8:30 AM -- 9:15 AM
What We Can Learn From How the Brain Works (session #220)
The brain is an amazing thing. Most of us have no idea what’s really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details every educator should know. How do we learn? What exactly do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multi-tasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget—and so important to repeat new knowledge? Brain Rules is about what we know for sure, and what we might do about it.

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

9:15 AM -- 10:00 AM
How Future Assessments Can Hit the Real Targets (session #225)
This panel features national assessment experts who will focus on the next generation of assessments and what these assessments must include to be aligned to international benchmarks, improve instruction, and still be affordable and not burdensome to administer.

PARTICIPANTS
	Stuart Kahl, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Measured Progress, Inc., New Hampshire
	Shilpi Niyogi, Executive Vice President, National Services Strategy & New Business Development, Pearson Education, District of Columbia
	Stanley Rabinowitz, Director, Assessment and Standards Development Services, WestEd, California
	Kevin Sweeney, Executive Director of Psychometrics, The College Board, Pennsylvania

11:30 AM -- 12:15 PM
Getting Results Together: Maximizing the Roles of Governors and Legislators (session #235)
Hear governors and state legislators speak candidly about the successes and challenges they face in moving complex educational issues forward. They will talk about their respective roles in the State Common Core Standards, the upcoming ESEA reauthorization, and better coordinating and aligning state services and resources that are often housed in different state agencies.

PARTICIPANTS
	Michael Flanagan, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Michigan State Department of Education, Michigan
	Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota, 2008-10 ECS Chair
	James Roebuck, Co-Chair, House Education Committee, Pennsylvania House of Representatives; Member, ECS Steering Committee, Pennsylvania
	Florence Shapiro, Chair, Senate Education Committee, Texas Senate; ECS Commissioner; Texas

12:15 PM -- 1:00 PM
Increasing the College Completion Rate to 60% by 2025 - Lessons Learned Thus Far (session #240)
Lumina Foundations’s big goal is to increase the college completion rate to 60% by 2025. Governor Tim Pawlenty will facilitate this discussion with Jamie Merisotis around what the Lumina Foundation has learned about key points of leverage, potential pitfalls and what conditions are necessary to meeting this goal.

PARTICIPANTS
	Jamie Merisotis, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lumina Foundation for Education, Indiana
	Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota, 2008-10 ECS Chair

1:15 PM -- 2:00 PM
Bounce Your Boldest Ideas Off the Best and the Brightest (Interactive Open-Mic) (session #241)
This session is for the brave of heart. Here is your chance to quickly present a policy idea for improving education and get rapid feedback on its merit from two of the nation’s deepest experts who are not afraid to “tell it like they see it.” (Time constraints will be strictly enforced.)

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

2:00 PM -- 2:45 PM
Put Critical Thinking On the Map:Learning, Teaching, Decision-making through GIS (session #242)
Former Wyoming Governor Jim Geringer will describe his experiences with geographic information systems, or GIS, from a policy perspective, then introduce a group of students who will demonstrate how they connect school and community service, followed by a demonstration of how location-based information systems are enabling better instruction and community health care. Geographic inquiry and information system technology are being used by more and more schools to help educators prepare and teach, to stimulate students’ curiosity and learning, and to help administrators manage their education and community assets.

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

3:00 PM -- 3:40 PM
What Does Being Work-Ready Look Like? (session #244)
The Georgia work-ready certificate helps state residents understand work readiness skills and what is meant by moving to a more ‘knowledge based workforce.’ Skills gap training will help improve Work Ready Certificate results and graduation test scores and lead to an increase in the graduation rate. And certification at Level 5 in Applied Math and Reading for Information correlate to college readiness without remediation. What’s not to like?

