Washington Court Hotel, 525 New Jersey Ave NW  | Washington, DC

This event is free and open to the public. Register below.

The notion that teaching and learning are social endeavors may seem obvious. Yet, the implications of that statement for research, policy and practice are less so. This conference seeks to shine a light on these issues by foregrounding recent evidence demonstrating that social aspects of schools and school systems deeply influence school improvement. Furthermore, the conference seeks to encourage vigorous debate on the practical implications of this evidence.

10:00 am - Introductory Remarks

• Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers & Albert Shanker Institute

10:15 am - Systems, Networks and Relationships

• Alan J. Daly, Professor and Chair, University of California San Diego.
• Kara S. Finnigan, Associate Professor, University of Rochester.
• Molly F. Gordon, Senior Research Analyst, University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

Moderator: Kent McGuire, President & CEO, Southern Educational Foundation.

11:15 am - Improving Education Through a Focus on Partnerships 

• Paula Arce-Trigatti, Director, National Education Research-Practice Partnerships.
• Erin Benham, Literacy Teacher and President of the Meriden Federation of Teachers.
• Robert L. Hughes, President, New Visions for Public Schools; incoming K12 Strategy Director, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
• Geoff Marietta, Research Fellow, Berea College & Executive Dir., Pine Mountain Settlement School.
• Vivian Tseng, Vice President, William T. Grant Foundation.

Moderator: Jo Anderson, Co-Director, Consortium for Educational Change.

12:30 pm - Lunch

• Linda Darling-Hammond, President and CEO, Learning Policy Institute and Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus at Stanford University.

1:30 pm - The Schools Where Teachers Stay, Grow & Succeed

• Kirabo Jackson, Associate Professor, Northwestern University.
• Susan Moore Johnson, Jerome T. Murphy Research Professor of Education, Harvard University.
• Matthew A. Kraft, Assistant Professor, Brown University.
• John P. Papay, Assistant Professor, Brown University.
• Matthew Ronfeldt, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan.

Moderator: Marla Ucelli-Kashyap, Assistant to the President for Educational Issues, AFT.

3:00 pm - Break

3:15 pm - Policy Implications at the Local and State Levels

• Elaine Allensworth, Lewis-Sebring Director, Univ. of Chicago Consortium on School Reform.
• Joshua Starr, Chief Executive Officer, PDK International.
• Karen Webber, Director, Education and Youth Development, Open Society Institute-Baltimore.

Moderator: Leo E. Casey, Executive Director, Albert Shanker Institute.

4:30 pm - Reception

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