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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240402T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240402T163000
DTSTAMP:20260404T100822
CREATED:20240322T155739Z
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SUMMARY:Starting Strong: Developing Foundational Life Skills in Kindergarten
DESCRIPTION:Moderated by Carly Roberts with Overdeck Family Foundation\, this session explored the importance of social emotional learning (SEL) and executive function skills for kindergartners\, as well as the long-term impact of implementing these programs. \nThe conversation began with Aaliyah Samuel\, Ph.D.\, of CASEL who emphasized the critical role of SEL in children’s development\, particularly in light of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Samuel discussed how SEL is foundational for children’s academic success and overall well-being\, highlighting its importance across all stages of life. Noting the global momentum behind SEL implementation in countries like Brazil and Colombia\, Samuel concluded by urging attendees to recognize the timeliness and significance of prioritizing SEL: \n “We really want to emphasize that social emotional learning happens anywhere and everywhere there are people\, we know the critical role that parents and families play\, as well as the broader community.”  \nElena Bodrova\, Ph.D.\, of Tools of the Mind continued the conversation by discussing the importance of executive function in children’s development. Bodrova prefaced her presentation by sharing studies that highlighted persistent concerns among kindergarten teachers regarding self-regulation issues within their classrooms. This acknowledgement\, she explained\, was a guiding force in the development of Tools of the Mind in classrooms\, where there was an attempt to integrate opportunities for children to practice self-regulation skills. Bodrova closed by sharing promising results from a recent study that demonstrated the positive outcomes of Tools of the Mind classroom interventions for both children and teachers. \nAttendees then heard from Kim Paddison Dockery\, Ed.D.\, with KPD Education who described her collaboration with Ellen Galinsky to integrate executive functioning skills into kindergarten education. Dockery explained the development of her “bridge to K” work that aims to prepare incoming kindergartners for success\, with a focus on improving executive functioning\, reading and math skills. She closed by emphasizing the importance of continuous learning and adaptation to fully support students\, families and teachers before kids get to kindergarten: \n“We found that we could have a bridge to kindergarten by introducing some of these skills and getting kids a little bit more ready for the kindergarten classroom…so that’s what we set out to do.”   \nTo close the conversation\, Erin Helgren from Children’s Institute discussed her work in Yoncalla\, Oregon. A small town severely impacted by economic decline and the decline of the timber industry\, Helgren explained how education leaders in Yoncalla were determined to work together as a community to ensure kindergarten readiness and support children’s success\, regardless of their families’ economic status. Helgren noted that through parent engagement events\, parenting education classes and community activities\, they have increased parent involvement and created a welcoming school environment. 
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/starting-strong-developing-foundational-life-skills-in-kindergarten/
CATEGORIES:Past Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240409T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240409T140000
DTSTAMP:20260404T100822
CREATED:20240326T000717Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240415T015013Z
UID:247109-1712665800-1712671200@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Meeting Families Where They Are: Unique Strategies for Accessible Resources
DESCRIPTION:“We are getting books into the hands of children and families in Detroit. This isn’t something that we’re doing without community and without other organizations. It’s a partnership and it’s all of us working together to improve some of the outcomes here in our city that we love so very much.” – Alyce Hartman\, Birdie’s Bookmobile \n\nThe April Crucible of Practice Salon featured leaders from Birdie’s Bookmobile and 313Reads in Detroit\, Michigan\, and the Office of Early Childhood Initiatives in Milwaukee\, Wisconsin\, sharing ways in which they ensure children and families in their communities have high-quality books\, early learning materials and supportive environments. \nThe webinar began with Alyce Hartman of Birdie’s Bookmobile telling the origin story of her nonprofit organization and the ways in which she works to ensure children and families in Detroit have high-quality\, diverse books. Sources for where she gathers the books and methods of dissemination were also covered. In addition to working with partner organizations to distribute the books\, Hartman offers support for families to engage with their children using the books delivered. \n\n“We participate in hosting literacy nights. We talk about the importance of diverse books\, and books as mirrors\, windows and sliding doors. We instruct them on how to best integrate books into their homes and reading with their children.”