LegCon Update to Board Colleagues

Always a challenge - and an opportunity! - to re-cap and synthesize a national conference, especially a legislative conference as dense as NASBE's, for BESE colleagues. Here goes. 

Take-aways from NASBE's 2017 Legislative Conference: Leading in a Time of Change

This was my second NASBE LegCon (and fifth NASBE conference overall) since my appointment to BESE. The focus: federal education issues affecting states, with ESSA taking center stage. Each session offered insight into emerging issues under ESSA and strategies to connect policy with practice while advancing equity and excellence in education in times of change. As always, it's most gratifying to connect and learn from other State Board Members: the change that's happening in education is creating unprecedented opportunity for State leadership to shape education policy.

• Following an orientation session for new board members, Sunday's Quarterly Board of Director's Meeting (the Board is charged with setting all policy for the association) kicked off over lunch at noon. We were briefed by staff and members of the leadership team:
• NASBE is now fully staffed and has welcomed a Communications Associate and a Project Manager for Hewlett and Wallace work.
• Finances are in great shape, with thanks to NASBE's Treasurer and Finance Director.
• A number of working groups were activated:
• Bylaws
• Dues
• The Future of Study Groups
• Staff Policies + Procedures Review
• Work continues apace for the Annual Conference in Atlanta GA (November 1-4, 2017)
• Monday's Opening General Session featured remarks from US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT).
• The Secretary said she wants to "break the bad habit of the Department of Education being in your way" and that "the president's budget reflects this". (ICYMI: the president has proposed a roughly $9.2 billion cut to US ED, thus commencing the budget convo). Says, "nothing short of excellence should be a common theme" and "we should not rest until each child has an opportunity to learn and thrive". She spoke for about 8 minutes and took no questions. My take-away: The Secretary has a huge responsibility, but the budget, if passed as proposed, will decimate the US Department of Education and she fully supports the president's budget.
• Senator Chris Murphy said he's a "proud product of the public school system" and that he's "proud of this country's innovative idea to provide public education". He's "hopeful about ESSA" and that the "Department of Education was going to help schools and districts". He said, "the proposed budget is catastrophic" and "a preview of what is going to come, if we aren't successful". He warned that "setting the bar too low will feed the idea that you don't need the Department of Ed...they want to say that the public education system cannot deliver and give support to privatized education". He encouraged SBEs to "build high standards". The Senator spoke for about 15 minutes and took questions. Take-away: US ED will be a "light touch" and States must be bold, strengthen collaboration skills with local districts and stakeholders.
• General Session + Moderated Panel Discussion: Forging Partnerships to Shape and Advance Education Policy Agendas: Players, Perspectives, and Possibilities. Panelists: former WV Governor Bob Wise, President of Alliance for Excellent Education; Cheryl Oldham, US Chamber of Commerce; Marla Ucelli-Kashyap, AFT; Merrit Jones, Student voice; Kris Amundson, NASBE President/CEO (moderator). Take-away: Broad, inclusive engagement of diverse stakeholders is not a "nice to have" but essential to building and sustaining education policies that improve opportunities and outcomes for all students -> ->Is MA up to the task?
• General Session: Components of a Changing Education Policy Agenda. Panelists: David Griffith, ASCD; Melissa Tooley, New America; Robin Lake, Center on Reinventing Public Education; Robert Hull, NASBE; Abigail Potts, NASBE (moderator). Take-away: With new authority to determine the components of a high-quality education, SBEs should identify major educational opportunities as they plan their policy agenda for the future.
• Policy Landscapes and the Environment for 2017: How will Upcoming Federal Policy Affect State Actions? Panelists: Reg Leichty, Foresight Law + Policy; Patrick Lyden, Current Government Relations. Take-away: Connect with federal legislators early and check-in with them regularly.
• Concurrent Session: Exploring Options for Parents: Innovation & Alternatives in Schooling. Panelists: Todd Ziebarth, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools; Robin Lake, Center on Reinventing Public Education; Todd Mann, Magnet Schools of America; Paige Kowalski, Data Quality Campaign (panelist + moderator). Take-away: Expanding options in schooling are advancing.
• Concurrent Session: Relentless Pursuit of Equity in Education Policy. Panelists: Peter Cookson, AIR; Guy Johnson, Partners for Each and Every Child; Dr.Estela Lopez, CT/SBE; Kimberly Charis, NASBE; Abigail Potts, NASBE (moderator). Take-away: SBEs must encourage equity discussions that informs policymaking supporting racial equity and the needs of historically underserved students.
• General Session: Questions Boards Should Ask About Their ESSA State Plans. Panelists: John King, Former US Secretary of Education, The Education Trust; Kris Amundson, NASBE President/CEO; Michael Magee, Chiefs for Change; Sandra Boyd, Achieve (moderator). Take-away: SBEs must be the citizen voice at the table.
• Northeast Area Breakfast Meeting. SBE Members from CT, DC, DE, MA, ME were present, providing comments, suggestions, and feedback for NASBE.
• General Session with Congressman Todd Rokita (R-IN). He's the Chair of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education and Vice Chair of the House Budget Committee. As a House Representative, he's also a co-author of ESSA. He shared this thoughts on ESSA saying, "accountability is a good thing" and "it's up to states to decide what that looks like". NASBE President/CEO Amundson pushed back on new template, saying "it has unwound some of the intent of ESSA on stakeholder engagement further than the law allows". Rokita said he "will support NASBE on this issue" and that "focus will shift next to the Higher Education Act" (HEA). When asked, "What do you see and what is your view on choice" he said, "I'm a State's rights guy, so why would I be for a federal mandate on choice? The president referenced a $20 billion figure, so how does that $20 billion look? Probably in tax credits" and that he's "not seeing a Title I transfer". Take-away: Unclear this will happen before Congressional mid-term elections.
• General Session: Public Launch of State Board Insight. Panelists: Robert Hull, NASBE; Sarah-Jane Lorenzo, NASBE; John-Paul Hayworth, DC/SBE. A new database was unveiled: it's drawn from publicly reported SBE meeting minutes and agendas with a potential to help SBEs, researchers, journalists, educators, and community members uncover key insights about ESSA and more. Take-away: Check it out HERE.
• After lunch, to conclude our conference, Student Representative Nathan Moore and I visited with Congresswoman Clark's and Senator Warren's Legislative Staff. We shared NASBE's concerns on Fiscal Years 2017 and 2018 Appropriations Priorities, Perkins CTE, and E-rate + Lifeline Programs:
• Congress should fully fund ESSA programs with a focus on the law's major formula programs and other initiatives designed to promote educational equity.
• Congress should reauthorize the Perkins CTE this year and commit to ensuring that more students, particularly students in low-income communities, have access to high quality CTE opportunities aligned to higher education, business, and industry needs.
• Lawmakers should strongly support the E-rate and the Lifeline Programs, which are critical tools for connecting students to broadband services.

