Washington+Policy+Seminar

[|WPS Concurrent Session Registration]



March 17, 2010 Dear EPFP Fellow, It’s less than one month until the national gathering of the 2009-2010 class of the Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP) Cohort. IEL looks forward to hosting you at the **2010 Washington Policy Seminar (WPS) and to providing you with multiple opportunities to think and learn about education policy at the national level. As you know, the meeting will be held at the Grand Hyatt Washington, 1000 H Street, Washington, DC, April 14 – 17!**

You are encouraged to please take some time over the next several weeks to read through this letter and to explore the links provided to information that will prepare you to “hit the ground running**.” Get acquainted with the [|agenda]** and bone up on the **[|readings]**. Also, **[|please register by March 31st]** **for the optional Alumni/Fellows Networking Event at BlackFinn DC and your concurrent session of choice**. This year, we are calling on you to flex your leadership muscles and **volunteer to facilitate one of the concurrent sessions**. Please let Jamie know whether you would be interested in throwing your hat in the ring. She will be working with the EPFP Coordinators to finalize the list of facilitators over the next week and a half, so don’t delay if you are interested. In addition, there are two logistical considerations to keep in mind to ensure that you have a pleasant experience at the 2010 WPS:
 * The Grand Hyatt Washington is centrally located at the Metro Center stop on Metro’s red line.
 * Dress for the conference is business casual. April can be a fickle month, and the temperature in meeting rooms can swing dramatically, so please **dress in layers**.

We hope you are looking forward, as we are, to this exciting capstone experience to your Fellowship year. The 2010 WPS is an intensive examination of the individual actors, institutions and contextual forces that influence the federal policymaking process. It is also an up-close encounter with education policymaking as it happens. You will hear directly from those engaged in the day-to-day machinations of policy creation at the federal level, and learn their varied perspectives on the salient issues of the day. **The theme of the 2010 WPS is: //A nation ‘Racing to the Top’: Are we on the right track?//** While the economic crisis has persisted in its domination of the national policy debate during this program year, education remains intertwined with economic recovery and is a top tier issue for the Obama Administration. The implications of the //American Recovery and Reinvestment Act// (ARRA) continue to be felt throughout the country: state legislatures are grappling with the “funding cliff” that will occur as state stabilization funds dwindle at the same time their governors are battling for a seat at the table for competitive grants like Race to the Top, Investing in Innovation (i3), and other federal initiatives. Meanwhile, all signs point to the four pillars of Race to the Top – globally competitive standards and assessments, data systems that inform instruction and administration, recruitment and retention of “effective” teachers and principals, and turnaround of our nation’s lowest achieving schools – as guideposts for the pending reauthorization of the //Elementary and Secondary Education Act// (see the Administration’s “Blueprint” for ESEA reauthorization among your readings). Across the political spectrum, some constituencies are beginning to question whether these federal initiatives are heading in the right direction. In selecting speakers, we have sought to pull from the breadth of viewpoints on this topic, from both within and outside the executive and legislative branches. We know you will come prepared to engage in spirited discussion with the speakers on the central theme of WPS, as well as these and other points: **Day one of the 2010 WPS** will begin with an opportunity to network with Fellows you have not yet met, and share your personal **“Elevator Speech”** at cross-site tables. Next, you’ll hear from DC insider, **Norm Ornstein**, of the American Enterprise Institute. He will set the stage by giving us an insider’s view of how things work – or don’t work – in the nation’s capital. Then you’ll plunge into a fast-paced, high-pressure, two-part computer **simulation of what it’s really like to be a member of the U.S. Congress**. A lecture by Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education **Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana** will round out the intellectual pursuits of the day. Prior to her appointment, Meléndez served as superintendent of the Pomona Unified School District (Calif.), a diverse district serving a high proportion of low-income and English language learners. In 2009, her success as an education leader was recognized by the American Association of School Administrators, which voted her California Superintendent of the Year. She will share her thoughts on leadership in American education, paying special attention to how the current Administration’s policies may impact local districts like the one in which she served. **Day two** will kick off with **Linda** **Perlstein**, author of //// Tested  //// //: One American School Struggles to Make the Grade//, leading the **three “Mikes”- Usdan, Cohen, and Petrilli -** in a discussion of the historical role of the federal government in education and the shifting landscape as the federal role has grown in the last two decades. Next, **Judy Schneider** of the Congressional Research Service will add further to the backdrop of the day’s activities on Capitol Hill by taking us behind the scenes to describe the realities of the interaction of policy, politics, and procedures in both the House and Senate. Next, you will hit the town with the Fellows from your program site for **“Hill Day”** – an opportunity to meet with elected officials and/or staff members, officials of national associations and interest groups, government relations and media experts, and other people who influence policymaking at the national and state levels. We will cap the evening with a rousing performance delivered by a musical troupe of political satirists, the **Capitol Steps**. **Day three** will commence with a presentation by **Stan Collender**, one of the country’s foremost experts on the federal budget – the players, processes, and meaning of the current economic crisis. Then, the CEO of the New America Alliance, **John Guerra**, will lead a timely panel of **Jose Rico** with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, **Richard Fry** of the Pew Hispanic Center and **Angela Valenzuela** with the Texas Center for Education Policy in discussing the most pressing issues facing Latinos/as at all levels of education. A set of **seven concurrent discussion panels** will give you an opportunity to dig deeper on an issue of particular interest to you. The following issues will be featured: Using Social Media; Teacher Preparation; Bringing Successful Cross-Sector Reform to Scale; Dropout Prevention; Preparing Successful School Leaders; and Preparing Rural High School Students for/in the 21st Century. There will also be one “open space” concurrent session for those who would like to discuss a pressing topic (to be determined during the conference) not recognized on the agenda.
 * Is the political climate in Washington as divisive on education as on other issues?
 * As the federal role in public education continues to deepen and shift, are policymakers focusing on the issues that they can really influence?
 * What are the political and policy implications of the growing federal role?
 * What has been the impact of federal policymaking on education at the state and local levels in the waning years of the Bush Administration and in the early years of the Obama Administration?
 * What is likely to be the timing and shape of reauthorization of the //Elementary and Secondary Education Act//?
 * Are the people, processes, and political climate in Washington prepared to respond to the pressures of the global economy and the seemingly intractable socioeconomic inequality that continues to manifest in America’s schools?
 * The [|Agenda-at-a-Glance] of the 2010 Washington Policy Seminar is available online, ** and we have provided a short summary of the schedule of events to deepen your interest:

