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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240102T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240102T163000
DTSTAMP:20260404T052736
CREATED:20231207T215546Z
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SUMMARY:REBROADCAST - The First Month of School and Beyond: Nurturing Attendance Every Day
DESCRIPTION:Co-sponsored by Attendance Works\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				Alarming increases in chronic absence across the nation\, particularly in kindergarten\, reveal the urgent need to re-establish routines of daily attendance among our youngest learners.  Students chronically absent in preschool and kindergarten are more likely to be chronically absent in later grades and much less likely to read and count proficiently by the end of third grade. Equally important\, chronic early absence is associated with declines in educational engagement\, social-emotional development\, and executive functioning. Economically challenged students suffer the most\, as they typically have less access to resources that would help them make up for the lost opportunities to learn in classrooms.  Starting the year with a regular routine of attendance helps young children and their families become less anxious about school\, connect to peers as well as teachers\, access needed resources and engage in learning. \nJoin us on January 2\, 2024\, from 3–4:30 p.m. ET\, for a special holiday rebroadcast session to hear how schools\, districts\, community partners and cities can work together with families to overcome attendance barriers and make attendance a top priority and strategy for laying the foundation for early school success. We will showcase the work of practitioners in New York City; Marshalltown\, Iowa; and Albuquerque\, New Mexico\, as well as resources available from Attendance Works and the National League of Cities. Getting young children to school on a regular basis will require deep partnerships with families and an all-hands-on-deck approach. \nAttendees will hear from: \n\nLysandra Agosto\, MBA\, Director of Compliance and ERSEA\, Early Childhood Division\, Children’s Aid Society\, New York City\nBenjamin Barlow\, Director of Attendance Supports\, Albuquerque Public Schools\, New Mexico\nAnel Garza\, Principal\, Woodbury Elementary\, Marshalltown Community School District\, Iowa\nSandra Romero\, Community School Director\, Public School 211\, Children’s Aid Society\, New York City\nMonica Rossi\, MSW\, Early Childhood Division Health Coordinator\, Children’s Aid Society\, New York City\nBrandis Stockman\, Program Manager\, Education & Expanded Learning\, National League of Cities\nHedy Chang\, Executive Director\, Attendance Works\, Moderator
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/rebroadcast-the-first-month-of-school-and-beyond-nurturing-attendance-every-day/
CATEGORIES:Past Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240109T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240109T163000
DTSTAMP:20260404T052736
CREATED:20231220T233823Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251021T061759Z
UID:245729-1704812400-1704817800@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Connecting Communities: National and Local Partners Linking Families to the Internet
DESCRIPTION:In 2021\, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act\, better known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law\, released $65 billion to be used to support digital connectivity to bridge the digital divide. This large investment has provided access to connectivity and devices for millions across the United States and significantly accelerates efforts to close the digital learning gap — including efforts to build the capacity of both parents and educators to access and deploy technology to support student learning through new EdTech tools and curricula. \nJoin us on January 9\, from 3–4:30 pm ET as we launch our new Big Bets Working webinar series with an exploration of local and national efforts to ensure digital connectivity. We will hear how several organizations identified places where access gaps were the largest — poor\, rural\, Black and Latinx communities — and worked to overcome barriers and boost awareness of the resources available through this legislation. Panelists will also share how they built trust in communities and implemented strategies for supporting enrollment in the newly funded programs. \nAdeyinka Ogunlegan of EducationSuperHighway will describe their four-pronged action plan to develop awareness\, identify unconnected households\, engage partners and enable apartment owners housing low-income families to aggregate benefits to provide access throughout buildings. Amina Fazlullah of Common Sense Media will share their mission to connect every family in the country and the importance of partnerships with community schools and libraries in accomplishing this work. Andrew Spector of The Patterson Foundation will share how their Digital Access for All initiative has supported training and knowledge-sharing for community-based nonprofit partners — all with the same goal of digital connectivity and universal access to the internet.   \n 
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/connecting-communities-national-and-local-partners-linking-families-to-the-internet/
