Seeing Change Through to the Classroom
ACADEMY OF
PACESETTING STATES
Orientation to the Summer Session - 2009
Academy of Pacesetting States
Seeing Change Through to the Classroom
The Center on Innovation & Improvement
Partners
Virginia Department of Education
Center for School Improvement and Policy Studies
(Boise State University)
Regional Comprehensive Centers
Location
The Chauncey Conference Center, Princeton, NJ
July 19-24, 2009
Supported in part by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Award #S283B050057
Participating States and Regional Centers
Alaska, Alaska Comprehensive Center
Arkansas, Mid-Continent Comprehensive Center
Idaho, Northwest Comprehensive Center
Illinois, Great Lakes West Comprehensive Center
Louisiana, Southeast Comprehensive Center
Michigan, Great Lakes East Comprehensive Center
Montana, Northwest Comprehensive Center
Oklahoma, Mid-Continent Comprehensive Center
Virginia, Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center
Regional Center Representatives
Gerry Briscoe, Alaska Comprehensive Center
Janie Russell, Mid-Continent Comprehensive Center
Kit Peixotto, Northwest Comprehensive Center
Monique Chism, Great Lakes West Comprehensive Center
Darlene Morgan Brown, Southeast Comprehensive Center
Bersheril Bailey, Great Lakes East Comprehensive Center
Cathryn Gardner, Northwest Comprehensive Center
Sarah Hall, Mid-Continent Comprehensive Center
Keith Smith, Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center
Academy Faculty
System Leader Strand
 Carol Chelemer
 Susan Hanes
 Tom Kerins
 Carole Perlman
 Sam Redding
Instructional Specialist Strand
 Kathy Kurpeikis
 Brenda May
 Nancy Protheroe
Change Agent Strand
 Mary Keith
 Barbara Kennedy
 Steve Schenck
Facilitators
 Bernadette Anderson
 Marcia Beckman
 Lisa Kinnaman
 Maureen Mirabito
 Marilyn Murphy
 Pam Sheley
Guests
Little Planet Learning (Host of Thursday Evening BBQ): Don Gilmour, Bill Nelson
U.S. Department of Education: Rosie Kelley
High Schools That Work: Coryell Duty, George Johnson, Sharon Stone, Scott Warren
State Teams
Alaska
Charlie Crangle, Technical Assistance Coach
Dawn Elizabeth Davis, Education Specialist II
Amelia Ludeman, Education Associate II
Leslie Morse, Deputy Commissioner
Jonathan Paden, State System of Support Administrator
Arkansas
Alice Barnes-Rose, Assistant Commissioner
Stephen Brodie, Public School Program Advisor
Deborah Coffman, Associate Director of Professional Development
Devonda Cox, Special Assistant to the Commissioner
Kathryn Lavender, ACSIP Supervisor
Idaho
Tony Feldhausen, Capacity Builder
Marybeth Flachbart, Deputy Supt.—Student Achievement/School Improvement
Earnie Lewis, Capacity Builder
Deb Pfost, Regional School Improvement Coordinator
Rosie Santana, Regional School Improvement Coordinator
Illinois
Dawn Camacho, Dawn, Principal Consultant
Gina Hopper, Division Administrator—Grants and Programs
John (Mark) Williams, Division Administrator-Career Development and Preparation
Maureen Richel, Instructional Specialist
Terry Rusin, Consultant
Louisiana
Tasha Anthony, School Improvement Supervisor
Brenda Jeans, Instructional Supervisor
Janet Langlois, Section Leader
Donna Nola-Ganey, Assistant Superintendent
Ralph Thibodeaux, Deputy Director of High School Redesign
Michigan
Laska Creagh, Instructional Specialist
Linda Hecker, NCLB Consultant
Abby Hilgendorf, Instructional Specialist
Michael Nauss, Contract-High Priority Schools
Elizabeth VanDeusen-McLeod, Consultant
Montana
BJ Granbery, Division Administrator/Title I Director
Jack O’Connor, Director of Statewide System of Support
David Stringfield, Instructional Coach
Kathi Tiefenthaler, Reading First Specialist
Marg Watson, School Coach
Oklahoma
Karyn Hutchens, Executive Director—Teacher and Professional Development
Cindy Koss, Assistant State Superintendent—Standards and Curriculum
Jackie Mania, Program Specialist-School Support
Mary Pearson, Executive Director-Title I/School Support
Jennifer Watson, Team Leader—Office of Standards and Curriculum
Virginia
Michael Hill, Partnership for Achieving Successful Schools Coordinator
Yvonne Holloman, Division Level Support
Teresa Lee, Special Education Instructional Specialist
Kathleen Smith, Director—Office of School Improvement
Veronica Tate, Title I Specialist
Presentations
Instructional Leadership, Gordon Cawelti
Indicators of Effective Instruction, Larry Kugler
Rapid District Improvement, Brett Lane
Tough Decisions: School Closures and Staff Dismissals, Julie Kowal
Change in Big Districts, Heidi Ramirez
Bold Ideas: State as Change Agent, Paul Pastorek
School Turnarounds, Lauren Morando Rhim
* Restructuring that Worked, Dana Brinson, Tommie McCarter, Lindsay Krey
* Note: Tommie McCarter and Lindsay Krey are principals of schools in this
study that have dramatically turned around.
Week at a Glance
Sunday
Orientation, Strand Meetings
Monday – Thursday (with slight variations as per agenda)
 7:00
Breakfast
 7:30 - 8:15
Table Tasks with Role-Alike Groups
 8:15
Welcome and Introduction
 8:15 - 9:45
Presentation, Q & A
 10:00 - Noon
Strand Sessions
 12:00 -1:00
Lunch
 1:00 - 3:00
Strand Sessions
 3:15 - 4:30
State Team Meetings
 4:30 - 6:00
R&R
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6:00
6:45 - 7:45
Dinner
Presentation, Q & A
Friday – Planning and Presentation of Elevator Pitch
Procedures
1.
You have lots of materials
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2.
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4.
5.
Friday is official Pacesetter shirt day – for team pictures
Your Workbook includes a section for you to record your daily reflections
The evaluation form in the back of the Workbook should be filled in throughout the week,
while sessions are fresh in your mind and so you don’t miss the bus on Friday
For your State Team meetings
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6.
We will ship them home for you—your personal Pacesetter library
Don’t carry them all—your Strand faculty will tell you which ones you will need
The Workbook should always be at hand
Bring Patterns of Practice for Monday morning—Larry Kugler
Your Regional Center team member will facilitate and keep notes
Begin with each Strand reporting briefly (3 minutes each) the lessons learned and takeaways from the day
Spend 10 minutes reviewing the System Leader’s work on the SSOS rubric and discussing it
Work on the State Team Plan Development document in the Workbook
 Your thoughts will evolve through the week, and you will amend what you have previously done
 You have lots of ground to cover, so stay on track and keep moving
Your Chief State School Officer has received a letter asking him/her to meet with your team
soon after you return
Objectives of the
Academy of Pacesetting States
The objectives of the faculty and partners of the Academy of Pacesetting States are
to provide:
1.
A learning community for state teams from states intent upon leading the way to rapid
improvement of districts and schools.
2.
Training, consultation, and support to enable states to reach their goals for high quality
Statewide Systems of Support that build local capacity to initiate and sustain rapid
improvement that brings all classrooms to an optimal level of performance.
3.
Training, consultation, and support for state teams to develop skilled experts in three critical
areas:

