Changes for Student Homeless Populations Under ESSA

According to the National Center for Homeless Education federal data summary, the number of homeless students doubled in less than a decade: public schools identified a record 1,301,239 homeless children and youth in the 2013-2014 school year up from 679,724 in 2006-2007.

New provisions under ESSA seek to increase the capacity of coordinators and liaisons to connect homeless youth to needed services and supports, ensure these students receive a quality education, and hold schools more accountable for homeless student outcomes. While states have until 2017–18 to fully implement most major components of ESSA, key provisions related to homeless students were to be implemented by the start of this (2016–17) school year. Amendments to McKinney-Vento went into effect on October 1; provisions for Foster Care take effect on December 10, 2016:

• For Coordinators & Liaisons: States must designate state coordinators to monitor local education agencies, inform parents and the public of homeless students' rights, and provide high-quality training for local liaisons charged with building local capacity to implement the McKinney-Vento provisions of ESSA.

• Stability: LEAs must consider student-centered factors in making the best determination of schools for homeless students to attend, with a presumption that students will remain in their original schools and their wishes will be given priority.

• Enrollment and Full Participation: SEAs and LEAs must develop, review, and revise policies to remove barriers and create opportunities for homeless students to be identified, enrolled, and engaged in school, including in public pre-K programs.

• Opportunity to Engage in a Rigorous Education: Homeless students must have full access to academic and extracurricular activities, credit for full or partial completion of coursework, and counseling to help support a transition to post-secondary education and career opportunities.

• Accountability: States must disaggregate data on state report cards by homeless student category starting in the fall of 2017-2018.

---

National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth

Child Welfare Information Gateway

Stakeholder Perceptions on Assessments

Under ESSA, State Boards of Ed are responsible for engaging stakeholders as part of the work to take place to ensure understanding of the new law.

A really interesting report released this summer from Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) who partnered with Gallup on a stakeholder study on assessments. NWEA had planned their survey well before ESEA was reauthorized.

This study engaged five key stakeholder groups: Teachers, Parents, Principals, Superintendents, and Students.

Theory of Change: Information about all students and individual students inform policymakers, teachers, parents to know and make decisions about change (policymakers), practice (teachers), schools and districts (parents).

"Perception is reality": Stakeholders were asked about the changing role of assessment. Some key findings, especially from parents:

• Everyone is concerned about lack of understanding of purpose of assessments, especially state policymakers.

• 32% of fathers felt that state assessments improve their child's learning

• 21% of mothers felt that state assessments don't improve their child's learning

• Parents felt there was a lack of communication from teachers about their child's performance on the state assessment

• Teachers do not feel comfortable about interpreting and communicating state testing results to parents

• 61% of parents said child's teacher rarely or never communicated with them about state assessment results

Key Findings from the study overall:

1. Education stakeholders value assessments broadly, but views vary by assessment type and purpose.
2. Parents need more information about assessments.
3. Administrators are still getting to know ESSA, but superintendents are optimistic about its impact.
4. Gaps in understanding of the purpose of assessments remain:
• Most teachers, principals, and superintendents do not believe that state and federal policymakers understand the purpose of different types of assessments, highlighting the need for dialogue around ESSA implementation
• Teachers are largely doubtful that parents understand formative or interim assessments--the diagnostic tools and practices teachers frequently use to gauge student understanding and adapt the instruction process
• Parents are skeptical that state tests improve the quality of teaching
5. Teachers need additional training to maximize the power of assessment data to inform instructional practices

Recommendations:

1. Get ESSA implementation "right" - foster dialogue with stakeholders
2. Involve students in assessment planning processes - what students gain in understanding them is applied to their personal academic/educational goals
3. Support ongoing assessment education for teachers - with particular focus on teacher preparation
4. Change the national dialogue - provide assessment literacy resources for all stakeholders

- - - - - - -
Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) and Gallup Study: Make Assessments Work for All Students: Multiple Measures Matter

The achievement gap, racism, and ESSA

With the Department's focus on ESSA this year, I've been revisiting links to articles, interviews, and other stuff I've bookmarked (including the piece by Robert B. Moore from 1976 excerpted at bottom of this post) in an effort to better understand where we're going before the Department submits its assessment and accountability plan to US/ED next year (either March 6, 2017 or July 5, 2017).

One of the items I've come across is a short WBUR Here & Now interview by Eric Westervelt with Pedro Noguera.(1) The interview was broadcast on December 8, 2015, just two days before President Obama signed ESSA into law.

He asked Noguera how much of an impact the new legislation is likely to have on underserved students. Noguera said he believes, "ESSA perpetuates the notion that we can address inequality and academic outcomes simply by focusing on schools".

That made me stop and think, again, that policymakers must take a hard look at what can realistically be accomplished under this new law.

With evidence of institutionalized racism coming to light every day, I'm questioning anew the validity of "closing the achievement gap", if everyone [up and down the educational enterprise] isn't first taking a hard look at their biases and the stories we aren't even aware we're telling ourselves. For many students, English language learners and economically disadvantaged children among them, these stories can have a profound impact and it's all the more important that we're aware of them.

One of the common narratives of the Common Core is that it was designed to give all children a common set of benchmarks from which to gauge progress in student achievement. But, the more I think about it, the more naïve and culturally unsound it seems. Perhaps, because, the Core ignores not only cultural differences, but because there's a lot more that schools can do to provide great learning in school for children that also promotes their strengths, and we don't seem nearly as interested in promoting that.

When Massachusetts re-wrote rubrics for educator evaluation a few years ago, a strand was added for all educators about connecting culture with instruction. If we knew, acknowledged, and understood our biases, what would change? What would we expect? What might be achieved? Could positive self-affirmations about one's identity lead to higher outcomes?

But, I digress.

