional aide, teacher, university professor, and as a school, district, and county office administrator. In 2018, he was elected as the Santa Cruz county superintendent in California.
Theresa Rouse
Superintendent,
Joliet Public Schools District 86, Ill.
Theresa Rouse is in her sixth year as the superintendent of Joliet Public Schools District 86 in Illinois. The district serves nearly 10,000 pre-K through 8th grade students, 91 percent of whom are students of color with universal access to free and reduced-price meals. Rouse has 30 years of educational experience as a teacher, principal, county-level administrator, and district superintendent.
4:20pm ET
Q&A With Roberto J. Rodríguez, Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Education
Beth Frerking is Education Week’s editor-in-chief.
Roberto J. Rodríguez
Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development,
U.S. Department of Education
Roberto J. Rodríguez currently serves as assistant secretary for planning, evaluation, and policy development at the U.S. Department of Education, where he leads the development and review of the Department’s budget and advises the Secretary on all matters related to policy development, implementation, and review. Roberto’s distinguished career in public service includes senior government roles in the White House, as deputy assistant for education to President Barack Obama, and in the U.S. Senate, as chief counsel to the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
Most recently, Rodríguez served as president and CEO of Teach Plus where he built an equity-driven teacher leadership movement that engaged thousands of teachers to shape public policy and instructional practice to deliver greater opportunity for students.
A Michigan native, Rodríguez holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor and a Master of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Most recently, Rodríguez served as president and CEO of Teach Plus where he built an equity-driven teacher leadership movement that engaged thousands of teachers to shape public policy and instructional practice to deliver greater opportunity for students.
A Michigan native, Rodríguez holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor and a Master of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
4:45 PM
Closing Remarks
Beth Frerking is Education Week’s editor-in-chief.
Attendee Fees & Pricing
This event is made free for district and school leaders in part from support from our Sponsors.
Job Function |
Price |
School & District Leaders |
Free |
All Others |
$395 |