Nov. 10 NYC Education Reform Retrospective agenda

I got forwarded two different items from two different third parties, including an invitation and the agenda for the Gates-funded NYC Ed Reform retrospective conference next week (see below for the agenda).

The invitation claimed (once again) that “The list of invitees includes researchers, practitioners, state policy makers and other stakeholders, both inside and outside NYC.”

The only NYC public school parents who are allowed to attend this invitation-only event are the five borough appointees on the Panel for Education Policy, originally with the excuse that there was no room for any others. For more on this, see our blog here.

[NOV. 9 UPDATE: I have learned that two parents from CEJ have been recently added to the guest list, perhaps in response to criticism here and elsewhere.]

Yet they have now extended the RSVP date several times, and also the invitations to a wider group as too few on the original list of invitees apparently signed up. They are also apparently inviting some reporters but excluding others.

I especially like the title of one of the papers: "Improving Instruction in NYC Schools: An Evolving Strategy." That's certainly one way to put it!

Also see this: “Parent and Community Engagement in New York City and the Sustainability Challenge for Urban Education Reform.”

What parent and community engagement? Parent and community engagement has been consistently discouraged by this administration from the beginning, so I don’t see how there’s anything to sustain. Even DOE's office of family engagement has now taken out the word "engagement" out of its title, in recognition of this fact.

James Kemple, will be presenting a paper on student outcomes. Kemple was chosen as the head of the much-ballyhooed “Research Alliance” (originally called the Research Partnership) in October 2008 , which is supposed to be a repository for student data that could be made available to independent researchers.

The Alliance was also supposed to produce its own reports, but as far as I know this paper will be the very first released since Kemple was appointed – more than two years ago.

Meanwhile, though this event is happening on Nov. 10, the papers won't be made available to the public until Nov. 15 -- according to its website.

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New York City Education Reform Retrospective:

The Children First Initiative, 2002 - 2010

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

New York Marriott Downtown, 85 West Street at Albany Street

New York, NY 10016

3^rd Floor – Grand Ballroom A&B

Agenda

8:00 – 9:00 AM Registration; Light breakfast

9:00 – 9:30 AM Introductory Remarks

9:45 – 11:45 AM Paper Sessions

Due to space limitations, please attend the session you registered for.

Session A: Governance, Leadership, and Finance

Grand Ballroom A&B

Leadership and Governance in New York City School Reform, presented by Paul T. Hill, University of Washington

Parent and Community Engagement in New York City and the Sustainability Challenge for Urban Education Reform, presented by Jeffrey R. Henig, Teachers College, Columbia University

Financing K-12 Education in the Bloomberg Years, 2002-2008, presented by Leanna Stiefel, New York University

Session B: Teaching and Learning

Grand Ballroom C

Managing for Results at the New York City Department of Education, presented by Monica Higgins, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Improving Instruction in New York City Schools: An Evolving Strategy, presented by Jennifer A. O’Day, American Institutes for Research

Collaborative Inquiry to Expand Student Success in New York City Schools, presented by Joan E. Talbert, Stanford University

11:45 – 12:30 Lunch

12:45 – 2:45 Paper Sessions

Due to space limitations, please attend the session you registered for.

Session C: High School Reform

Grand Ballroom A&B

Changing Contexts and the Challenge of High School Reform in New York City, presented by Leslie Santee Siskin, New York University

School Choice and Competition in the New York City Schools, presented by Sean P. Corcoran, New York University

How Students’ Views Predict Graduation Outcomes and Reveal Instructional Disparities Under Children First Reforms, presented by Ronald F. Ferguson, Harvard University

Session D: Teachers and Student Outcomes

Grand Ballroom C

Recruiting, Evaluating and Retaining Teachers: The Children First Strategy to Improve New York City’s Teachers, presented by Jim Wyckoff, University of Virginia

New York City Education Reform Retrospective—Children First and Student Outcomes: 2003-2010, presented by James Kemple, Research Alliance for New York City Schools, New York University

3:00 – 4:00 Panel Discussion: Reflections and Take-Aways from the NYC Education Reform Retrospective

4:00 – 4:30 Plenary Session: Chancellor Joel Klein

4:30 – 5:00 Concluding Remarks