The Equity and Excellence Commission delivered their report and recommendations for "improving education for every American child", but to my knowledge, neither federal or state Departments of Ed have had satisfactory conversations about race in light of that report. In terms of policy, how can we expect to effectively address the achievement gap under ESSA unless we have all of the conversations we need to have?
- - -
1. Noguera is professor of education at UCLA, where he directs the Center for the Study of School Transformation. He's a leading voice for public education and an expert on school reform, diversity, and the achievement gap. Much of his work focuses on ways schools are influenced by social and economic conditions in urban, regional, and global contexts. He's also a parent of five children who have attended public schools.

An excerpt from Robert B. Moore's Racism in the English Language, 1976

More Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement Under ESSA

This is a follow up to my post on Stakeholder Engagement at #NASBE16. First part of this post are notes from a NASBE webinar I participated in this summer; second part follows up on recent announcements from DESE. NEA noted in the Guide: "there's a big difference between engaging people and having a meeting. Stakeholder engagement, especially as far as implementing ESSA is concerned, should be something that has a positive impact on students".

 In an effort to engage stakeholders in a timely and meaningful way, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) created this Stakeholder Guide. The Guide outlines a 10-step process as a kind of toolkit for ensuring meaningful engagement. Within the Guide are examples of what some states are doing well and what their challenges are.

The Guide is in three parts, with each part addressing a number of engagement strategies; for each engagement strategy, a series of questions forms a strategy checklist. As strategies are employed, evidence is gathered. A screenshot of Part I, below:

Part I screenshot, CCSSO Guide

Along the way, Departments of Ed are encouraged to give up some of their "individual agency" in order to work collaboratively. Washington State, for example, spent several months last spring on a road show - holding face-to-face stakeholder meetings all across the state. The meetings, or forums, were held in the evenings so that folks could attend after most working hours. Forums were premised from the perspective of parents and structured around 3 key questions:

1. What school characteristics are most important?
2. How should we measure the quality or success of a school?
3. How do we ensure all students are successful?

Kansas also hosted a listening tour in an effort to engage stakeholders. In fact, 26 states have engaged in listening tours on education.

In the Board's October Boardbook, the Commissioner informed that several Advisory Councils would be engaged as focus groups. I see that, as of this posting, the document hasn't been posted to the Board's October Docs page (behind Tab 9 in our Boardbook). The specific ACs selected as focus groups are:

• Parent and Community Education and Involvement
• Racial Imbalance
• Arts Education
• Gifted & Talented Education

DESE announced a series of ESSA Community Forums across the Commonwealth coming in November and December (flier at left - with links!)

The Department's ESSA Stakeholder Outreach Plan is HERE.

It remains to be seen which themes, aligned with ESSA components, emerge from the written and verbal comments from stakeholders, but possible vehicles to use to find out could include:

• Social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.)
• Websites
• Webinars
• In-person forums
• Focus groups
• Roundtable discussions
• Newsletters
• Surveys
• Email listservs
• Personalized emails
• Text messages
• Online chat
• Conferences
• Video conferences
• Livestreaming (including periscope)

- - -
To date, additional indicators of school quality for ESSA accountability topics, as suggested by stakeholders in MA are HERE.

CCSSO - Stakeholder Guide: Let’s Get This Conversation Started: Strategies, Tools, Examples and Resources to Help States Engage with Stakeholders to Develop and Implement their ESSA Plans June 2016

Kansas Loops Stakeholders in on Conversation about K-12 Policy

New from NASBE: How Kansas is getting stakeholder engagement right - https://t.co/VtR6GHEqJs

— NASBE (@NASBE) October 13, 2016

Half of states engaged in listening tours on education. Kansas is one. Work detailed in new @NASBE rpt: https://t.co/eqLqDbcUzt pic.twitter.com/vh8CIxHlAq

— Valerie Norville (@vnorville) October 13, 2016

NASBE Update

The Chair asked that I provide an update to the Board about the NASBE Annual Conference at our meeting yesterday. Here's what I provided:

Delegates Assembly:

• Three Proposed Bylaws Changes were approved:
• Article X, Section 4, Public Education Positions Committee be amended to model the Government Affairs Committee membership, and thus be open to any member who wishes to serve and has their board approval. Additionally, that this section also be amended to permit a board to appoint a NCOSEA and NCSBEE representative to serve on this committee if no board member is available to serve, with the proviso that membership on this committee is limited to one person per state. These proposed revisions were requested by the current chair of this committee.

• Article X, Section 6, Governmental Affairs Committee be amended to permit a board to appoint a NCOSEA and NCSBEE representative to serve on this committee if no board member is available to serve. This proposed revision expands the pool of available membership and allows interested states an opportunity to have representation if no board member is available. This proposal has been discussed with the chair of this committee and has his approval.

• That the titles of the President and President-elect of the Board be changed to Chair and Chair-elect, and that the title of the Executive Director be changed to President (an amendment changed this to "President/CEO" and was adopted by the Delegate Assembly). This proposal was recommended so that NASBE's nomenclature for these positions reflects that which is generally used in the business world, and is regarded as a change that will facilitate better communication with NASBE's business partners.

• Elections: 
• NASBE Chair-elect: John Kelly, Member, Mississippi State Board of Education, was elected as the next Chair-elect of NASBE; his Term begins January 1, 2017. Jay Barth, Vice Chair, Arkansas State Board of Education, will assume position of Chair of NASBE when current Chair, Jim McNiece, Chair, Kansas State Board of Education, completes his term.
• Northeast Area Representative: Martha Harris, Chair, Maine State Board of Education, was elected to a two-year term on NASBE's Board of Directors as the second of two Northeast Area Reps. Allan Taylor, Chair, Connecticut State Board of Education and former NASBE President (Chair), completes his two years on the NASBE Board as Northeast Area Rep; yours truly continues in this capacity for one more year.

