8:00 AM -- 3:30 PM
National Center for Learning & Citizenship Board Meeting (Invitation Only) (session #120)

12:30 PM -- 7:00 PM
Registration Desk (session #100)

12:30 PM -- 7:00 PM
Cyber Cafe (session #110)

12:30 PM -- 5:00 PM
Answering Critical Policy Questions: Leveraging Longitudinal P-20/Workforce Data Systems (session #125)
Lunch will begin at 12:30 p.m. The meeting will begin at 1:00 p.m.

Hosted by the Data Quality Campaign.

How can longitudinal data help your state improve student achievement and inform policy and programmatic decisions? What is the role of P-16/P-20 Councils and other interagency state bodies to provide vital governance to data systems? Join us to learn how other states are using longitudinal data to affect policy change!

Why you should attend: All states have committed to building statewide longitudinal data systems that can follow an individual from P-20 and into the workforce by September 2011. With rising expectations for improved outcomes throughout the education system the pressure is on states to act quickly and effectively. Make sure that your state creates the necessary policies and practices and takes advantage of funding opportunities to develop a high-quality, usable data system.

What you will get from this session:

• An overview of states’ status on the development and use of statewide longitudinal data systems;
• Examples from leading states on how they are able to link and share data across agencies;
• An opportunity to address issues such as data privacy and security;
• Time to connect and work with your peers, including teams of state Commissioners, to develop the critical questions that are specific to your state;
• Information on state models and data governance structures, including the role of P-16/P-20 Councils;
• Tools and resources for you to use when you return to your state.

1:00 PM -- 3:00 PM
State Teacher of the Year Special Session (Invitation Only) (session #130)
This “invitation only” special session for State Teachers of the Year will focus on the future of “teacher leadership,” new resources for increasing teacher effectiveness, and how to better understand and become more involved in education policy.

PARTICIPANTS
	Katherine Bassett, Director, Educational Testing Service, New Jersey
	Albert Browne, National Program Director, Verizon Foundation, New Jersey
	Marguerite Izzo, English Language Arts Specialist, Howard T. Herbert Middle School, 2007 New York State Teacher of the Year, New York

4:00 PM -- 4:45 PM
Commissioners' Business Meeting (session #140)
ECS Commissioners are asked to join their colleagues and represent their state at the annual business meeting of the Commission.

PARTICIPANTS
	Barbara Clark, Assemblywoman, New York Assembly; ECS Vice Chair; Member, ECS Executive and Steering Committees; Board Member, NCLC; New York
	Richard Rhoda, Executive Director, Tennessee Higher Education Commission; ECS Treasurer; Member, ECS Executive and Steering Committees; Tennessee
	Roger Sampson, President, Education Commission of the States, Colorado

6:00 PM -- 7:30 PM
Welcome Reception at Hotel (session #150)
AWARDS PRESENTATION:

Tim Pawlenty
Governor of Minnesota, 2008-10 ECS Chair

2010 Frank Newman Award for State Innovation
Governor Pawlenty will present the 2010 Frank Newman Award for State Innovation to the State of Ohio.

ACCEPTING AWARD: Deborah Delisle, Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction
Brian Williams, Ohio State Representative

2010 ECS Corporate Award
Governor Pawlenty will present the 2010 ECS Corporate Award to AT&T.

ACCEPTING AWARD:
Cynthia Marshall, President, AT&T North Carolina
Laura Sanford, President, AT&T Foundation

2010 ECS Chair’s Award
Governor Pawlenty will present the 2010 Chair’s Award to Teach for America.

ACCEPTING AWARD:
Eric Scroggins, Executive Vice President of Growth Strategy and Development, Teach for America

2009 LESN Recognition Award

AWARD RECIPIENT:
Helen James, Senior Attorney, Tennessee General Assembly

The Legislative Education Staff Network (LESN) is a joint partnership between the Education Commission of the States (ECS) and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). This group annually recognizes an education legislative staff member who has provided exemplary service to the legislative process and been active in LESN. Although Helen James is not in attendance at this National Forum, we would like to recognize her outstanding contributions leading the legislative legal staff as they drafted the legislation resulting in Tennessee’s winning bid for the federal Race to the Top funds.

7:00 AM -- 5:30 PM
Registration Desk (session #200)

7:00 AM -- 5:30 PM
Cyber Cafe (session #210)

7:30 AM -- 8:30 AM
Buffet Breakfast (session #215)

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

10:00 AM -- 10:15 AM
Break (session #226)

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

11:15 AM -- 11:30 AM
Break (session #232)

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

2:45 PM -- 3:00 PM
Break (session #243)

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

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

4:45 PM -- 5:00 PM
Break (session #249)

5:00 PM -- 6:00 PM
Roundtable #1: The Economic Impact of High School Graduation (session #250)
All of us recognize that graduating from high school with the skills necessary to be successful in postsecondary education, work and life is critical. Join this roundtable to learn more about groundbreaking research that quantifies the economic impact that occurs when we fail to graduate students from high school. There is a direct link between improved educational outcomes and economic returns that include the growth in jobs, home ownership, levels of spending and investment, and car sales that will result from cutting the high school dropout rate in half.

