Connecticut

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Connecticut

Policy Challenges Conferences

Policy Challenges Conferences: Bridging Research and Practice hosts regular events with targeted audiences around the Northeast and Islands Region to bring evidence to practitioners, from Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guides published by panels of experts to key findings from REL-NEI’s research staff. Table talks, Q&A with speakers, and breakout sessions all serve to advance the conversation and connect research to practice.

View the Event Archives

	Webinar: Central Office Transformation for District-Wide Teaching and Learning (March 2011) This webinar provided participants with a research-based framework to consider transforming their district offices to more effectively and efficiently build district-wide capacity to improve instructional outcomes. Dr. Meredith Honig of the University of Washington discussed five dimensions of central office work that she and her research team associated with strengthening support for district-wide teaching and learning improvement.
	Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades (October 2010) This conference co-hosted with Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES) in Hamden, Conn., provided district- and school-level staff from ACES’ member districts an opportunity to engage with Dr. Robin Scarcella, director of Academic English and ESL at the University of California, Irvine, and co-author of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Practice Guide: “Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades.” Presentation archive available.
	Multiple Measures of Teacher Effectiveness (June 2010) Leaders from the six New England states are participating in a regional network—the New England Collaborative for Educator Quality and Effectiveness (NECEQE)—to review research and share state efforts to develop policies and programmatic support for the complex challenge of measuring teacher effectiveness. This daylong meeting convened leaders from the Collaborative and their invited colleagues to delve more deeply into topics central to this undertaking: (a) defining teacher effectiveness, (b) measuring and evaluating teacher effectiveness, and (c) professional development and compensation systems tied to teacher evaluation. Featured speakers included Dr. Laura Goe and Charlotte Danielson.
	Webinar: Measuring Teacher Effectiveness in New England (May 2010) In this webinar co-hosted with the New England Comprehensive Center and the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, Dr. Douglas Harris at the University of Wisconsin–Madison presented current research on value-added models for measuring teacher effectiveness. Among the webinar participants were representatives from the New England Collaborative for Educator Effectiveness (NECEE), a newly formed initiative comprised of teacher-effectiveness leaders from each of the six New England states. Archive available.
	Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades (February 2009) This conference, co-hosted with the New England Comprehensive Center, highlighted the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Practice Guide, “Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades,” to provide policymakers and practitioners with guidance on how to more effectively educate these students. Dr. Robin Scarcella, one of the primary authors, presented the Practice Guide and discussed the research behind its recommendations with participants from the Connecticut State Department of Education and with teams of English language learner (ELL) practitioners from Connecticut school districts. Video available.