Announcements

• Each year, NASBE recognizes distinguished leaders for their contributions to improving education for all children. Information about making those nominations, as well as for nominations to the 2018 Board of Directors will be forthcoming from NASBE.
• Save the Dates:
• New Member Institute, Renaissance Arlington Capital View, Arlington VA, June 9-10, 2017 (as a NASBE member State, NASBE pays hotel and airfare for members up to 18-months into their term on BESE).
• Annual Conference, Atlanta GA, Westin Buckhead Atlanta, November 1-4, 2017

Please be in touch with any questions or comments.

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.

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.

Update to BESE on NASBE Legislative Conference

My comments to BESE at yesterday's meeting.

This marked the third NASBE Conference I've attended since last July. Each has been of high quality, with respect to both relevant content and presenters. I hope some others from BESE will consider attending the Annual Conference in Kansas City KS, October 19-22.

In the week before the conference,
Education Week ran a cover story about the urgency of the work of State Boards of Education (SBEs) under new ESEA reauthorization - ESSA.

LegCon was focused on the reauthorization, looking at four key areas: assessments, accountability, effective teachers, and high school turnarounds.

At the Board Meeting Sunday afternoon Indiana SBE member Gordon Hendry shared information about their new law to fund a teacher scholarship program to lead top students into teaching in an effort "to curb persistent teacher shortages".

NASBE Board members and staff joined "the chiefs" at dinner Sunday night, where I met up briefly with the Commissioner, Jessica Leitz (Director of DESE's External Partnerships), and Lauren Green (Assistant Chief of Staff).

During LegCon, NASBE released a new report, Policymaking on Education Data Privacy: Lessons Learned, paired with another report from the Future of Privacy Forum on how data analysis empowers students and schools.

LegCon had 30+ states and territories represented.

• Executive Director, Kris Amundson addressed attendees about State Board Leadership for all students.

• Stephan Turnipseed from Destination Imagination, formerly with LEGO Education, gave a keynote on establishing collge and careet expectations (he believes critical thinking is best in hands on, project-based learning programming).

• Charlotte Danielson talked with us about using your state teacher evaluation system to promote effective teacher practice.

 Panels addressed a range of issues:

• effective communication with families

• the federal policy landscape

• early learning and accountability requirements of ESSA

• student data privacy (lessons learned and federal implications of it

• designing your own accountability system and

• questions SBEs should ask about state assessment systems

There was an enlightening and thought-provoking keynote from Michael Leachman on criminal justice reform and its implications for schools.

The morning of our last day, US Secretary of Education John King spent the better part of 90 minutes talking with us about supporting state leadership to promote educational equity and excellence. 