– Alyce Hartman\, Birdie’s Bookmobile \n\nFollowing Hartman\, Leah van Belle with 313Reads discussed how their coalition is contributing to changing the community-wide system of children’s literacy. In partnership with Birdie’s Bookmobile and other organizations\, 313Reads uses a collective impact model with a vision to ensure all children\, families and adults in Detroit have equitable access to opportunities\, instruction and resources. Goals and strategies shared from their 2023–2025 strategic plan include: \n\nCentering literacy access\, equity and justice for literacy as liberation through policy advocacy and ensuring youth voice is embedded in practices;\nBuilding collective capacity for high-quality literacy programs and champions by evidence-based\, culturally-informed professional development and common assessments;  \nGrowing book access and literacy joy through special events and specific community projects; and  \nCreating a connected and impactful literacy ecosystem which includes collective funding and sustainability.   \n\n\n“This isn’t about deficit. It’s about addressing the barriers and really centering equity in that work. For us\, in getting resources to children and families\, it’s making sure that the program partners have what they need.” – Leah van Belle\, 313Reads   \n\nDea Wright with the Office of Early Childhood Initiatives in the City of Milwaukee concluded the session by sharing the large-scale work of cultivating learning opportunities and resources across the city. Wright described the foundation for Milwaukee’s awareness movement around early childhood initiatives\, which began with gathering stakeholder input about literacy habits. From there\, they launched proactive and preventive work targeting early childhood. Strategies include robust efforts to transform everyday places into learning-rich opportunities. Several specific projects were identified as examples.     \n\n“We call our awareness campaign ‘Mighty Small Moments.’ It essentially means that in small moments we help parents prepare their little ones for school from birth by making sure they have opportunities to engage in experiences that are going to promote talking and reading and just learning together.”– Dea Wright\,  Office of Early Childhood Initiatives\, City of Milwaukee 
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/meeting-families-where-they-are-unique-strategies-for-accessible-resources/
CATEGORIES:Crucible of Practice Salon,Parents,Past Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240409T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240409T163000
DTSTAMP:20260404T100823
CREATED:20240326T010045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T185355Z
UID:247114-1712674800-1712680200@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Education Recovery Scorecard: Results and Implications
DESCRIPTION:During the April 9\, 2024 GLR Learning Tuesdays webinar\, The Education Recovery Scorecard: Results and Implications\, John Gomperts with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading moderated a conversation exploring the results and implications of the Education Recovery Scorecard. The scorecard captured the academic performance of elementary and middle school students across 30 states in the 2022–2023 school year to understand progress in post-pandemic academic recovery in schools. \nSean Reardon\, Ed.D.\, with Stanford Graduation School of Education and Tom Kane\, Ph.D.\, with Harvard Graduate School of Education were the two lead researchers on the Scorecard and discussed key findings and considerations. Reardon shared the mixed news that students made significant gains in academic progress last school year\, yet inequality of performance widened between students from lower-income and higher-income families. Kane directed attendees to four challenges for post-pandemic academic recovery in U.S. schools: the rise in chronic absenteeism; parents’ underestimation of learning loss; the variation of strategies across districts yielding diverse results; and understanding and meeting the scale and intensity of efforts required to help students catch up academically. Kane then called on states to “step up” with funding and support to districts when the federal funding distributed during the pandemic expires in September. \nThree superintendents who have led strong academic recovery in their districts then shared key strategies and approaches they applied to realize this progress. Adrienne Battle\, Ed.D.\, of Metro Nashville Public Schools described a “doubling down” on what works\, including tier-1 instruction\, high-quality instructional materials\, high-dosage tutoring and wraparound services. She also highlighted the district’s mantra of “every student known” and the corresponding personalized student dashboards to understand where every student is academically at any time. Tony B. Watlington Sr.\, Ed.D.\, of the School District of Philadelphia listed his district’s priorities for academic recovery that included student and teacher attendance\, high-quality curriculum and teacher professional development. Mark A. Sullivan\, Ed.D.\, of Birmingham City Schools shared how he added instructional time to the calendar by creating week-long intersessions and encouraging students who were furthest behind academically to attend. These intersessions included academics and enrichment\, and the district successfully recruited about one-third of its students to attend the last round\, contributing to academic recovery. They also invested in tutoring and staffed classrooms with peer professionals for more individualized instruction\, among other strategies. \nCommissioner Susana Cordova\, Ed.D.\, of the Colorado Department of Education offered a state-level perspective on the ways her office has offered support to districts post-pandemic for continued academic recovery\, including through tackling chronic absenteeism and working to “triangulate with data to make sure the services we’re offering are aligned to the needs that we see in the field.” Finally\, Adam Schott with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education talked about federal funding that the administration would continue to aim to increase\, including Title I and Full-Service Community Schools\, to support sustained academic recovery once the additional federal funds from the pandemic expire. And he urged states and districts to continue their partnership and collaboration with governors\, mayors and community partners to build the political will and champion the investments necessary to continue recovery. \n  \n 