Take-Aways from #NASBE16

1. NASBE President/CEO Kris Amundson captured passage of ESSA in a quote from Spiderman: "With great power comes great responsibility". Now, she's quoting from the musical Hamilton: "Winning was easy, governing is harder". Point being, with the devolution of power having moved to States, we are living in the midst of the biggest shift in educational transformation in decades. State Boards of Education (SBEs) need to decide if we will manage the change or lead the change. I hope we choose to lead. (I was please to see DESE has announced the dates for "ESSA Community Forums" across Massachusetts, copy of flier at right).
2. The mission of State Boards of Education is expanding within the context of complex diversities not limited to race. Kids need to be awash in language. There are opportunities within ESSA for improvements in early childhood and more.
3. States are structured very differently with regard to their governance, but all confront similar education issues: equity, privacy, student health, culture & climate, etc. NASBE is the connective tissue.
4. Terrence Roberts, one of the Little Rock 9, and Manny Scott, an original Freedom Writer featured in 2007 film of same name, remind us of the importance of keeping the question, "What is good for kids?" as our North Star.
5. David Von Drehle, an Editor-at-large at Time magazine, addressed aspects of the upcoming national election. One of his themes addressed the impact of social media (in the presidential campaign and in congress) and how easy it is to organize around "no". It's the SBE's job to "get to yes" and model continuous improvement and public service for the right reasons.
6. NASBE is doing remarkable work, showcased by this conference. Like our own DESE, several retiring grants led to a reduction in budget and a reorganization in staff. NASBE's website, publications and member services illustrate key priorities.
7. This is the second annual conference I've attended. While it's an honor to represent Massachusetts and the Northeast Area States on the NASBE Board, conferences like this make it a challenge for one person to attend all of the interesting sessions. I hope colleagues will consider the possibility of attending in the future.
8. NASBE's mobile conference app kept me organized and many session materials are now loaded onto it.
9. ESSA Stakeholder Engagement Regional Meetings locations and dates were announced. These meetings are an opportunity for State Teams (Board members, Legislative Committee members, DESE & EOE staffs) to meet regionally to discuss: 

• Sustaining Engagement: How do we keep the conversation going through ESSA plan implementation?
• Fidelity to Equity: How can stakeholder engagement ensure fidelity to equity in ESSA plan implementation?
• Goals:
• Build long-term action plans to sustain engagement through ESSA implementation
• Explore promising practices around meaningful & authentic engagement
• Brainstorm ways to track and measure the success of engageent work
• Explore resources from national partners Opportunities for state teams (Board members, Legislative Committee members, DESE and EOE staffs) to meet regionally and share ESSA experiences and best practices were announced:
• Washington DC: December 6, 2016: 9:30 AM-4:30 PM
• Atlanta, GA: January 17, 2017: 9:30 AM-4:30 PM
• Denver, CO: February 2, 2017: 9:30 AM-4:30 PM

 10. Other NASBE dates announced:

• New Member Institute, Arlington Virginia, June 8-10, 2017, for new SBE members in their first 18 months of service.
• Legislative Conference, Washington, DC: March 19-21, 2017.
• Annual Conference 2017, Atlanta GA, October 31-November 4, 2017.

#NASBE16: Helping All Teachers Improve Their Practice Through Sound Policy

Live blogging

Thomas Toch, Center on the Future of American Education
Rachel Wise, Nebraska State Board of Education, Chair
Robert Hull, NASBE (facilitator)

Hull: Student success depends upon recruiting, preparing, developing, and supporting great teachers.

Toch: Traditional teacher evaluation was a drive-by; annual visits by a principal with a checklist, looking for clean classrooms and quiet students--superficial exercises that didn't focus directly on the quality of teacher instruction, much less student learning. No incentives to thoughtfully compare teacher performances. Most school districts didn't do them. Nearly every teacher received satisfactory rating; virtually no one fired for under-performance. Absence of meaningful measures of teacher quality made rewarding talent and other steps to strengthen the profession nearly impossible to implement. Incentives eliminated in ESSA.

Toch: More comprehensive teacher eval systems have launched several important improvements in public ed:

• Elevating instruction - clearer teaching standards; ending teacher isolation/sparking discussions about what good teaching is; forcing school leaders to prioritize classrooms over cafeterias
• Removing lower performers - in some school districts, removing teachers for underperformance for first time ever, through dismissal and voluntary attrition
• Beyond "bad apples" - states and school districts increasingly prioritizing ways to help teachers improve their practice - "can't fire our way to a stronger teaching force"
• Smarter staffing decisions - using data to manage human capital systems more effectively
• Foundation for new roles, responsibilities - tapping highly-rated teachers to be peer evaluators, mentors, lead teachers--new roles that give teachers more pay and higher status; career ladders
• Raising student achievement - early evidence from places with comprehensive reforms in place the longest is encouraging (cites DC, Tennessee, Cincinnati)

Good eval system includes: Multiple measures - CR observations, student surveys, certain achievement results. Evaluation Data Drives Smarter HR Decisions:

• DCPS discovered teachers hired by May are 20% more effective
• Teachers can sign up to visit top teachers in other schools in their subject areas and grade levels (in DC, teachers can sign up online to do this)
• Instructional coaches, curriculum committee members, etc., drawn from ranks of top-rated teachers
• A sound basis for paying top teachers up to $125K per year (Admin, $180K/year)
• Target recruitment at higher ed institutions that produce the most top teachers

Many of the new evaluation systems are in early stages and are far from perfect. Challenges (not surprising, given pace/scale of reform to a core element of educational enterprise):

• Technical problems - especially with student achievement measures
• Lack of infrastructure - rubrics, systems design, evaluator training, data systems, etc
• Costs - more comprehensive systems are more expensive
• Teacher morale - speed, early "bad aples", focus, student test scores

Emerging infrastructure in DC:

• Simpler rubrics
• Multiple measures/reduced role for student achievement
• Stronger eval/teacher training
• Efficiency through differentiated observations
• Better evaluator feedback/stronger links to professinal improvement (Common Core)
• Teacher morale is rising

