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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240507T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240507T163000
DTSTAMP:20260404T120746
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SUMMARY:Back to School: Reducing Barriers to a Successful Start in Kindergarten
DESCRIPTION:This conversation\, part of CGLR’s Kindergarten Matters webinar series\, focused on actionable supports that could be provided to families as they prepare for their children to begin the kindergarten year. Chrisanne Gayl of Trust for Learning moderated the conversation and shared the above quote as she highlighted the importance of the topic. \nAttendees first heard from Swati Adarkar with the U.S. Department of Education who shared information about Secretary Miguel Cardona’s Raise the Bar: Lead the World Initiative as well as the two tracks that the Department is pursuing to advance early school success. After discussing the importance of kindergarten as an inflection point\, Adarkar emphasized the three Back to School Action Steps that the Department is focusing on: \n\nCatch up on early childhood vaccinations and well-child check ups\nEnsure early and easy kindergarten enrollment\nSupport effective transitions and summer programming\n\nIn her closing\, Adarkar shared her excitement at the opportunity to focus on these action items and highlighted resources that could support attendees’ work on advancing early school success: “We know that together we can transform the coming year for our incoming kindergartners by giving them a smooth on-ramp to early school success.” \nHeidi Schumacher\, MD\, FAAP\, of American Academy of Pediatrics then emphasized the idea that kindergarten readiness begins at birth and is influenced by a child’s early experiences\, which impact both physical and brain development. Schumacher discussed the importance of holistic child development\, including social-emotional skills and problem-solving abilities. Speaking from her experience as a pediatrician\, Schumacher outlined the multifaceted role of pediatricians in preparing children for a smooth transition into elementary school\, both through providing vital screenings and engaging with families to promote healthy behaviors. \nTo close\, Schumacher pointed to opportunities for collaboration between the health care and education sectors\, encouraging partnership and joint advocacy efforts between pediatricians and child care and school professionals: “It all comes down to trusted relationships. Sitting together in this space can be so transformative\, just starting with that simple relationship building.”  \nAttendees then heard from Jill Sells\, MD\, FAAP\, with the CDC’s Learn the Signs. Act Early. program who\, like Schumacher\, highlighted the importance of focusing on child development from birth. Sells stressed the importance of nurturing caregiver relationships and family support for children’s learning and discussed developmental screening and monitoring\, highlighting their role in identifying developmental delays or disabilities early. \nProviding statistics on the prevalence of these delays and disabilities\, Sells underscored the benefits of early intervention for better outcomes and shared the Milestones in Action resource from the CDC. This resource allows viewers to see video examples of various milestones that a child should be achieving at a given age. Sells encouraged attendees to utilize all resources from the Learn the Signs. Act Early. program: “You can certainly spread the word through newsletters and other outreach to families….This is all about having the community involved in this work and supporting families in whatever door they walk in.”  \nKathleen Holmes with the CDC’s Let’s RISE program concluded the presentations by discussing the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on school vaccinations\, highlighting declines in routine vaccination rates and the launch of the Let’s RISE program. Emphasizing the potential for disease outbreaks\, Holmes underscored the importance of partnerships with educational professionals and early care providers in supporting families to ensure children are up to date on immunizations. \nWhile acknowledging the multifactorial nature of absenteeism\, Holmes emphasized the role of routine vaccinations by sharing research that points to lowered rates of absenteeism when students are able to stay up-to date on important vaccines. Holmes closed by saying: “Small declines in vaccination coverage can have large impacts. It’s not too late to protect our communities. Routine immunization catch up is a goal that we can achieve by working together\, and we look forward to partnering with you to support kindergarten readiness by keeping kids healthy in school and ready to learn.”
