10:15 AM -- 11:15 AM
More with John Medina (session #227)
This is your opportunity to question Dr. Medina on how to take his illustrations of how the brain works to the next level. For example, what does what you learned mean for teacher preparation programs? For school schedules? For the use of technology?

PARTICIPANTS
	John Medina, Developmental Molecular Biologist, University of Washington School of Medicine; Director, Brain Center for Applied Learning Research, Seattle Pacific University, Washington

10:15 AM -- 11:15 AM
What State Leaders Can Learn from Higher Education Reforms in Other Countries (session #228)
Come hear expert analysis of what we can learn from other nations’ higher education reforms, and which might hold the most promise for state systems. For example, what actions have our peer countries taken to define what students must demonstrate to earn degrees, hence to take accountability beyond the presentation of data? How have they more efficiently identified low-participation populations for inclusion in higher education? What has been their experience in opening up alternative pathways into and through the system? How does the U.S. context condition and suggest distinct American versions of these reforms?

PARTICIPANTS
	Clifford Adelman, Senior Associate, The Institute for Higher Education Policy, District of Columbia

10:15 AM -- 11:15 AM
Does Race to the Top Provide a Template for the ESEA of the Future? (session #229)
Discuss which state-level approaches got funded, what their acceptance might suggest for ESEA reauthorization and what analyses tell us about where we have and have not made progress in improving student outcomes.

PARTICIPANTS
	Rob Eissler, Chair, House Public Education Committee, Texas House of Representatives; ECS Commissioner; Texas
	Alyson Klein, Staff Writer, Editorial Projects in Education, Ed Week, Maryland
	Jonathan Plucker, Director and Professor, Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Indiana University, Indiana
	David Sokola, Chair, Senate Education Committee, Delaware Senate; Member, ECS Nominating and Steering Committees;Delaware

10:15 AM -- 11:15 AM
Readiness For All, College and Career Bound–An Arkansas Partnership (session #230)
The National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA) and leaders in Arkansas will discuss ‘Using the Right Data to Determine if High School Interventions Are Working to Prepare Students for College and Careers,’ a research report on how to use student achievement data to create a more systematic approach to school improvement planning and why, as a nation, we must prepare our students for college and careers starting in early education. This research report focuses on identifying students who have large academic preparation gaps entering high school and developing databases that can be used to identify promising interventions for those students, including linking longitudinal student achievement records on state assessments and EXPLORE, PLAN and the ACT. Come and listen as NCEA advocates college and career readiness to be the reality for all students and how Arkansas’ practices are taking this message to the classroom, school, and district level. Invited Speaker: Tom Kimbrell, Commissioner, Arkansas Department of Education, Arkansas

PARTICIPANTS
	Efrain Mercado, Jr., Director of Outreach, National Center for Educational Achievement, Texas
	Randy Zook, President & CEO, Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, Arkansas

10:15 AM -- 11:15 AM
Climate Change Everyone Can Support (session #231)
The research is clear and common sense has been confirmed – school climate matters. The National School Climate Council has translated the body of school climate research into actionable steps and National School Climate Standards. The standards present a vision and framework for a positive and sustainable school climate, which is necessary for student achievement, success and the reduction of risk behaviors in students. Policy transforms any school’s climate through measurable, meaningful, and memorable objectives and benchmarks that staff, parents, youth and adults can focus upon to give all kids what they need to succeed. We will showcase real school climates that foster achievement, character development, and safety for students, school staff and the neighborhood. You will walk away with a research-based story that unites the competing programs, professional tracks and funding mechanisms to a central goal – doing what is best for children and youth.

PARTICIPANTS
	Lou Ann Evans, Member, National School Climate Network; Member, District Leaders Network,Pennsylvania
	Derek Peterson, International Child/Youth Advocate, Institute for Community and Adolescent Resilience, North Dakota

3:45 PM -- 4:45 PM
More with Governor Jim Geringer (session #245)
Governor Geringer will moderate this session, involving another group of students who will explain how GIS has stimulated their interest in learning and community involvement.

PARTICIPANTS
	Jim Geringer, former Governor, Wyoming and Director, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Wyoming

3:45 PM -- 4:45 PM
Effective Transfer and Articulation Agreements to Increase College Success (session #246)
States and postsecondary systems have struggled with the challenge of negotiating transfer and articulation agreements between postsecondary institutions and systems to ensure that students who seek to enroll at a new college do not lose college credits that they have earned at institutions in which they have previously enrolled. Poor transfer systems cost students and states significant resources and negatively impact college attainment rates. This session will feature the latest research conducted by the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE) on how states can build stronger and more effective systems for facilitating the successful transfer of students into state postsecondary institutions.