CATEGORIES:Big Bets Working,Past Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240116T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240116T140000
DTSTAMP:20260404T052736
CREATED:20231214T175331Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240119T220242Z
UID:245444-1705408200-1705413600@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Catalytic Leadership in Philanthropy: Helping Lean Funders Unleash Their Full Potential
DESCRIPTION:Catalytic Leadership in Philanthropy is designed to empower more lean funders to get involved in this kind of outsized impact work. The core of it really gets to this idea of funders using ‘more than money’ — using your convening ability\, leveraging relationships\, being able to raise public awareness of issues\, using your foundation platform\, being a matchmaker\, being a broker in your community\, funding and engaging in policy advocacy. It is about using all the powers of a lean\, place-based foundation.”  – Andy Carroll\, Exponent Philanthropy \nIn this Funder-to-Funder Conversation\, Andy Carroll of Exponent Philanthropy offered the above description as he introduced attendees to the Catalytic Leadership in Philanthropy (CLIP) mindset and practice that Exponent developed through engagement with its membership.   \n\nDebra M. Jacobs\, President and CEO of The Patterson Foundation — which is a member of both Exponent Philanthropy and the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Network — moderated the conversation. First\, she engaged Carroll and Paul D. Daugherty of Exponent Philanthropy in a discussion about how Exponent works to amplify and increase the impact of “lean” funders — meaning those with few or no staff. Carroll explained how Exponent’s CLIP is a transformational leadership style that empowers lean funders to make long-term\, systems change around a focused issue prioritized by their community or field. He noted that lean funders who engage in catalytic leadership focus their giving; offer flexible\, multiyear funding; build strong relationships with grantees and the community; and leverage non-grant assets to further their missions. CLIP encourages funders to listen deeply; engage with humility\, curiosity and patience; and promote collaboration.  \n“Catalytic leadership is not just about what is pushed out\, but the connections built across the community and with the funder\,” explained Daugherty\, likening CLIP to the children’s story about stone soup where each townsperson contributes what they have.   \nJacobs then engaged two lean funders in the CGLR Network — Melissa Litwin of The Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation and Matthew Peterson of the John & Janice Wyatt Foundation — in a discussion about how they embrace “more than money” approaches to bring about transformative change in partnership with community. While Litwin and Peterson had not previously been aware of Exponent’s CLIP approach\, they realized that their work in community reflected many of its practices.     \n“You can call it impact-driven philanthropy or entrepreneurial philanthropy or catalytic philanthropy. In this field\, sometimes the vocabulary may be different\, but the concepts are in fact very similar in many ways. One of the things that I heard in listening to this panel is the underlying requirement of building credibility and building trust so that you have the opportunity to facilitate and bring people together.” – Matthew Peterson\, John & Janice Wyatt Foundation \nThe panelists discussed how lean funders are not just mini versions of large foundations\, but rather they offer a number of strengths\, including the ability to drill down and focus on specific issues and continue that focus over time. They also noted that lean\, local funders have deep local connections and trusting relationships that can be leveraged for impact. They acknowledged that change-work takes time and the importance of being patient and benchmarking and celebrating progress along the way. They also discussed the importance of learning from and with the community\, moving from a scarcity mentality to a collective abundance mentality that encourages collaboration\, and being transparent in sharing both successes and lessons learned.   \n“The only way to solve the problem is by listening carefully to the people who are impacted. That is the key asset to solving the problem….Being in community and building community is critical so that when problems arise there is already a group of folks who are committed.”– Melissa Litwin\, The Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation  \nCarroll and Daugherty shared several examples of Exponent members that have utilized this CLIP approach to achieve systems change results at either the community or state level\, while Litwin and Peterson shared concrete examples of how they are engaging deeply with partners in their community to achieve positive outcomes for children.   \n“Change happens at the speed of trust and if we are looking for long-term change\, we need to have trust with those we are going to work with – and that takes time. It takes relationship building.” – Debra M. Jacobs\, The Patterson Foundation  