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/back-to-school-reducing-barriers-to-a-successful-start-in-kindergarten/
CATEGORIES:Past Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240514T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240514T163000
DTSTAMP:20260404T120747
CREATED:20240429T230554Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T185854Z
UID:247360-1715698800-1715704200@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:What's Working to Narrow Academic Achievement Gaps Post-Pandemic: Insights From School Districts and Partners
DESCRIPTION:When we speak of gaps in our education system\, we mean those related to access\, opportunity and achievement that too many students — especially students of color and who live in economically challenged families — have historically experienced and continue to experience.  \n\n\n\n\nWith this focus on gaps — and more importantly\, what we can do to close them — I am looking forward to this upcoming webinar on what’s working to narrow academic achievement gaps post-pandemic. We are inviting back three superintendents — Adrienne Battle\, Ed.D.\, in Nashville\, Mark Sullivan\, Ed.D.\, in Birmingham and Tony Watlington\, Ed.D.\, in Philadelphia— who joined us last month to share the specific systems and strategies they are using in their districts to identify and narrow gaps between low-income students and their wealthier peers\, special education and general education students\, and other groups. Also joining us for this session is superintendent of Baldwin County School District in Georgia\, Noris Price\, Ed.D. These superintendents have each made progress in narrowing access\, opportunity and academic achievement gaps. In this webinar\, they will drill down into how they are tracking and supporting specific groups of students to narrow these gaps. \n\n\n\n\n\n			\n				REGISTER\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				Please join us on May 14\, from 3−4:30 p.m. ET\, to hear from these superintendents and district partners. \n\nBattle will share how the district’s initiative\, Metro Schools ReimaginED\, engages stakeholders across the city to support students\, as well as how their mantra of “every student known” and their personalized student data dashboard enables them to track and support each student toward success. \nPrice will describe the specific gaps she is focusing on in her rural district and her progress in addressing these that has led to her being recognized as the 2022 Georgia Superintendent of the Year.\nSullivan will talk about his success in adding instructional time through week-long intersessions\, and how he leverages community resources for tutoring and other initiatives that contribute to learning recovery and the closing of achievement gaps.\nWatlington will describe how he grounds district investments in research and how the district’s four conditions for success\, including student and teacher attendance\, are driving academic achievement. \nDontrelle Young Foster of the Housing Authority of Birmingham and Jenny Bogoni of Read by 4th and the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation will weigh in on their organizations’ roles as partners for supporting district initiatives.
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/whats-working-to-narrow-academic-achievement-gaps-post-pandemic-insights-from-school-districts/
CATEGORIES:Past Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240521T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240521T140000
DTSTAMP:20260404T120747
CREATED:20240501T181857Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240523T215726Z
UID:247373-1716294600-1716300000@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Seeding Knowledge: Harnessing Philanthropy to Cultivate Learning in Everyday Spaces
DESCRIPTION:“Something I’ve learned is that this work falls on a continuum. A literacy-rich environment can be as simple as paint and chalk on a sidewalk or can look like a much more expensive play structure. But I think the amazing thing with this work is that both of those examples can contribute to children’s learning and development. So\, I would really encourage all of the funders on this call to partner with their communities to find the approach that works best for them.”  \n\nIn the May 21\, 2024 Funder-to-Funder Conversation\, Amanda Charles of the William Penn Foundation (WPF) in Philadelphia shared the above reflection during a panel conversation that explored the various roles funders can play in creating learning-rich environments in the everyday places and spaces that families frequent.  \nJane Park of Google Kids & Families moderated the conversation\, engaging philanthropic leaders in a discussion about what a “learning happens everywhere” approach might look like in a community\, why the funders chose to invest in this approach\, the roles they are playing to engage and support local partners in embedding learning opportunities into communities\, the impact of these efforts\, and what the funders are learning in the process.   \nCharles described how WPF is piloting efforts to create literacy-rich environments in Philadelphia’s grocery stores\, libraries\, public transit spaces\, health clinics\, affordable housing complexes and other everyday spaces\, and infusing those spaces with engaging family-friendly games\, activities and programming.   \nPerri Chinalai explained how The Clinton Foundation was motivated to launch Too Small to Fail by the science of early brain and language development and now works to transform the spaces that families frequent — laundromats\, playgrounds\, transit\, etc. — and tap trusted messengers as the “secret sauce” to engage parents and caregivers in talking\, reading and singing with their children.   \nBeth Duda from The Patterson Foundation’s (TPF) Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading shared highlights from TPF’s third annual Remake Learning Days\, which featured more than 300 community events with hands-on learning activities over 15 days this spring\, noting how the planning process helped to foster a sense of community and catalyze a collective effort to support children’s early school success.  \nEric Guckian of United Way of the Greater Triangle (UWGT) described how its grantee\, Book Harvest\, helps to advance UWGT’s mission of investing in community-driven solutions that advance racial and economic justice by promoting learning in laundromats\, book hubs\, its family space and story walk.    \nBryan Stokes\, II\, explained how Robert M. McCormick Foundation supports parents as their child’s first teacher through investments in The Basics Illinois and the Chat to Learn text messaging platform\, and in transforming mundane spaces into playful learning spaces.  \nThe funders discussed the various roles they play including grantmaking but also convener\, advocate\, thought partner\, communicator and cheerleader.  \n“We share many roles here\, certainly convener in bringing people together\, but I also think of our work as a little bit of matchmaking\,” explained Duda. “We help our community members understand that they don’t have to be the entire solution all by themselves but can play a part in the solution. With Remake Learning Days\, we think of every day\, every event as being a triangle. You need an appropriate space\, high-quality content and an audience.” She explained how TPF could connect partners that could deliver pieces of the triangle all over the four-county region\, resulting in not only engaging events during Remake Learning Days but also relationships that will continue throughout the year.   \nCharles and Chinalai shared links to evaluations and studies that demonstrate the impact these efforts are having on children\, families and communities. However\, the funders stressed that other less tangible results are also important\, with Stokes noting\, “We may not be able to draw an immediate line — or even in three or four years — between that intervention and a change in test scores\, but what I do think we are able to see is the joy and excitement…about something being built in a community that might not have had resources and seeing spaces that have been underutilized now becoming community assets. There is value in that.” 
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/seeding-knowledge-harnessing-philanthropy-to-cultivate-learning-in-everyday-spaces/
CATEGORIES:Funder-to-Funder Conversation,Parents,Past Event,Readiness,Summer Slide
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240521T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240521T163000
DTSTAMP:20260404T120747
CREATED:20240501T183230Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251021T063906Z
UID:247385-1716303600-1716309000@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Not Just Nice But Necessary: Family Engagement = A Big Bet That’s Paying Off for Kids
DESCRIPTION:CGLR has long advocated that strategies focused on getting parents and caregivers to take part in their children’s learning progress are a “big bet” with the potential to make more than incremental change. Yet recently\, “family engagement” has become more of a catchphrase than something that is understood as a demonstrable learning recovery strategy. So in the May 21\, 2024\, CGLR took the opportunity to explore exactly how various family engagement strategies have led to measurable results for students\, including increased attendance and other many other outcomes. \nModerator and family engagement leader Kwesi Rollins of the Institute for Educational Leadership introduced the discussion by asking his longtime colleagues and national leaders Vito Borrello of the National Association for Family\, School\, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE) and Yolie Flores of Families In Schools about the national landscape and what they have seen in terms of models and approaches that lead to families taking action for their children’s learning progress. Both experts agreed that building relational trust is a foundation for all other strategies and that educators need to first commit to understanding familial context. Capturing this idea\, Borrello stated: \n\nImagine if family engagement started with teachers understanding their students through the lens of a family. We talk about all these tactics\, parent-teacher conferences\, going to various events\, better understanding report cards. But if the first thing that a teacher did before the school year began was to meet a family with the sole opportunity to better understand their future student through the lens of their family\, imagine how that communicates respect\, how that would be building trust\, and\, beyond that\, how it improves teacher quality. Because if a teacher better understands that knowledge of a student and student learning\, they’re able to be a far better educator for that student in ways that will be profoundly impactful in their future. \n\nRollins then engaged with a stellar group of state\, district and community leaders who spoke about their notable partnerships and innovative approaches to family engagement\, including home visits\, text messaging\, parent ambassador programs and more. Emily Garcia of the Flamboyan Foundation with Sarah Parker of District of Columbia Public Schools\, Roxanne Saldaña Jones of the United Way of Texas with Kierstan Schwab of Texas PBS and Lisa Levasseur of Elk Grove Unified School District in California discussed their “on-the-ground” work leading to families taking specific actions in support of their children’s learning. We also had the special opportunity to learn directly from a parent. Shareeda Jones\, Flamboyan Parent Ambassador\, shared one of the most memorable quotes of the session when she said: \n\nUs as parents\, it’s not like we do not want to help. We don’t really understand how to help. And the point of even asking for help is hard. I always use this [metaphor] and say that without family engagement\, [supporting our children’s learning] is like lotion that you buy from a dollar store. You have to apply it multiple times [to get any result]. But with family engagement\, it’s like that good\, thick Vaseline lotion. It keeps you shiny\, it works and you don’t have to keep applying it when you do it the correct way.