Upshot:

• Complex policy change at the heart of the edu enterprise is a long-term proposition; can't happen overnight
• no eval system is perfect
• but, you can't help people improve if you don't know what needs improving--even if measuring teacher performance is an inexact science
• hard-learned lessons of recent years; building on progress since 2009--staying the course is in the best interest of student and teachers

Rachel Wise on what's been going on in Nebraska through AQuESTT: Accountability for a Quality Educational System, Today and Tomorrow

• Quality, not blame or shame
• Beyond assessment and student performance as sole measures
• Focusing on investments that we know matter in student success
• Establishing a "Theory of Action" rather than a measure in isolation
• Building a system to support and help teachers
• Focusing on growth and improvement
• Working collaboratively to support/improve the whole 

AQuESTT: Two-Pronged Approach to Analysis

• Raw Classification
• Traditional metrics of student achievement such as assessment, graduation rates, participation
• No quantitative metrics associated with staff evaluation
• Evidence Based Analysis
• Qualitative analysis based on implementation of best practives and needs of support and technical assistance in the six tenets of AQuESTT
• "School-level evidence" of the implementation of a formal staff eal process aligned to the Nebraska Teacher and Principal Performance Framework
• "School-level Evidence" of an annual professional learning plan that supports continuous improvement

Virginia Q: Sorry to see this session at the very end with so few people...very valuable convo/presentation Toch: one does not want to make blanket statements. Fairfax is a rigorous district.

Connecticut Q: Trying to work out a multiple stakeholder system student performance place an important part - if not test scores, what? Toch: thoughtful Q. Research I've seen suggests that VAM (as opposed to perfomance scores=snapshot, inherently unfair to teachers), imperfect as it is, is considered by researchers that are predictive of teachers success with their students; combined with multiple observations is a vastly improved system. Wise: We're blessed in NE - we're small enough and know each other. Our teachers are coming along with the process; evolution with teachers at the table, not necessarily the union

And - that's a wrap! See you all in Atlanta next year #NASBE17

#NASBE16: Stakeholder Engagement Under ESSA

Live blogging

Moderated by Abigail Potts, project manager at NASBE

Potts: Stakeholder engagement - federal requirement under ESSA. Work under ESSA is daunting: Early childhood education;
Teacher requitment, preparedness; Privacy
All just the tip of the iceberg
Perception: state DoEs will engage for a time, check the box.
Experience with states is they are taking very seriously.

Chris Hofman, Rachel Man, Teach Plus
Ben Rarick, Washington State Board of Education Executive Director
Dr. Randy Watson, Kansas Commissioner of Education

Hofman: Will talk about our own research and experiences
Man: Found 5 major challenges:
1. Identifying stakeholders and engaging a broader voice
2. Overcoming time and resource constraints
3. Educating stakeholders
4. Organizing stakeholder feedback and incorporating feedback
5. Planning for future engagement

Man & Hofman: Key take-aways from the above challenges:

• Use networks you have to build relationships with previously unreached groups; allow your groups to be dynamic adding stakeholders as necessary
• Difficult to find time and resources to meet all stakeholders F2F meetings are best but difficult to schedule (Vermont did this very well); partner with local biz to provide food for meetings (Alaska did this) due to limited manpower, resources in SEAs
• Are we using friendly language (not jargon); clarifying misconceptions; structuring meeting times to maximize to get at the heart of issues - - know when to go broad and specific, balancing is beneficial (Florida did this well with their surveys - they created 9 different surveys with links to specific parts of ESSA)
• Not all feedback will be incorporated in the plan, still provide meaningful engagement. Can provide the feedback to the public, to know where everyone is, taking that and synthesizing into actionable steps (Pennsylvania did this - providing a report and organizing into very clear steps)
• Planning for long-term engagement; maintaining coalitions of support - - needs to become the norm, so need to be thinking about this as much as possible. 

Common Challenges in Stakeholder Engagement (The view from the other side):

1. Meaningful engagement vs. checking a box
2. Transparency
3. Adequate representation of ALL stakeholder groups

Rarick: ESSA - Ensuring Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement
There's a big difference between engaging people and having a meeting. Stakeholder engagement, especially as far as implementing ESSA is concerned, should be something that has a positive impact on students. Jotted a set of questions to ensure we are not just attending a bunch of meetings, but engaging on important questions; acknowledge that the process was a collaborative process with the SBE. Held 7 forums across the state. Six primary themes emerged:

1. supporting all students
2. supporting all students, part 2
3. challenging academic standards and academic assessments
4. accountability, support, and improvement for schools (not as defined by the state assessment...)
5. supporting excellent educators
6. consultation and coordination

ESSA Focus Groups:

• statewoie MAAC-tribal compact schools
• library/media state organization
• pasco-latino coalition
• charter schools
• tribal leaders
• private schools
• WA school attorney's organization
• migrant education conference with parents and students

ESSA Workgroup structure:

• accountability system
• learning and teaching
• student assessment system
• school and district improvement
• effective educators
• ELLs
• fiscal
• report card
• parent and community involvement
• early childhood education
• students with disabilities
• federal programs

Decision to do engagement on the front end and the back end. Subtle elitism creeps out and that's unhealthy. Tendency to see some comments as "oddball", not relevant; your first instinct to dismiss, but you're learning how people are interacting with this law. There is real value to be had out of those comments. Commitment is the take-away:

• Commitment to involving stakeholders on the front end of the plan development
• Commitment to deeper engagemnet with focus groups
• Commitment to travel
• Commitment to combine forces among entities that have overlapping or related state authorities
• Commitment to engage and get feedback both in person and through tele-town hall/webinar mechanisms

- Parents can't show up at 2:00 in the afternoon
- Break into small groups at tables to mitigate repeating same 30 comments
- Don't know how you can do this without traveling

Watson: Update from Kansas - Kansas CAN. Shout out to the five Kansas SBEs here at this conference. Are we going to manage? Or are we going to lead? The law will give us the framework to do it and we chose to lead to listen. 20 different community locations with over 1,800 participants. Three key questions of all:

• What are the skills, attributes, and abilities of a successful 24-year-old Kansan?
• What is K-12's role in developing this successful Kansan, and how would we measure success?
• What is higher education's role in developing this successful Kansan, and how would we measure success?