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/catalytic-leadership-in-philanthropy-helping-lean-funders-unleash-their-full-potential/
CATEGORIES:Funder-to-Funder Conversation,Past Event,Readiness
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240116T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240116T163000
DTSTAMP:20260404T052737
CREATED:20231217T224417Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251021T061407Z
UID:245609-1705417200-1705422600@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Big Bets Working: Keeping the Commitment to Tutoring Alive and Strong
DESCRIPTION:In this GLR Learning Tuesdays webinar\, we focused on identifying and celebrating where and how tutoring — an essential strategy that has the promise of delivering more than the usual increments of progress toward transformative change — is enabling educators and their community partners to move the needle on equitable learning recovery. Moderator Pete Lavorini of Overdeck Family Foundation engaged in discussion with a leading researcher\, policy advocate and journalist to gain perspective on the national landscape and the key characteristics of effective tutoring practices that are advancing the Potential of High-Impact Tutoring. These leaders\, along with executives from successful national tutoring programs who have achieved results and joined our conversation\, discussed what keeps a tutoring program alive and strong — even in the face of the impending ESSER funding cliff. \nOur discussion began with Susanna Loeb\, Ph.D.\, of the National Student Support Accelerator at Stanford University providing a clear definition of high-impact tutoring\, including the research indicating the key elements that make tutoring most effective in advancing student learning progress. Journalist Linda Jacobson of The74 Media then shared three standout examples of unique and impactful tutoring programs achieving academic gains that have been featured in The74\, including virtual tutoring and parents as tutors. Kevin Huffman at Accelerate dove into the ways that several states are enabling high-impact tutoring through policies in support of partnerships and implementation\, such as outcomes-based contracting with school districts. \n“High-impact tutoring is intensive\, meaning that it takes place multiple times per week over an extended period of time. It’s also relationship based because relationships drive student engagement and motivation. And this means that the tutoring is with the same tutor every time and that tutor is well trained and supported on relationship-building skills as well as on instruction and academic content. And then\, in addition to being intensive and relationship based\, it’s individualized. That’s where you get the strength of tutoring and that tutors use data along with high-quality instructional approaches and materials to design instruction to meet each student’s individual needs.”\n– Susanna Loeb\, Stanford University \nAfter the discussion of research and policy\, we were joined by national tutoring program leaders who shared their specific\, on-the-ground tactics that generate working partnerships with schools\, meaningful tutor-tutee matches\, and quality training and preparation for tutors. AJ Gutierrez of Saga Education and Phillip M. Robinson\, Jr.\, of Reading Partners discussed how they prioritize relationship building at all levels — with school teams\, between tutors and students\, with families\, etc.\, and how the ability to achieve academic progress with students is built on this critical foundation. Gutierrez touched on what needs to be in place for tutors to be confident and effective: \n“With the right supports in place through training\, really intentional curriculum design and support\, tutors can have extraordinary impact on academic outcomes and as a way to supplement classroom instruction\, not as a way to supplant core classroom instruction. And so that’s really important from a human capital perspective. I think the pool of people who could potentially be qualified tutors is broad and there’s opportunity to tap in some really great talent.”
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/big-bets-working-keeping-the-commitment-to-tutoring-alive-and-strong/
CATEGORIES:Big Bets Working,Past Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240123T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240123T163000
DTSTAMP:20260404T052737
CREATED:20240102T164636Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240128T224536Z
UID:245746-1706022000-1706027400@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Engaging Families for Everyday Attendance