PARTICIPANTS
	Kathy Payne, Senior Director for Education Leadership, State Farm Companies® Corporate Headquarters, Illinois
	Bob Wise, Former Governor, West Virginia, President, Alliance for Excellent Education, District of Columbia

5:00 PM -- 6:00 PM
Roundtable #2: Moving Research to Action for Early Education in Oregon (session #251)
Staff from the Children’s Institute will share information and resources from their work with policymakers, government agencies and funders to support cost-effective public and private investments in early childhood programs in the state. The Institute has been instrumental in expanding Oregon’s unique Head Start prekindergarten program and establishing first-time state funding for Early Head Start. In addition, the Institute has produced a number of reports that help guide state efforts to develop programs and policies to support young children and their families.

5:00 PM -- 6:00 PM
Roundtable #3: Community Education and the Future of Learning (session #252)
This roundtable will discuss: promise neighborhoods, full-service community schools, 21st century community learning centers, after school programs, early childhood education and community engagement in learning.

5:00 PM -- 6:00 PM
Roundtable #4: Expanded-Time Schools (session #253)
Hear how federal administration, state, district and school leaders are encouraging and implementing innovative new school schedules to add learning and enrichment time for students and more time for teachers to plan, meet and individualize instruction.

5:00 PM -- 6:00 PM
Strengthening Educator Quality in Arkansas through Transparency and Partnership (session #254)
Members of the Arkansas Partnership for Teacher Quality will share preliminary information from its research on the preparation, placement, retention, and student achievement of Arkansas teachers and the implications for public schools and educator preparation institutions.

5:00 PM -- 6:00 PM
Roundtable #6: The RTTT Consortium Assessments: New Advances and New Challenges (session #255)
The $350 million federal RTTT Assessment Program has resulted in two proposals for new Comprehensive Assessment Systems for the assessment of students in grades 3 through 8 and at least once in high school: the SMARTER Balanced Consortium and the PARCC Consortium. This session will explore the innovative design features that are common across the consortia, and how these will affect the testing experience of students. The session will also explore how these new designs propose to provide more timely, useful, and accurate information to all stakeholders, and the technical challenges to be overcome to support these new innovations.

5:00 PM -- 6:00 PM
Roundtable #7: Business Credible, High School Feasible (session #256)
WestEd, ECS and Strategic Partnership are working together to develop an assessment tool that will measure the skills that industry values embedded in rigorous academic content applications. This roundtable will discuss the current status of this work.

PARTICIPANTS
	Stanley Rabinowitz, Director, Assessment and Standards Development Services, WestEd, California

5:00 PM -- 6:00 PM
Partnerships between Private Sector Career Colleges and Community Colleges to Advance Workforce & Career (session #257)
Many community colleges are facing severe capacity constraints and funding challenges. Private sector career colleges have been growing and investing in additional capacity. This roundtable will look into the possibility of creating fruitful partnerships between these types of institutions and what each organization can learn from the other to improve the education and training they provide.

5:00 PM -- 6:00 PM
Roundtable #9: Reaching Rural Schools (session #258)
Recognizing the importance of college and career readiness for all students, how can we ensure that students and educators in rural communities have access to the resources they need to achieve this goal? This roundtable discussion will focus on particular issues facing rural schools and explore creative steps to increase educational opportunities for rural students. AT&T will bring together rural education experts to examine new possibilities for creating partnerships and networks to reach rural schools.

5:00 PM -- 6:00 PM
Roundtable #10: Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better (session #259)
A team of researchers from EdSource and Stanford University recently released the largest empirical study ever conducted of middle grades practices and their association with higher student academic outcomes. This roundtable will summarize the study’s findings, and their implications for district and school practice, as well as state and federal policy.

PARTICIPANTS
	Michael Kirst, Emeritus Professor for Education and Business Administration, Stanford University, California
	Trish Williams, Executive Director, EdSource, California

6:00 PM -- 7:00 PM
State Team Reception (Invitation Only) (session #265)
Reception for all State Teams, Corporate Partners and National Forum Sponsors.

7:00 AM -- 4:00 PM
Registration Desk (session #300)

7:00 AM -- 4:00 PM
Cyber Cafe (session #310)

7:30 AM -- 8:15 AM
Buffet Breakfast (session #315)

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

10:00 AM -- 10:15 AM
Break (session #323)

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

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

12:20 PM -- 12:30 PM
Break (session #331)

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)

3:15 PM -- 5:00 PM
Starting Strong by Building Effective PreK to Grade 3 Systems (session #345)
This special session — supported by Pre-K Now, a campaign of the Pew Center on the States — will address how states and districts can build college and workforce readiness by enacting policies that strengthen teaching and learning in preschool and the early grades. Session highlights include:

• Keynote address from Jerry Weast (featured in the new book, Leading for Equity: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Montgomery County Public Schools, by Stacey M. Childress, Denis P. Doyle and David A. Thomas)
• Pre-K policy experts from the Pew Center on the States share best practices
• Facilitated group discussion: Making PK-3 a Reality in My State.

PARTICIPANTS
	David S. Beard, Senior Associate, The Pew Charitable Trusts, District of Columbia
	Allison de la Torre, The PEW Charitable Trusts, District of Columbia
	Kristie Kauerz, Program Director, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Massachusetts
	Jerry Weast, Superintendent of Montgomery County Schools, Maryland