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/familyengagement/
CATEGORIES:Big Bets Working,Past Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240528T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240528T163000
DTSTAMP:20260404T120747
CREATED:20240520T121303Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240625T024138Z
UID:247517-1716908400-1716913800@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Scaling Evidence-Based Products & Programs Within Districts
DESCRIPTION:“It’s an intentional process where we use data to identify needs and then scale interventions that show promising results from initial pilots.” – H. Alix Gallagher\, Ph.D.\, Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE)  \nIn this GLR Learning Tuesdays session hosted in partnership with the LEARN Network\, panelists discussed scaling evidence-based products and practices and had a detailed discussion on how to effectively implement and scale educational interventions across different contexts. Vanessa Coleman\, Ed.D.\, of SRI International emphasized that successful scaling requires not just the selection of the right curriculum but also a deep understanding of the unique needs and contexts of each school district. Coleman noted\, “It’s about understanding the unique context of each school and district and tailoring interventions to meet the specific needs of students and teachers.”  \nVictoria Armstrong shared her approach at Dinuba Unified School District in California to scaling evidence-based practices. Armstrong highlighted the importance of starting with small-scale pilots and using data to inform decisions before expanding initiatives. She explained\, “We research and find the evidence-based practices\, and then we make sure that we pilot starting at a very small scale. And we’re looking at student evidence and talking with the teachers and the participants who are piloting for us before we scale. Then we’re very deliberate in our scaling efforts.” This approach allows for adjustments based on real-world feedback and ensures that the practices are effective before broader implementation.  \n\n Alix Gallagher\, Ph.D.\, of Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) discussed the role of state-level policy in supporting the scaling process and how PACE has informed this effort in California. She stressed the need for robust data systems and the development of educators’ capacity to use data effectively. Coleman explained this by saying\, “Using data to inform instructional decisions is essential for assessing student progress and adjusting practices as needed.” She also highlighted the importance of engaging all stakeholders\, including educators\, parents and policymakers\, to ensure the successful adoption and scaling of these practices.\n\nArlene Sullivan\, M.Ed.\, from AIM Institute for Learning and Research emphasized the necessity of building teacher and leader capacity to achieve lasting change in literacy outcomes. Sullivan explained that their approach involves a “learn\, practice\, apply” model to ensure that educators not only understand evidence-based practices but also know how to implement them effectively in their classrooms. She noted\, “We really dive into this fundamental belief that building teacher and leader capacity is the key for lasting literacy change.”  \nThe theme of continuous improvement was recurrent; Coleman summarized this approach by saying\, “Continuous improvement allows us to build in and define those indicators of success in real-time and within the context of roles and timing.” This method ensures that interventions are continually assessed and refined based on ongoing data and feedback\, which is crucial for scaling evidence-based practices effectively. A strategic\, data-informed approach to scaling educational practices requires contextual adaptation and highlights the pivotal role of building educator capacity and stakeholder engagement. 
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/scaling-evidence-based-products-programs-within-districts/
CATEGORIES:Past Event,Upcoming Event
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