Watson: We allowed no one to speak at a podium - engaged in small groups. Also had an Online presence for those who could not make any location of the listening tour. Didn't have very good turnout from business, so asked Chamber to engage biz and went out on 7 more tours just for them. Then, went back out to all in 10 locations across the state and said:

• Here's what we heard from you all, did we get it right?
• Two Board retreats.
• New Vision launched in the fall of 2015 at the KSDE Annual Conference.

Defining Success (it's how we value):

• Academic preparation
• Cognitive preparation
• Technical skills
• Employability skills and
• Civic engagement and giving back to others

State Outcomes (handout):

• Kindergarten readiness
• Individual plan of study focused on career interest
• High school graduation rates
• Post secondary completion/attendance
• Social/emotional growth measured locally (teachers need that info to drive, state doesn't need it)

Q & A
Potts: I think I'll kick it off with ability to reach a diverse group of stakeholders - those who have not been heard. How would you recommend closing that gap? Watson: We have some inherent advantages to students and families of color. We had to adjust and visit at different times. Not just from people who are organized. It's not easy. Keep trying. Rarick: Standard approach - flyers, same people, same times...established networks. Need to be intentional. Reach leaders within different networks, partnerships. Man: There's a second part - once you're at the table, is your voice really being heard or are you just checking the box? Hard to ensure you're really doing that. Key is to touch back with stakeholders to ask if there's anything to change to improve engagement. Rarick: It's really hard work. Really hard. We were energized by those who took pride in designing the process. Watson: Teacher voice is so important. We took former Kansas Teachers of the Year, put them together in teams of 3, went out over the summer; created a voxer group to engage.

Potts: Pre-plan and After-plan. Gets difficult for a time. It's more than just listening. Using feedback to make decisions. Any advice about informing the decisionmaking process and being open and transparent? Rarick: Define what success is. If definition is that you walked out of every engagement feeling thrilled, then you're missing something and didn't engage very well. Watson: We're asking Kansas to fundamentally change school, meaning I have to change the agency b/c so much is about compliance. Engaging voice, implementing plan. Important. Not there yet. Hofman: Not all decisions will be based on points of advocacy, but feel your voice has been heard. Rarick: One of the messages: "Geez, thanks for engaging us...? Why did it take a federal law to engage with us...?" Now, how are we going to sustain?

Nebraska Q: Perception is that the decision has already been made. Watson: We asked very open-ended questions, then followed up to ask, "did we hear you correctly?"

Washington Q: What happens to the state office? It is compliance oriented? How does it change? Watson: Maybe I'll talk about that in Atlanta next year [at NASBE Annual Conference]. Expanded convos.

Massachusetts Q: Clarify that your Voxer group was just for Teachers of the Year? Watson: No. Created three groups: Teachers; Superintendents; Administrators. They can discuss among themselves when they have time b/c they have very little time to meet together.

Nebraska Q: Private and Public colleges to participate?? How did you do that?? Watson: Yes. You ask.

And - that's a wrap!

#NASBE16: Closing Day

Saturday, October 22

8:30 AM Breakfast and Q&A with Kris Amundson, President/CEO, NASBE

General Sessions

• 9:30 AM More than Lip Service: Stakeholder Engagement Under ESSA

• 11:00 AM Moving the Curve: Helping All Teachers Improve Their Practice through Sound Policy

Noon Adjourn

#NASBE16: Day 3 Preview

Today is the last full day of the conference.

7:45 AM Awards Breakfast. Arkansas State Board member and NASBE Chair-elect, Jay Barth presides for the presentation of several awards for Distinguished Service to sitting State Board of Education members.

9:00 AM NASBE Annual Business Meeting (NASBE Delegates), General Session

9:00 AM Exploring the Future of Teaching and Learning - which looks to be an exciting, interactive presentation for conference attendees who are not Delegates.

12 PM Lunch - while most of us will be networking at lunch, volunteer representatives from each NASBE region have volunteered to participate in a Focus Group with Edge Research, who partnered with NASBE on the survey to members; they will take their lunch with them to the Focus Group. There is also a separate lunch for NASBE Funders.

1:00 PM Book Talk: Cross X

Concurrent Sessions

• 2:15 PM
• Equity and Access: Ensuring Equal Opportunities for All Students
• Teacher Discipline across States (joint session with NCOSEA)

• 3:45 PM
• Water Quality Crisis: Addressing the Environmental Hazards That Lurk in Schools and Impact Student Learning
• Connecting the Education Data Continuum

• 3:45 PM
• Government Affairs Committee
• Public Education Positions
• Editorial Advisory Board (I've been asked to be part of this Board, so this will be my first meeting)
• Board Meeting (if needed)

This post was updated to reflect Jay's new designation (from President-elect to Chair-elect, as per the vote of the Delegates Assembly earlier today).

#NASBE16: Afternoon Sessions

Live-blogging.
Two more concurrent sessions: School Surveillance - The Consequences for Equity and Privacy and School Turnarounds - Lessons Learned and New Opportunities Under ESSA. I've opted for School Surveillance.

States and districts are adopting technologies that can surveil students continuously. Experts discuss the pros and cons detailed in NASBE's new report released today: School Surveillance: The Consequences for Equity and Privacy and show how SBEs can create privacy and equity guardrails.