PARTICIPANTS
	Debra M. Lyons, Director, Governor's Office of Workforce Development, Georgia

8:15 AM -- 8:30 AM
Read for the Record (session #320)
Again this year, the Pearson Foundation is the founding sponsor of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record Campaign, an international campaign to bring young people together with valued grownups in their lives to read the same book, on the same day, in communities all over the world. On October 7th, Pearson aims to make Read for the Record bigger than ever by sharing this year’s book “The Snow Day” online via their new We Give Books literacy initiative. In the process, record-breakers will also help donate classic children’s books to young people in classrooms across the United States.

PARTICIPANTS
	Mark Nieker, President, The Pearson Foundation, New York

8:30 AM -- 9:15 AM
Beyond Business as Usual–Key State Actions to Boost College and Career Readiness (session #321)
Current methods of helping high school students attain college readiness have resulted in unacceptable remediation rates in two- and four-year postsecondary institutions nationwide, and often have been completely disassociated from the skills and knowledge students need to be career-ready. David Conley will explore the components of a more comprehensive definition of college and career readiness, and state policies to better assist all students in achieving their post-high school goals.

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

9:15 AM -- 10:00 AM
Can the Right Measures Increase Innovation and Success? (session #322)
Successful organizations rely extensively on data analysis, yet few K-12 districts have the metrics they need to do the same. How can collecting data on the right things contribute to an environment where innovation can thrive?

PARTICIPANTS
	Frederick Hess, Director of Education Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, District of Columbia

11:20 AM -- 12:20 PM
Improving Teacher Preparation and Teacher Effectiveness (session #330)
This Teacher Quality Plenary Panel will focus on new thinking and action related to teacher preparation efforts, how data is allowing for deeper evaluation of preparation programs and critical issues for policymakers to consider for improving the teacher pipeline. National teacher preparation experts will discuss and debate best practices.

PARTICIPANTS
	Tony Bennett, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Indiana Department of Education, Indiana
	Holly Franks Boffy, 2010 Louisiana State Teacher of the Year, Paul Breaux Middle School, Louisiana
	Jonathan Plucker, Director and Professor, Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Indiana University, Indiana
	Paul Reville, Secretary of Education, Executive Office of Education, Massachusetts
	Philip Schmidt, Associate Provost, Western Governors University, Utah

12:30 PM -- 1:45 PM
Preparing Teachers & School Leaders: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century (session #335)
While the recruitment and preparation of teachers and school principals have raised major challenges in the United States and often have been deeply contentious issues, there is strong agreement that solving the dilemma is a necessary centerpiece of effective reform. This talk will discuss the challenges we face, what we know about what works, and new directions that are emerging, recommending critical steps for the future. New York Assemblywoman Barbara Clark will present the 2010 ECS James Bryant Conant Award to Linda Darling-Hammond.

PARTICIPANTS
	Barbara Clark, Assemblywoman, New York Assembly; ECS Vice Chair; Member, ECS Executive and Steering Committees; Board Member, NCLC; New York
	Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommon Professor of Education, Stanford University, California

1:45 PM -- 3:15 PM
Getting to Yes: A Discussion Between Congressional Leaders and State Governors (session #336)
We share the same goals. State and Congressional leaders want youth and adults to be better prepared. They seek an economy that is globally competitive; higher graduation rates (high school and college); reductions in the need for remediation; clear pathways to enter the skilled workforce and earn a living wage; more citizens who contribute to the quality of life in each community and who set a high bar for the next generation of leaders to reach. But too often – in exchange for federal dollars – states are doing things that simply don’t make sense to them. What are the most critical pieces of Perkins, ESEA or the Workforce Investment Act that contribute to these unintended results? How can we shape policy at the federal level in a way that gives states flexibility and the tools for success?

PARTICIPANTS
	Phil Bredesen, Governor, State of Tennessee, Tennessee
	Frederick Hess, Director of Education Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, District of Columbia
	Bob Wise, Former Governor, West Virginia, President, Alliance for Excellent Education, District of Columbia

3:15 PM
ECS National Forum Adjourns (session #340)