PARTICIPANTS
	Richard Hezel, President & CEO, Hezel Associates, LLC, New York
	Demaree Michelau, Director of Policy Analysis, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Colorado
	Russell Poulin, Associate Program Director, Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications WICHE, Colorado

3:45 PM -- 4:45 PM
More with Clifford Adelman and Michael Kirst (session #247)
Ask your questions about reducing remediation, ensuring college/work readiness, and bringing adults with incomplete degree programs back to finish college.

PARTICIPANTS
	Clifford Adelman, Senior Associate, The Institute for Higher Education Policy, District of Columbia
	Michael Kirst, Emeritus Professor for Education and Business Administration, Stanford University, California

3:45 PM -- 4:45 PM
Building Strong Learning Communities through 21st Century Skills (session #248)
An overview and expert opinion on 21st Century Learning Environments including the importance, both nationally and internationally, of integrating the basic core skills with the new 4C's: Communication, Collaboration, Crativity, and Critical Thinking necessary to be College and Career Ready. Learn about the latest resources, tools and information on 21st century skills. Research, data and models of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills states efforts will be provided with an emphasis on support systems which include: structures for learning; time for learning; tools for learning; and communities for learning as well as the identification of needed policy changes in support of learning.

PARTICIPANTS
	Kathy Hurley, Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Pearson Education, Virginia
	Lillian Kellogg, Vice President, Education Networks of America, Tennessee
	Barbara Nielsen, Former State Superintendent, South Carolina

10:15 AM -- 11:15 AM
More with David Conley (session #325)
Ask Dr. Conley your questions about what college and career readiness should look like in state policy.

PARTICIPANTS
	David T. Conley, CEO, Educational Policy Improvement Center, Oregon

10:15 AM -- 11:15 AM
Common Core Standards: What Role Will You Play? (session #326)
This session will be an interactive, hands-on opportunity for session participants to discuss the new Common Core State Standards and the impact they will have on states, students, teachers and classroom instruction. Michael Kirst will facilitate and moderate lively discussions and draw out what’s next for these new standards.

PARTICIPANTS
	Michael Kirst, Emeritus Professor for Education and Business Administration, Stanford University, California
	Malbert Smith, President, MetaMetrics, Inc., North Carolina

10:15 AM -- 11:15 AM
School Finance 101 (session #327)
These are the times that try men’s souls (and pocketbooks). Talk with school finance experts about how states fund schools and how your state might address this fiscal crisis.

PARTICIPANTS
	Ronald Cowell, President, The Education Policy and Leadership Center, Pennsylvania
	Michael Griffith, Senior Policy Analyst, Education Commission of the States, Colorado
	Lawrence Picus, Professor, University of Southern California, California

10:15 AM -- 11:15 AM
The Role of Community and For-Profit Colleges in Increasing College Attainment (session #328)
It is becoming increasingly clear that in order for the U.S. to achieve President Obama’s goal of having the highest college attainment rate in the world by 2020, community colleges and for-profit institutions will need to play a critical role. Community colleges and for-profit institutions appear to be uniquely positioned to serve the non-traditional populations that must see improved college attainment rates to reach President Obama’s goal and improve our collective economic future. This session will focus on how community colleges and for-profit institutions are taking the challenge of increased college attainment seriously by developing innovative delivery models, groundbreaking policies and voluntary accountability systems to demonstrate their commitment to higher college attainment.

PARTICIPANTS
	Linda Baer, Senior Program Officer, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Washington
	Jack Massimino, Chairman, Corinthian Colleges, Inc., California

10:15 AM -- 11:15 AM
A State-District Partnership Approach for School Improvement: The Kansas Learning Network (session #329)
With a regularly shifting political tide and constant change in leadership at all levels, states, districts and schools need a clear research-based process for developing and implementing policies and practices that will yield predictable student achievement gains. The Kansas Learning Network fills that need by building and nurturing collaborative systems that support integrated and coherent change over time, at the state, district and school levels.

PARTICIPANTS
	Diane DeBacker, Interim Commissioner of Education, Kansas Department of Education, Kansas
	Darren Dennis, Director of Learning Services, Garden City Public Schools, Kansas
	Joan Evans, Senior Consultant, Cross and Joftus, LLC, California