During the luncheon session, you will have an opportunity to hear about the impact of federal policies on states and localities from an exciting group of leaders. Led by Georgia EPFP Coordinator **Kelly Dean,** the discussion will feature **Bruce Hunter** of the American Association of School Administrators, **Becky Pringle** of the National Education Association, and **Brenda Welburn** of the National Association of State Boards of Education. After lu​nch, IEL President **Marty Blank** will moderate a panel which will share the latest updates on the likely timing and shape of reauthorization of the //Elementary and Secondary Education Act,// to include **MaryEllen McGuire** with the White House Domestic Policy Council, **David Shreve** with the National Conference of State Legislators, and other national education policy experts. At two points during day three, you will have opportunities to process and discuss with your colleagues. The **Making Meaning** sessions will allow you to connect with Fellows from other sites, and figure out the implications of what you have learned. The jam-packed day will end with an optional **EPFP Alumni/Fellows Networking Event at BlackFinn DC**, just a short walk or metro ride from the Grand Hyatt.  In the final session, educational trailblazer **Freeman Hrabowski, III** will cap off the conference by sharing his amazing personal history as a child-leader of the civil rights movement who rose to prominence as a mathematician, University of Maryland Baltimore County President, and author. He will also talk candidly about the kind of leadership it will take to educate all of our children and young people and give them a fair start in the ‘Race to the Top’. Here you will find some **[|thought provoking readings]** that relate directly to the people, policies, and controversies at the heart of the 2010 Washington Policy Seminar. We urge you to read and reflect upon these pieces between now and your travel to DC. Whether you agree or disagree with the various views of the authors, we believe the materials are worth your time and attention. We are looking forward to seeing you in DC in April. Please let us know of anything we can do to help you make the most of your time in Washington. (If you have any difficulties with the PDF links [|go here to view the 2010 WPS materials] ). All the best, Jamie Ekatomatis Program Manager, Education Policy Fellowship Program and Senior Associate, Leadership Programs ekatomatisj@iel.org
 * The final day of the WPS ** will begin with a talk by **Marc Tucker**, President of the National Center on Education and the Economy. He will explore his organization’s work with select states to implement the ////Tough Choices or Tough Times //// education reform framework, a major redesign of their states’ education systems, and other state-level initiatives to use the world’s best instructional systems and examinations to increase dramatically the number of students who leave high school ready to succeed in college.  Before traveling home, you will have an opportunity to **reflect with your colleagues** about the ideas and intentions that you will carry home from the conference for your work in the months and years to come.

Stefani Wilcox Program Associate, Leadership Programs wilcoxs@iel.org