As I had participated in NASBE's New Member Institute last July I was invited to participate in a "new member focus group" while in DC. The purpose was to facilitate a discussion over the ways in which NASBE could have better-informed new members, whether they attend the Institute or not. NASBE is in the process of revamping materials and access.

NASBE exists to serve and strengthen SBEs in their pursuit of high levels of academic achievement for all students. I'm glad Massachusetts is a member and I am grateful to have attended this conference.

NASBE Update to the BESE

As the MA delegate to NASBE's annual conference last month, Chair Sagan has asked me to provide an update to the Board at today's regular Board meeting. I've blogged about some of the sessions I attended during the conference, beginning with the visit to the Halstead Academy; links to those posts may be found in the sidebar at right (they're near the bottom of the page, in "October", and all have "NASBE" in the title; some are embedded links below). At today's meeting I'll be sharing, more or less, from here:

Overall, NASBE put on an impressive conference. Excellent presenters and featured speakers led high quality sessions on key issues before us, including:

• Re-thinking the achievement gap
• ESEA reauthorization
• Student data privacy
• Changing demographics and their impact on education and the workforce
• Teacher equity plans (what's next, now that they've been filed)
• Social-emotional learning
• Engaging students in deeper learning
• Strengthening state policies for high-quality early childhood education
• Focusing on career and civic competencies (not only on college competencies)

As is common at such conferences, there were many networking opportunities with partners and colleagues in member states, as well as an awards luncheon to recognize outstanding contributions of education and elected leaders.

Business of the conference included the election of a new executive committee and board members, updating of the association's bylaws, and votes on new association positions. I was honored to be elected by colleagues in the Northeast member states to NASBE's Board of Directors as the Northeast Area Director. The term is for two years beginning January 1, 2016. The Northeast Area includes the six New England states, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It will be my role to liaise to these states, participate in monthly conference calls, and attend Board meetings in Alexandria, VA four times a year.

Some take-aways from the conference:

• DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE: Change is coming to schools and the workforce. From the 2000 to 2010 Census:
• Hispanic population grew by 43%
• Asian-American population grew by 42.9%
• White population grew by 1.2%
• an aging population is retiring and living longer

States need to be actively thinking about and planning for these changes.

• ALL MEANS ALL: The society of children about to enter the education system will be very different, including:
• very many more children who will not have English as a first/primary language --> it's impact on reading for all children
• many children being raised by grandparents and in other non-traditional family configurations, which has an impact on the history that gets taught (i.e., Rethinking Columbus and History UnErased)
• more importance to be placed on cultural competency and non-cognitive learning

Education is important but insufficient; also need to include non-cognitive aspects.

• TECHNOLOGY: How, where, and when students learn is changing much more dramatically. Technology is changing faster than states can decide what to do.

State Boards of Education (SBEs) can provide guardrails.

• FEDERAL LEGISLATION: Issues around student data privacy are challenging because they are trying to fit into a law from 1974 (FERPA). ESEA is critical and is 14 years out of date. 

Current compromise legislation doesn't do everything we all might want, but it's important so that all of our diverse students can achieve at high levels.

• NAVIGATING CHANGE: The work of SBEs is going to get a lot harder. NASBE has our back with policy experts, excellent publications, resources.

Announced NASBE Dates:

2016 Legislative Conference: April 4-5, at the Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel, Washington DC to which I hope BESE members will consider joining me in attending.

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"Too many tests? Obama's plan treats symptoms, not the cause." Smart take from @latimes on proposed 2% testing cap: https://t.co/i3wJPICG9j

— NASBE (@NASBE) October 28, 2015

An Estabrook Update

MT @MAStewartMA: Exciting! MT @SandraTrach NEW #EstabrookSchool 02.24.14! art rm in final stage overlook green roof pic.twitter.com/D6luzFM935”

— Sandra Trach (@SandraTrach) January 15, 2014

Raise Up MA - Update!

RaiseUpMA advocates
at the Tuesday Farmer's
Market, Lexington

For the past two months I've been part of the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition working to gather signatures across Massachusetts for a ballot initiative that would see two questions added to the statewide ballot next November (see previous Posts: Raise Up Massachusetts; PDM). These two important initiatives would index the minimum wage and require employers to provide earned sick time to their employees.

The coalition has been successful! We succeeded in our signature drive - - gathering more than a quarter-million signatures, far surpassing our most ambitious targets. And, PDM has substantially exceeded its own ambitious goals. I was one of many familiar faces at the Farmer's Market each Tuesday from mid-September through the end of October and at several Town events. I also made a personal commitment to knock doors in my precinct - and I'm pleased to say that I successfully gathered 500+ signatures for my efforts.

The impact of Raise Up's statewide campaign has led the state Senate's leadership to advance a minimum wage measure that would meet many of the campaign's goals.

I stand with PDM and statewide activists who await this initiative moving forward, in both legislative and electoral settings, to see these important progressive reforms put into law.