Vermont Education Commissioner Armando Vilaseca recently hit the friendly skies for a visit to Colorado with his fellow education commissioners to discuss “the Complexities of Transforming Education in the Country”. This gathering was the annual Summer Institute of the Council of Chief State School Officers held in Broomfield, Colorado. See, we told you we didn’t make this transformation thing up.
Here is the complete release from CCSSO:
CCSSO Chiefs Convene to Discuss the Complexities of Transforming Education in the Country
CCSSO Holds 2009 Summer Institute
Washington, DC, July 23, 2009—Yesterday the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) concluded its annual Summer Institute meeting in Broomfield, Colorado. The institute welcomed nine new chief state school officers, with 44 states in attendance overall. With a theme of “Summer of Opportunity: From Promise to Action,” the institute had three goals for members: understand, lead, and communicate the imperative to transform the educational system; exposure to practical approaches to transforming education systems in light of the Council’s strategic focus areas (standards, assessments and accountability, next generation learners, educator workforce development, and comprehensive data systems); and networking with colleagues.
Chief state school officers, corporate partners, and invited guests were challenged and informed by speakers and thought-leaders such as author and Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School Clayton Christensen, Co-Director of the Change Leadership Group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education Tony Wagner, U.S. Department of Education Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development Carmel Martin, former state and national teachers of the year, and a panel of recent Colorado high school graduates.
“This is a critical juncture for a dynamic change in public education. The challenges chiefs are facing to transform education in their states and for the nation are overwhelming and complex,” stated CCSSO Executive Director Gene Wilhoit. “This meeting provided our members the opportunity to be inspired by some of the greatest minds in the country, and vet solutions for the many complex challenges they are facing.”
Three key and timely advocacy issues discussed at length at the conference were the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Common Core State Standards Initiative, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, including the Race to the Top fund. Regarding ESEA reauthorization, task force members updated the membership at large on the timeline and Council agenda for addressing reauthorization. Regarding the Common Core State Standards Initiative, chief state school officers were provided the draft mathematics and English language arts college- and career-ready standards and asked for state education agency feedback. The Race to the Top fund was further clarified in a conversation with the U.S. Department of Education including proposed requirements for criteria and timeline issues.
“We must challenge our systems and embrace disruptions to better support each learner. We have our focus areas—comprehensive data systems, educator workforce development, next generation learners, standards, assessments and accountability—as defined by CCSSO and the U.S. Department of Education,” said CCSSO President and Maine Commissioner of Education Susan Gendron. “We are committed to seizing the unprecedented opportunities to lead, as states, the transformation of public education in our country.”
The Summer Institute meeting is held annually and is the only meeting with chief state schools officers as the exclusive invitees. The Council’s 2009 Annual Policy Forum will be held in Naples, Florida, in November.
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The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. CCSSO provides leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance on major educational issues. The Council seeks members’ consensus on major educational issues and expresses their views to civic and professional organizations, federal agencies, Congress, and the public.
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