Presenters:
Amelia Vance, NASBE
Monica Bulger, Data & Society Research Institute
Theodore Hartman, Montgomery County Public Schools
Chad Marlow, ACLU
Dakarai Aarons, Data Quality Campaign (moderator)

Vance: It's a school's job to watch students. Lots of valid reasons for surveillance:

• keeping students on task
• ensuring safety
• auditing and efficiency, i.e., tracking school buses to ensure they are running on time

While not meant in a malicious way, there are unintended consequences that may threaten a nurturing environment:

• the surveillance effect
• equity and the digital divide
• the effect on discipline disparities
• fear of the permanent record

One-to-one devices heighten equity and the digital divide;

The fear of a "permanent record" does not come into play

Key questions for policymakers to ask of SEAs and LEAs:

• Which types of surveillance does our state employ?
• What is the purpose for their use?
• Are there policies in place to ensure surveillance is used equitably and respects privacy?

Seven Principles for Creating Equity and Student Privacy Guardrails of Governance:

• Minimization - is surveillance the answer to the problem?
• Proportionality - is the cost of surveillance proportional to the problem?
• Transparency - making sure we're open about surveillance tech we're using (issues around trust)
• Openness - with the community
• Empowerment - not only for the benefit of the school, but for the broader community
• Equity - making sure that all uses of technology are equitable; awareness of implicit biases that we have
• Training - must have if going to make use of surveillance (privacy side, as well as equity side - implicit bias training)

Aarons: What are the challenges and opportunities?

• Hartman: Fine line protecting the network for safety and privacy; finding the balance. Social media monitoring during Baltimore unrest - police were monitoring #blacklivesmatter
• Marlow: plenty of of examples of where there is monitoring of hashtags like #blacklivesmatter; need to be aware of the misuse of monitoring. Layers of complexity. When you think in a broad sense, have to be careful of contexts; policies for checks, guardrails.
• Vance: Surveillance dramatically went up after the Sandy Hook shootings; Sandy Hook had surveillance tech. A lot of tech surveils one-to-one devices, but is anyone taking a look at them? A lot of data is being collected and it's just sitting in a virtual box somewhere, waiting to be deleted and hasn't yet...needs protection

Aarons: Tell us about the ACLU's Bills proposed

• Marlow: Surveillance=data capturing. Report cards. Not all is bad. Model bills try to strike a balance between school needs and privacy. Areas & risks:
• student information systems - are virtual filing cabinets. It's helpful in terms of time and lessons. Enormous value. Potential downside - the fear of the permanent record. Need strict control of how long the data is kept. Empowering parents and students how their data can be used.
• another area is one-to-one devices. Students can use for the year, but again, opportunities for inappropriate use. Need privacy protection for kids. Should not be at greater risk for searches. Bill says must contact parents first regarding
• social media privacy - social media is the most vibrant free-speech kids have right now; protect those platforms for kids' safety.

Aarons: On social media:

• Hartman: We have an enormous responsibility to help kids. Do we want to be monitoring devices? No. But, we know kids who are LGBTQ, for example, are bullied at a much higher rate than non-LGBTQ; also more suicidal as a result
• Vance: first line of defense (for cyberbullying, self-harm, etc) should not be surveillance, but digital citizenship. There's a liability issue here. Need to keep an eye on protecting students.
• Bulger: I would push back on using child protection as a gateway for monitoring. When you talk to teens about it, they are very aware of their need for privacy. Take care not to escalate small offenses; need training and awareness on how to manage this [in schools].
• Marlow: when a student is given a device for a year, in their mind, they lose sight and think it is their own. Have to be very careful to allow people to explore and seek help; surveillance may keep them from exploring identity and/or seeking help. Always intervening doesn't always help.
• Bulger: during physical and psychological development, there's experimentation; surveillance can hinder identity growth
• Marlow: in response to bills, some states are carving out exceptions, attempts by the tech industry to see how far to go
• Hartman: this is where the convo can spiral out of control, which is great for us student privacy nerds. With all of the free apps, thats for a different panel...back to surveillance!

Marlow, in response to audience Q: School Resource Officer is not in the same category as teachers and administrators, in terms of the way they interact with students; creates for a more complicated policy if all are included. Also, body cams are a bad idea for students in schools. Vance: One thing US DoE is developing resources on (FERPA): law enforcement records are not student records; not subject to same protections.

Kansas Q: WRT student records - how long to retain? Hartman: state law - in Maryland, it's 5 yrs, and it's media neutral. Vance: varies dramatically by state. Aarons: find out in your states and create good policy.

Maine Q: Wer'e really interested in this, but falling to local districts, no overriding state policy. Do you see that across the country? Vance: overwhelmingly, yes. Over 400 bills on student privacy, many have created state level requirements, none, however, have taken surveillance into account. As policymakers, power of the question!

Wyoming Q, a local control state - very concerned about student rights. Scrutiny and fear. As SBE member, must communicate with stakeholders about balance for security and liberty. Where is the balance for kids' freedoms? Also: at what point does too much surveillance take away from citizen responsibility? Marlow: TY. We've talked about risks - also need to talk about the risks to our First, Fourth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth amendment rights. It's critical. Risks in 2016 are being highlighted, like the bombing in Chelsea where I live. Social media has brought down dictators in the Middle East. All are legit teaching moments to behave responsibly. The way you fight bad speech is not by censoring it. It's with good speech. Hartman: the convo has to be had in a fundamental way. Keep the convo nuanced, not at the extremes. Marlow: we have a privacy carve out in our model bills. Balance is the challenge.

This post was edited to correct typos and some formatting.

#NASBE16: Morning Sessions

NCSBEE and NCOSEA are running their conference in tandem with NASBE's:

• NCSBEE's (State Board of Education Executives) Morning Session is all about State Board of Ed Policies and Practices. The Presentation is to include discussion on development of Board agenda, interaction with Department staff, Board Governance policies, and new board member orientation. Resources gathered from states will be provided and rountable discussion will assist members in sharing information and gaining knowledge from other state practices and resources.