System Leaders who administer the Statewide System of Support and coordinate its
components (including the people who carry it out);

Change Agents who understand not only effective operational practices, but also the
dynamics of change in an educational setting; and
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Instructional Specialists who understand effective classroom instruction and how it can
be cultivated in districts and school systems to reach a critical mass of instructional
excellence.
Objectives of the
Academy of Pacesetting States
The objectives of the member states of the Academy of Pacesetting States are to:
1.
Take full advantage of the opportunities to share talents and experiences
with other states, the Academy faculty and partners.
2.
Develop and achieve bold plans of action to:
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Elevate the effectiveness of the Statewide System of Support;

Build local capacity to initiate and sustain rapid improvement that
brings all classrooms to an optimal level of performance;

Create strong programs of Change Agents and Instructional Specialists
to serve as Catalytic Teams to rapidly improve districts and schools in
ways that show substantial effects in classroom instruction and student
learning.
To Meet the Objectives
Member states:
1. Send teams of five for the full week of the summer
session;
2. Participate in monthly days of distance learning;
3. Hold monthly conference calls with Academy
faculty and their regional centers; and
4. Return for a meeting and advanced training the
following summer.
Measures of Success
1. Improvement of Statewide System of Support as
indicated by rubrics-based evaluation;
2. Achievement of Plan of Action as approved by the
Chief State School Officer;
3. Evidence of impact on classroom instruction, local
capacity to initiate and sustain rapid improvement.
Central Themes
Spheres of Influence on the Instructional Core
Theory of Action (Change)
16
Building Local Capacity
Culture of Candor
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Leadership
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Effective Teams
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Collegial Coaching/Learning
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Open scrutiny of data from both sides of equation
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What students learn
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What adults do that affects what students learn
Indicators of Effective Practice
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Guideposts for effective practice
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Plain language, behavioral indicators
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Aligned with research base
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Drivers of planning and improvement
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Necessary in a Culture of Candor
Catalytic Teams
Change Agents and Instructional Specialists serve
as Catalytic Teams in a well-coordinated
system of support to rapidly improve districts
and schools in ways that show substantial
effects in classroom instruction and student
learning.
The ultimate goal in school improvement is
for the people attached to the school to
drive its continuous improvement for the
sake of their own children and students.
Greeting from Secretary Arne Duncan
I am pleased to send greetings to the participants in the Academy of Pacesetting States.
President Barack Obama and I believe that preparing young people for success in life is both a
moral obligation of society and an economic imperative for our country. Children have only
one chance for an education, and the youth who are in school now need a better education
today if they are to thrive and succeed tomorrow. That’s why we must continue to emphasize
the importance of education to the future of our young people and to our nation’s standing in
the world.
You will face challenges ahead as States focus on the difficult task of turning around chronically
low-performing schools. This academy brings together a dynamic mix of State education
leaders, instructional leaders, and change agents to learn what works best in meeting these
challenges and how to move forward in implementing crucial changes in the nation’s education
system. As we take on these challenges, your efforts can help States meet the educational
reform assurances in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The President has written about the unfinished work of perfecting our country that falls to each of
us. “It’s a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what
we know America should be.” The participants in this academy have important work to do. Best
wishes for a productive and memorable gathering.
We have important work to do.