DESCRIPTION:In this Big Bets Working session\, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (CGLR) hosted a conversation with practitioners working at the school\, district\, community and state levels to hear how they are partnering with families to overcome attendance barriers and make attendance a priority strategy for nurturing early school success. \n“Positive family engagement is foundational to a shared understanding of why attendance matters and for building partnerships [that will help] to overcome barriers to attendance.” – Francisco Baires\, Capitol Region Education Council\, CT \nHedy Chang of Attendance Works kicked off the discussion by sharing recent data from states that shows chronic absence rates are declining modestly\, but the country still has an unprecedented attendance crisis that affects nearly one out of three students. Elementary schools are especially impacted. The number of elementary schools with extreme levels of chronic absence (30%+ chronic absence rate) in the 2021–22 school year was nearly 20\,000\, which is a jump from approximate 3\,550 schools before the pandemic. “This means we have to partner with families to ensure and\, in many cases\, restore positive conditions for learning that really help make sure kids and their families see school as a place that they want to be\,” Chang said. We have to ensure families know\, see and feel that school is physically healthy and safe\, they feel a sense of belonging and their children are engaged academically. \nAngella Graves\, MAT\, of Cornelius Elementary School in Oregon shared that she focuses on attendance in her communications with parents as a principal throughout the year. Her summer message to families includes vacation dates and lets families know how absences impact students academic progress. In September\, she sends a letter to families who struggled with attendance the year before. For families with complex structures\, Graves noted the team addresses each individually to find what works for that family. Sometimes it involves going through a student’s emergency contact list to ensure all adults are receiving school communications. It’s not a one size fits all\, she said. \nJo Ellen Latham of South East Polk Community Schools in Iowa noted that\, as a district\, the key was helping schools move from punitive to positive and use data effectively. She offered the example of one of their schools\, Delaware Elementary. The school has an attendance awareness campaign with posters and parent communications\, including flyers and refrigerator magnets with the academic calendar. When students are struggling with attendance\, the school sends families a formal attendance letter with attendance data\, offers a home visit by the attendance team and\, when needed\, requests a family meeting with the principal to learn about the challenges to being in school and discuss solutions. \nFrancisco Baires of Capitol Region Education Council in Connecticut described the Connecticut State Department of Education Learner Engagement and Attendance Program (LEAP)\, a Tier 2 research-based\, relational home visit model proven to increase student attendance and family engagement. Baires emphasized that the home visiting model is not a silver bullet solution. Rather it is a long-term relationship-building effort that includes initial and follow-up phone calls designed to establish a relationship. Families are not problems to be solved but rather co-partners in supporting their child’s attendance in school every day\, he said. \nKari Sullivan Custer of the Connecticut State Department of Education shared the measurable impacts LEAP is having on student attendance. Research by the center for Connecticut Education Research Collaboration reports that one month after the initial home visit there was a 4 percentage point increase in attendance. Six months after the initial home visit\, there was a 10 percentage point increase for pre-K–5\, and for grades 6–12\, there was a 20 percentage point increase. These results did not differ based on the title of the person conducting the home visit\, Custer said. Equally important\, since SY 2021–22\, Connecticut has started to see statewide reductions in chronic absence. She attributes the reductions to three key factors: Connecticut’s long-standing commitment to family engagement and improved student attendance; integrated work across departments; and the use of data to inform investments and actions. \nKali Thorne Ladd of Children’s Institute (CI) in Oregon explained that CI is a community-based organization offering services across Oregon. To support schools working to improve family engagement\, CI brings partners together across districts to talk and learn from one another\, because many districts in the state are struggling with the same things. She stressed the value of including culturally specific outside partners to help schools connect with families and offer resources to those in need. \nNancy Duchesneau of The Education Trust shared results of a family engagement study involving two nationally representative surveys of parents and teachers\, interviews with family engagement coordinators\, and an online discussion board of 30 parents who had a child in first or second grade. Many of the findings overall were positive\, but a deep dive showed that families reported experiencing a lot of barriers to engagement\, such as scheduling conflicts\, lack of transportation and child care. She praised the efforts the other panelists shared around using multiple avenues to reach parents\, from phone calls and letters to empathy interviews and home visits\, to building awareness with social media. “This diversification of approaches is really what parents need given their busy lives\,” Duchesneau said. \nThe panel agreed that the priority activity in their attendance and engagement work is communicating clearly with parents and caregivers to develop trusting\, positive relationships that encourage families to bring their children to school each day.