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/education-recovery-scorecard-results-and-implications/
CATEGORIES:Past Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240416T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240416T140000
DTSTAMP:20260404T100823
CREATED:20240318T223312Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240421T163628Z
UID:247040-1713270600-1713276000@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Foundations for Attendance: Examining How Funders Can Help Reduce Chronic Absence
DESCRIPTION:“We use public policy\, research and data\, community investments and communications all together to leverage systemic change. And I think the work of chronic absenteeism is a great example to see this work in action\,” \n–Janice Palmer\, Senior Vice President\, Government Affairs and Public Policy\, Helios Education Foundation  \n\nThis April 16\, 2024 Funder-to-Funder conversation engaged funders working at the local\, state and national levels. Panelists shared the ways in which they are taking action to promote everyday student attendance and to reduce the concerning surges in chronic absenteeism we are seeing in communities across the country.     \nHedy Chang of Attendance Works kicked off the discussion by sharing that chronic absenteeism has almost doubled from where it was before the pandemic\, to 14.7 million students in the 2021–22 school year. While the majority of American schools are affected by this issue\, the largest increase in absenteeism was seen in elementary schools. Chang noted that a regular routine of attendance helps young children and their families become less anxious about school\, connect to peers and teachers\, and engage in learning. There are many ways that funders can make a difference. They can fund efforts that lead to effective practices\, act as brokers and help folks consider funding streams\, and connect groups to collaborate on addressing absenteeism. Because funders sometimes stay in their jobs longer than elected officials\, funders are especially well-positioned to build awareness and promote ongoing attention and action over time.   \nHolly Coleman of the Hyde Family Foundation shared that they first became aware of chronic absence as a challenge when Tennessee began publishing data. As a result of an investment in an early pilot\, the foundation learned that individual case management improved attendance for a handful of students but not at the school- or districtwide level. More recently\, the foundation funded a community of practice (COP) involving 16 local schools with the highest chronic absenteeism rate. Supported by Attendance Works\, this COP has helped local educators to understand what their attendance challenges were and develop tailored solutions. The COP allowed participants to learn from one another and to get the one-on-one support they needed\, Coleman said.  \nJill Pereira of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley (UWGLV) discussed the funder’s work in eastern Pennsylvania\, with 22 different school districts. In 2017\, UWGLV launched the Challenge Five campaign and saw chronic absence rates move from the high teens down to single digits by 2019. The attendance work was integrated into different kinds of investments. Leveraging this success\, UWGLV helped to get chronic absenteeism embedded in state law and policy. “I think funders have a role to play in thinking about how to shift local\, state and even national policy\,” Pereira said. Pereira noted that due to the pandemic\, chronic absence was as high as 67% in some of the United Way’s community schools. But they’ve seen those rates drop down to between 29% and 20% in 2022–23. “And that’s because we’re focused on it\,” she said.  \nJanice Palmer of Helios Education Foundation reviewed the foundation’s investments in Arizona and Florida. Helios engaged with ReadOn Arizona\, a statewide early literacy initiative. A convening in January 2023 elevated chronic absence as a factor in early reading with over 150 thought leaders\, providing approaches participants could take back to their schools. Helios also is partnering with WestEd to look at chronic absenteeism in Arizona from 2017 to 2021. In Florida\, Helios is partnering with the Florida Alliance of Children’s Councils and Trust and the Florida Grade-Level Reading Campaign. Both organizations attended the chronic absence convening in Arizona\, along with leaders of the Florida Department of Education and key policymakers. As a result\, Attendance Works and Helios gave a presentation to the Florida House Education Quality Subcommittee.   \nMeghan McCormick\, Ph.D.\, of Overdeck Family Foundation shared that Overdeck sees chronic absence as a major impediment to investment in moving the needle on outcomes for students inside and outside of school. The foundation has begun to consider how to expand the research base since most studies are pre-pandemic. Overdeck is determining how it can invest in studies that help identify current root causes of chronic absence\, as well as which policies and interventions effectively improve attendance and achieve more equitable learning. The foundation hopes to collaborate with other funders as well as enhance networking among researchers to create this much-needed body of research\, which will be critical to inform efforts to improve attendance.   \nThe panel agreed that the investing in solutions to chronic absenteeism is the best approach to ensure that other investments in education\, from high-dosage tutoring to early reading support\, will have a positive impact on student achievement\, engagement in learning and well-being.  
