Event Archives

Policy Challenges Conference: Eastern New York Rural School Summit
December 2011
This conference brought together state- and district-level stakeholders responsible for rural education in Eastern New York to engage with research on new issues facing rural schools and communities. Among the issues examined were: (a) quality rural school and community partnerships; (b) tools that highlight demographics, enrollment, performance, and finance of rural education systems and communities; and (c) online learning in rural schools. Features speakers included Dr. Kai Schafft at Penn State University and Dr. John Sipple at Cornell University. Presentation slides available.

Appraising and Planning for District Transformation to Enhance Teaching and Learning
December 2011
This full-day workshop brought together leadership teams from several school districts in Connecticut and Rhode Island to discuss how urban district central offices can fundamentally transform their work and relationships with schools to improve district-wide instructional outcomes. Dr. Meredith Honig of the University of Washington presented findings from the Wallace Foundation-funded report, “Central Office Transformation for District-wide Teaching and Learning Improvement,” which she coauthored.

Policy Challenges Webinar: Bridging Research and Practice: Improving Reading Comprehension from Pre-K Through Grade 3
April 2011
The development of strong reading comprehension skills in the primary grades is essential to individuals’ later economic, professional, social, and civic life. Yet, across the Northeast and Islands Region—and the nation—many young children are failing to develop adequate literacy skills. In this webinar, Dr. Timothy Shanahan of the University of Illinois at Chicago provided an overview of the critical issues related to reading comprehension and presented five evidence-based, practical recommendations from the Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide: “Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade.” Participants engaged with Dr. Shanahan through a moderated online chat and question-and-answer session. Webinar archive available.

Policy Challenges Webinar: Bridging Research and Practice: Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics in Elementary and Middle School
April 2011
This webinar co-sponsored with the Vermont Department of Education and Vermont Education Service Agency Coordinators presented research from the Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide: “Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Response to Intervention (RTI) for Elementary and Middle Schools.” Co-author Dr. Jon Star presented the Guide’s eight recommendations, with a particular focus on effective mathematics instruction for all students and differentiating for Tier 1 in RTI. Vermont education leaders requested the event to bring research on RTI to a wider audience and to allow participants to explore some of the content and implementation strategies presented in the Practice Guide. Webinar archive available.

Policy Challenges Webinar: Bridging Research and Practice: 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.