• Affiliates in the NCOSEA (State Education Attorneys) Session will engage in Round 1 of State Roundtable Discussions. Former NCOSEA President, Thomas Mayes of Iowa will moderate. Each member will be given an opportunity to briefly identify a legal issue of concern in his or her state. Identification of the issue to the group may lead to informal discussions with members throughout the remainder of the conference, with follow-up at the end of the conference.

NASBE concurrent sessions: A Well-Rounded Education Through Computer Science and ESSA and Early Learning: New Opportunities Ahead. (As I understand it, the decision to feature early learning is a direct outcome of the survey to State Board of Education members last time around).

ESSA calls computer science part of a "well-rounded" education, yet most states lack qualified teachers or content standards (MA voted unanimously to support digital literacy and computer science standards in June 2016). Maryland and Arkansas share how they are preparing computer science teachers as they adopt computer sciene standards. Panelists: Jay Barth, Arkansas State Board of Education and President-elect of NASBE (moderator); Anthony Owen, Arkansas Department of Eduaction; Marquita Friday, Maryland Department of Education; Kirsten Sundell, Southern Regional Education Board (SREB); Katie Hendrickson, code.org.

Two experts on early learning provide actionable data to help states take advantage of opportunities in ESSA to provide high-quality education for early learners. Panelists: Harriet Dichter, consultant; Jacqueline Jones, Foundation for Child Development. See NASBE's excellent publication, Education Leaders Report: Opportunities in ESSA for Improving Early Education, written by Harriet Dichter, which takes a detailed look at ESSA provisions pertaining to early childhood ed, suggesting ways SBEs can turn those opportunities into action.

#NASBE16: General Session Keynote

We are being treated to a keynote by Manny Scott, one of the original Freedom Writers.

Before he speaks, we are shown the movie trailer. Then, Scott stands at the podium and sings: "if I can help somebody as I pass along..then, my living shall not be in vain". Says he opens with that song, because it describes his life's purpose and because he believes it describes many of us. That, in the final analysis, our lives will be measured by how much or how little we have given ourselves, our lives in service, to love, to position others to flourish.

If you've seen the movie, it compresses 5 years into 2 hours; 150 students, into 5 main characters. "Marcus" is the character that best represents him.

He hopes his story will give us some perspective. New eyes through which to see some of the kids in our own areas. Perhaps a renewed heart. Hopes to provide at least one reason to stay with this work. He has a unique frame of reference - very different from most of us. Asks that we open our hearts and minds. 

Shares details of his life. Before he was 16 lived in 26 places. floors. Beaches. No blankets. Homeless. Hungry. The kid we avoided eye contact with. Would sift through garbage scrounging for food to survive. Brought all of those issues with him to school. Anger and rage simmering inside him. Poverty is not just the lack of money. Poverty is the lack of access - to resources and people that can help you.

Cut school 4th gr - 9th gr. Found family in the streets - gang members - all were lost. Fell so far behind in school. His English language was so far behind that he was labeled as a student whose first language is not English and was placed in an ESL class of Spanish speaking students - - and he didn't know a word of Spanish.

Dropped out of school in 2nd semester of 9th grade. Lived on the streets. Compelled to go back to school. Took a community of support to succeed, including lunch ladies ("Lunch ladies don't show up on school transcripts, but they are just as important").

Erin Gruwell became a student of her students - that's how she reached them. ("You will never reach someone if you vilify what's important to them..."). Ms. G believed in him before he knew how to believe in himself. She recognized his love for words. Helped him to get to college. Grad school, Ph.D

Remarkable story. Compelling story of healing, hope, and love.

#NASBE16 Breakfast

Welcome Breakfast. Sgt. Hernandez of the Kansas City MO Police Department provided today's color guard.

We are just a few miles from Kansas. NASBE President, Jim McNiece (Chair, Kansas SBE) welcomed participants and introduced Missouri State Board of Education Vice President, Victor Lenz. Lenz sketched out their SBE's governance practices.

Greetings from Dr. Margie Vandeven, Missouri Commissioner of Education, hired in 2015. She provided a bit of context for education in our host state: diverse state (rural, urban; #s of students in districts range from 25 students to 25,000). Focused on 3 goals:
1. all MO students will graduate college and career ready
2. all will have access to high quality learning opportunities
3. all students will have an effective teacher in every classroom

Greetings from Dr. Randy Watson, Kansas Commissioner of Education. Challenges us to maximize the success of different and diverse students and how to ensure flexibility to reach each one. Asks, "How will you lead to focus on each and every child?"

Warm welcome from Kris Amundson, NASBE Executive Director. Urging survey participation of NASBE members. Computer is set up in the registration area to do so.

#NASBE16: Day 2 Preview

The conference officially kicks off today. First up: a Welcome Breakfast, where we'll be welcomed by NASBE President, Jim McNiece. Affiliates in NCOSEA (State Education Attorneys) and NCSBEE (State Board of Education Executives) are running a conference concurrent with NASBE's.

Following breakfast, NASBE members will attend a General Session and will be treated to a keynote by Manny Scott, one of the original Freedom Writers. I look forward to hearing his story.

From there, we move to concurrent sessions on ESSA: Computer Science and Early Learning. As I understand it, the decision to feature early learning is a direct outcome of the survey to State Board of Education members last time around. (NASBE members who haven't done so can take the survey live, right here at the conference!)

One of today's highlights will be the Awards Luncheon and Keynote. NASBE will present the 2016 Education Policy Leader of the Year Award and the 2016 Friend of Education Award.

Afterward, we'll engage with David Von Drehle on the highly charged presidential election. Since I didn't tune in last night for the final presidential debate, I'll be looking forward to hearing all about it.  :)

Two afternoon sessions feature equity and ESSA: School Surveillance and School Turnarounds.

After a short break, we will meet in NASBE "area meetings" - regional meet-ups of State Board of Education members. We'll be taking action on Bylaws changes and Board elections.

Follow #NASBE16 on twitter for conference updates.