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/foundations-for-attendance-examining-how-funders-can-help-reduce-chronic-absence/
CATEGORIES:Chronic Absence,Funder-to-Funder Conversation,Past Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240416T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240416T163000
DTSTAMP:20260404T100823
CREATED:20240321T210635Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251021T063330Z
UID:247070-1713279600-1713285000@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Implementation\, Replication\, Fidelity: How to REALLY Scale High-Impact Tutoring
DESCRIPTION:This April 16\, 2024 GLR Learning Tuesdays Big Bets Working discussion was a follow-on to our session from January 16\, 2024\, where we explored the evidence and examples that demonstrate how and how much high-impact tutoring is advancing students along the learning continuum. In this week’s session\, we built on these ideas by investigating what it really takes to implement a successful tutoring program by unpacking specific elements\, such as establishing programs in partnership with or within a school system; recruiting\, training and retaining tutors;  and\, importantly\, building relationships at all levels and especially with students.   \nModerator Kevin Huffman of Accelerate first framed the conversation by discussing what scale actually looks like\, how we know that not enough students are currently receiving tutoring and what achieving scale would mean. Huffman engaged Eric Duncan\, J.D.\, of Education Trust and Patrick Steck of Deans for Impact in a consideration of this definition of scale. They shared their perspectives on what they have seen across the country in terms of quality implementation and how districts and states have identified students most in need\, matched them with tutors and tracked their participation and progress — all key strategies to achieving scale. Duncan pushed further on how important collecting data and tracking progress are to achieving scale and impact:  \n\nWhen trying to scale tutoring up to the state level\, it is important to provide national resources and infrastructure for folks to really engage in targeted intensive tutoring using data and information about their student populations….Saying\, ‘How can we make sure that we have a systemic approach to providing tutors and the key components for the additional instruction needed?’ That’s necessary to reach as many of those students as we possibly can.   \n\nHuffman then engaged with national\, state and local experts leading broad tutoring initiatives to discuss the strategies and tactics they are using to implement and scale high-impact tutoring across all districts in one state — with very different demographics — across multiple states and across districts in one city. Tess Yates of the Tennessee State Department of Education and TNAllCorps\, Adeola Whitney of Reading Partners\, Maryellen Leneghan of Saga Education and David Weinstein of Joyful Readers in Philadelphia discussed how they recruit and support tutors\, carefully train them and match them with students based on student learning needs\, and use data to track student progress. All discussed the critical importance of building relationships as the foundation for successful tutoring. Weinstein captured what it looks like in his Joyful Readers program:  \n\nAnd I think for us\, what’s enabling some of the success is those relationships. I haven’t been to a tutoring session yet where I haven’t seen a kid be super excited to get started with a tutor. In the hallways\, there are kids in every grade\, K to 3\, who are stopping and hugging the tutor\, and\, you know\, kind of want to be with them\, and that happens from that exposure\, that proximity that they’re with them every day. And that same thing relates to our teachers\, who have the opportunity to get to know our tutors\, to partner with them deeply. 
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/implementation-replication-fidelity-how-to-really-scale-high-impact-tutoring/
CATEGORIES:Big Bets Working,Past Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240423T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240423T163000
DTSTAMP:20260404T100823
CREATED:20240405T174719Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T184457Z
UID:247227-1713884400-1713889800@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:EdTech Working: Enhancing Teaching & Learning AND Scaling Needed Interventions
DESCRIPTION:This discussion built on previous sessions exploring EdTech as a tool that increases student engagement and expands the reach of tutoring\, literacy instruction and other interventions. We saw EdTech get a big boost during the pandemic as schools shifted to remote learning\, which also underscored the importance of closing the digital divide. In this week’s continuation of CGLR’s “Big Bets Working” series\, we discussed strategies to make sure all students have access to the technology assets that work to accelerate equitable learning recovery.   \nModerator John Gomperts of CGLR introduced the discussion by asking national EdTech leaders Jean-Claude Brizard of Digital Promise Global and Erin Mote of InnovateEDU how they approach digital equity and digital access. These experts explained that while access to broadband and devices is key\, equally important to closing the digital divide is building an understanding of how technology is supposed to be used in the classroom or at home to enhance and advance learning. Both panelists agreed that EdTech will never replace a great teacher and a healthy skepticism will keep us focused on how to make it fit into what we know works for young learners. Brizard described how he has seen EdTech be a big benefit to learning acceleration:  \n“In digital education\, we’re coming up with new amazing ways of looking at the science of reading and joyful learning\, which is really important\, and bringing that into classrooms….How kids learn is still the foundational work. How technology enhances that\, making the teacher’s job more doable\, I think\, is the power. And bringing more adults to support a young person\, not just in the classroom….There are multiple ways in which we see technology enhancing the instructional process.” \nGomperts then engaged with program leaders and practitioners who have been successfully using EdTech to both enhance learning and expand access to their models to reach more learners and make a greater impact on early literacy and other areas of student development. Beth Rabbitt of The Learning Accelerator\, Jessica Sliwerski of Ignite Reading and Mindy Sjoblom of OnYourMark discussed how they are using EdTech to advance learning and achieve real results. They also talked about using technology to replicate their evidence-based models to reach more communities and more students. Sliwerski described how although tech is essential to her literacy program\, it is only one part of what leads to success for students:  \n“What we are doing with Ignite Reading is delivering live\, highly trained humans into kids’ classrooms for 15 minutes of virtual instruction a day\, every day. And they are working one on one with kids teaching to their precise decoding gaps in order to ensure that they learn to read with automaticity and fluency. And so there’s this tech component that is underpinning a deeply human act. And this is really core to how we are getting student engagement and then ultimately really strong outcomes in our program.”