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/engaging-families-for-everyday-attendance/
CATEGORIES:Past Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240130T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240130T163000
DTSTAMP:20260404T052737
CREATED:20240121T203205Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240607T131251Z
UID:246162-1706626800-1706632200@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Emergent Bilinguals and English Language Learners: The Sturdy Bridge
DESCRIPTION:“We do this work because we believe in the cultural\, linguistic\, intellectual brilliance of our country’s diverse children\, and we deeply understand that our schools were not adequately designed to serve these children. Yet\, we know that when schooling builds upon the assets\, the lived experiences and the funds of knowledge\, honoring family and community cultures and developing home languages\, children thrive.” \nIn the first of GLR Learning Tuesdays new Kindergarten Matters webinar series\, CGLR partnered with Sobrato Philanthropies. In the above quote\, Anya Hurwitz of Sobrato Early Academic Learning (SEAL) emphasized the inherent potential of our country’s diverse children and underscored a need for the evolution of our schools to better serve emergent bilinguals. \nKarla Ruiz with Sobrato Philanthropies moderated the conversation and set the scene for the importance of utilizing kindergarten as a foundational stage for ensuring that essential elements seamlessly integrate into the broader educational journey of each child. \n“It’s become really clear how important it is in this moment\, where so much is happening in education\, to leverage kindergarten as that sturdy bridge between early learning — where developmental\, culturally responsible practices and family engagement are really core — and the later grades\,” Ruiz reflected. \nRuiz first engaged Melissa Castillo\, Ed.D.\, of the Office of the Secretary within the U.S. Department of Education in a discussion about Secretary Miguel Cardona’s Raise the Bar Initiative\, launched with the intention of lifting up three goals to achieve academic excellence\, boldly improve learning conditions and create pathways for global engagement. Castillo then discussed the “three key levers” aimed at providing every student with a pathway to multilingual wisdom: equitable access for English learners\, a diversified bilingual/multilingual educator workforce and quality bilingual education for all. Before closing\, Castillo directed attendees to visit NCELA.ED.GOV to access over 57\,000 resources\, including the English Learner Family Toolkit\, designed to help families and educators stay connected with tips\, tools and resources to help navigate the education system. \n“At the Department\, we want to model and exemplify what it means to ensure that families and students have access [to resources] in a language that they understand\,” Castillo closed. \nRuiz then engaged Anya Hurwitz in a discussion about SEAL’s P–3 Framework\, which “aims to help the field more fully center multilingual learner/English learner students.” Hurwitz spoke to the development of the P–3 Framework\, referring to the significant and growing population of English learners in California and across the nation. The P–3 Framework\, Hurwitz explained\, was developed to provide “research-based\, joyful\, culturally and linguistically responsive instruction pathways across the P–3 continuum.” Hurwitz explained that the Framework includes Eight Key Understandings and Eleven Overarching Principles\, which help guide readers in addressing and dismantling the long history of exclusion and inequity regarding language status. She said\, “We are still operating within systems that were built in deeply inequitable ways.” \nHurwitz closed with a powerful reminder about the importance of kindergarten as an entry point to this work: “Our English learners experience tremendous language loss when a kindergartner walks into school for the first time\, and they are told to leave their language and culture at the door. Implicitly or explicitly\, language loss begins immediately….It is our hope that leaders will use the framework to reflect on their systems and practices and that it can be a tool for learning\, planning and implementing.” \nRuiz then engaged with Shantel Meek\, Ph.D.\, of The Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University\, who provided a reminder to attendees that “dual language education is an issue of equity and civil rights” because “if we don’t provide dual language education\, we’re initiating a disadvantage for a large population of children from the start.” Meek went on to share data that reflected that English learners who have access to dual language education become more proficient in English more quickly\, they outperform their peers in other subject areas\, they reach academic norms\, they exit English learner designation faster\, and they\, of course\, become biliterate. To expand on this importance\, Meek referred to multiple economic studies that point to the success of biliterate individuals in our global economy. \n“We have lots of data on the benefits of bilingualism. We know that ELs and DLs are bringing this gift from home. Instead of aligning with that research and that science\, we’re doing the opposite\, where in this nation\, about 92% of ELs are not in dual language programs….This is one of the most profound misalignments that we see\,” concluded Meek. \nLastly\, attendees heard from Lydia Acosta Stephens with the Multilingual and Multicultural Education Department in the Los Angeles Unified School District. As a renowned former principal in LAUSD\, Stephens spoke to the importance of witnessing the Framework and approaches in practice. She stated\, “My dream would be that in our country\, from that moment of first enrollment\, [the family] is congratulated for having another language at home.” Expanding off that vision\, Stephens spoke to the work she does in the Multilingual and Multicultural Education Department\, in which LAUSD delivers Biliteracy Pathway Awards to families starting in their learner’s kindergarten year\, all the way through 12th grade. Stephens shared that the implementation of the SEAL P–3 Framework has furthered their success in this program\, leading to over 20\,000 awards being issued. \n“What is your role in everything that we do from the moment a child comes into our public education system? Because when that child walks onto campus…all of those spaces should be validated from their Indigenous language. Tell me more. I want to hear you speak in your home language\, teach me a few phrases….We’ve been missing the human piece of it\,” stressed Stephens.
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/emergent-bilinguals-and-english-language-learners-the-sturdy-bridge/
CATEGORIES:Past Event
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