NASBE Pre-conference Activities: Wednesday, October 19

Travel day and all day Board Meeting (8:30-4:30). Due to scheduling issues, I was unable to fly into Kansas City MO until this morning, and, consequently, I missed the first part of the NASBE Board Meeting. I was able to join the meeting at about 11:30, which put me in good stead for the Keynote Lunch and afternoon Board session.

Concurrent with the Board's meeting, was a 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon session on Education Data & Technology. This seminar used interactive roundtables and panel discussions to focus on ways policymakers can affect some of the key education data and technology issues states are dealing with. It would've been great to have had a board colleague here with me to attend that particular session! The format provided states with the opportunity to learn about:

• incorporation of technology and new data collection requirements under ESSA;
• creating digital citizenship standards;
• data literacy for teachers and administeators; and 
• how policymakers can help close the digtal divide.

Needless to say, I'll be looking for conference materials from that session. Panelists included:  

Rachel Anderson, Data Quality Campaign; Reg Leichty, Forsight Law + Policy; Michael Hawes, Privacy Technical Assistance Center, US DoE; Marsali Hancock, iKeepSafe; Mike Lorion, Common Sense Media; Glen Warren, Encinitas School District; and the inimitable Amelia Vance, NASBE.

At noon, Board members and Pre-conference attendees joined for a Keynote Lunch featuring Terrence Roberts, one of the original "Little Rock Nine", the first black students to integrate Little Rock Public Schools in 1957. Dr. Roberts recently published Simple, Not Easy: Reflections on Community, Social Responsibility, and Tolerance and he's also the author of Lessons from Little Rock, a memoir about his life experiences.

While I headed to the afternoon Board session, pre-conference sessions covered Equity, Civil Rights, and ESSA and Student Privacy Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Seminar: Broader than Data.

Following all of the afternoon activity, NASBE President, Jim McNiece welcomed conference attendees on the hotel terrace for a networking dinner/cocktail reception sponsored by local businesses George K. Baum & Company, Gilmore & Bell, PC, and Security Bank of Kansas City.

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  ⚡️ “#NASBE16: Day 1”

NASBE: Update

I'll be heading to Kansas City MO for the NASBE 2016 Annual Conference, October 19-22. The theme is, "State Leadership for Student Success". Conference sessions will explore equity for all students, early education under ESSA, student data privacy, and more.

Two featured speakers caught my attention: Terrence Roberts, one of the Little Rock Nine (1957), and Manny Scott, one of the original Freedom Writers featured in Erin Gruwell's(1) published journal and subject of the 2007 film. Roberts is the scheduled keynote speaker for the Joint Pre-conference Session Lunch(2) Wednesday, while Scott formally kicks off the 2016 conference with his keynote Thursday morning. With these two speakers placed predominantly at the top of the conference, I'm struck by the fact that many of our public schools are still separate and unequal today (see HERE, HERE, and HERE) and wonder just how much more improved our schools will become under the new law that rightly places much responsibility in the hands of state and local policymakers, but does little to address the issue of poverty, which is why President Johnson sought to enact the ESEA in the first place.

NASBE has partnered with Edge Research to survey state board members and staff; feedback from members will help guide direction in support of NASBE members. The survey was announced this summer and, at the time of this writing, is still open. Survey results are expected to be shared later in the year.

NASBE members received a copy of the September issue of The State Education Standard, the Journal of the National Association of State Boards of Education. This issue's theme, "The Future of Schools", includes Teacher Evaluation, Civic Education, Social Emotional Learning, Low Performing Schools, K-12 Computer Science, and more. We also received the latest Education Leaders Report which is focused on improving early education under ESSA. Both publications cover topics that are timely and relevant.

I came onto the NASBE Board in January (2016) as several grants were retiring, which resulted in some non-rehires and in a restructuring of the organization in the past year. So, it was with interest that I learned about a partnership opportunity, along with two new grants that focus on the implementation of ESSA:

1. The Hunt Institute has partnered with the National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL) and NASBE to bring together state education policymakers to discuss and plan for implementation of ESSA. The meeting will convene in Chicago this November. State education committee chairs, state board chairs, state education chiefs, and governor's education advisors from a select number of states (including Massachusetts) are invited to gather with practitioners and policy experts to discuss the implications of ESSA. Since ESSA returns significant decision-making responsibility to each state, this meeting will provide an opportunity to dialogue with national experts on implementation of the new law. Among the topics to be discussed are: indicators for school accountability; assessment options, including a pilot for innovative tests; evidence-based interventions for low-performing schools; and the importance of stakeholder engagement in the development and implementation of ESSA plans. The meeting in Chicago follows the meeting held in Atlanta GA earlier this year - more about the Atlanta event may be found HERE.
2. A competitive grant from Gates for ESSA assistance, along with a state education leadership grant from Helmsley, are signs that key national players are recognizing the critical work that state boards of ed must -- of necessity -- play in the implementation of ESSA.

Two other dates released by NASBE:

1. The 2017 Legislative Conference will be in Washington DC, March 19-21
2. The 2017 Annual Conference will be in Atlanta GA, October 31-November 4

I leave for Kansas City MO early Wednesday, October 19. All things being equal, I plan to live blog and tweet from conference sessions as I have in the past. Follow my social channels for updates (below and on the right-hand side of this blog):

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Google+

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(1) A trivial fun fact: I heard Erin Gruwell keynote a few years ago, when she inspired thousands of attendees at the National PTA 2013 Annual Conference in Cincinnati OH.

(2) NASBE joint members are the National Council of State Boards of Education Executives, or NCSBEE (pronounced, "nicks-bee"), and the National Council Of State Education Attorneys, or NCOSEA (pronounced either "nn-coSEEuh" or "nicoSEEa"). Both organizations are NASBE affiliates, national organizations serving individuals who provide administrative and other support to state boards of education or of attorneys who represent and advise state boards of ed.