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/edtech_bigbet/
CATEGORIES:Big Bets Working,Past Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240430T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240430T163000
DTSTAMP:20260404T100823
CREATED:20240405T175933Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T184212Z
UID:247230-1714489200-1714494600@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Lessons from California's $2 Billion Settlement: Implementation of State Spending to Advance Equity
DESCRIPTION:During this webinar\, John Gomperts with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading moderated a conversation exploring the lessons of a recent historic $2 billion settlement in California on behalf of students who did not receive an equitable education during remote learning early in the pandemic. Panelists shared insights and advice relevant to anyone who wants to make sure their state resources are spent effectively to give every student what they need to be successful.   \nAmanda Mangaser Savage\, J.D.\, who is with Public Counsel and worked on the lawsuit\, laid out the case and claims their firm made with input from local organizations. The focus of the lawsuit was on the period of spring and fall 2020\, when students were learning remotely. It was found that over a million students in California\, most of whom were Hispanic and Black\, lacked digital access at home and therefore the ability to participate fully in their learning. Mangaser Savage noted\, “The fact that kids were being excluded from school\, from the remote classroom\, was a violation of their educational rights.” Mangaser Savage outlined the terms of the settlement\, which ensure that the remaining state funds allocated for learning recovery are used for evidence-based practices to specifically help the students who were harmed by lack of access to remote learning and that districts conduct needs assessments to determine which students need the most support academically.  \nJoseph Bishop\, Ph.D.\, with UCLA’s Center for the Transformation of Schools\, served as an expert witness for the lawsuit. He shared some of the research he contributed to build the case\, including that pre-pandemic disparities in access to an equitable education only widened during the pandemic\, and little state guidance or support was being provided to schools to deal with an unprecedented education crisis. Bishop noted that these challenges are not unique to California: “We know that we’ve ended up in this space because we’ve seen these issues as strictly education issues. We’ve ignored structural racism\, we’ve ignored factors in school and out of school\, which are creating this cumulative disadvantage for young people and families across our country.”  \nLakisha Young\, of The Oakland REACH\, talked about her work to support parents to build solutions to community challenges including inequitable learning experiences. Post-pandemic\, when students returned to the classroom and families realized their children were behind academically\, The Oakland REACH launched the Liberator model\, which trains parents and caregivers to serve as literacy and math tutors\, and is already showing impressive results. She shared her philosophy around the central role of families: “Families are not just folks you engage with. They are experts\, too\, building solutions that are changing outcomes for our communities.”  \nSuperintendent Darin Brawley\, Ed.D.\, of Compton Unified School District\, is in his 13th year as superintendent and described his strategies and systems to raise academic achievement for all students and increase the graduation rate from 58% when he began to 90% today. Brawley conducts monthly “data chats” with principals\, focuses on mentoring and college readiness\, and has placed 30 wellness centers at schools to support students’ mental health. Echoing Young’s focus on solutions\, Brawley said\, “We need to stop [just] talking about equity…and we need to start implementing equity.”  \nFinally\, Natalie Wheatfall-Lum\, J.D.\, with The Education Trust-West shared her thoughts on policies and actions California and other states could implement to best advance education equity in light of the findings of this lawsuit. Additionally\, she noted that policies are not enough\, but that a “mindset shift” coupled with commitment is also required: “It’s about the will of our local and state leaders to take this issue on and not be satisfied with just maintaining the status quo\, but really making significant changes and leveraging the expertise of our communities to make that change.” 
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/ca_settlement/
CATEGORIES:Past Event
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