LOS ANGELES - To assist teachers and students in the state's lowest-performing public schools, the California Teachers Association is hosting a four-day symposium at UCLA of more than 200 teachers and education experts who will explore new ways to close the student achievement gap and improve school planning.
"This symposium is about teachers who care so deeply about the state's neglect of the lowest-scoring schools that they want to be forces for change," said Wayne Johnson, president of the 335,000-member CTA. "This event is a direct result of CTA's strong commitment to continue helping the schools of greatest need - where poverty, overcrowding and other factors can make learning more difficult."
CTA research shows that California public schools with the lowest test scores have far more minority, poor and disadvantaged children and overcrowding than highest-scoring schools. The symposium will focus on helping schools that qualify to be part of the state's High Priority Schools Grant Program created by CTA-sponsored legislation (AB 961) last year. Participating schools received $50,000 planning grants.
Reporters can get an overview of the conference during the opening session from 1-3:30 p.m. Monday in the Sunset Village Grand Horizons Ballroom at UCLA, where keynote speaker Ed Tate, a nationally known motivational speaker, will also offer his "framework for leading change."
- WHAT: CTA symposium to help state's schools of greatest need.
- WHEN: Full-day sessions, Monday-Thursday, Aug. 5-8.
- WHERE: Various locations on UCLA campus (see below roster).
- VISUALS: Dynamic speakers, workshops, experts, with 200 teachers involved.
CTA SYMPOSIUM ON SCHOOLS OF GREATEST NEED AT UCLA:
A SAMPLING OF KEYNOTE SPEAKERS AND WORKSHOPS....
Monday, August 5
- 1-3:30 p.m. -- Opening Session: Overview of the symposium and its goals with Justo Robles, manager of CTA's Instruction and Professional Development Department. Motivational speaker Ed Tate will talk about his "framework for leading change." (Sunset Village Grand Horizons Ballroom.)
- 7:30 p.m. -- "Overview of AB 961: What It Means to Be a High-Priority School." (Sunset Village Grand Horizons Ballroom.)
Tuesday, August 6
- 8-9 a.m. -- Keynote speaker Katherine McKnight , who recently completed a second analysis for CTA of the California's Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program action plans, with an aim to improve these critical plans. She teaches statistics and research methodology at the University of Arizona, Department of Psychology. (Sunset Village Grand Horizons Ballroom.)
- 9 a.m.-noon -- Keynote speaker Michael Fullan: "Leading In A Culture of Change." Fullan is the dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. He is involved in school improvement projects worldwide and is an innovator in teacher education. (Sunset Village Grand Horizons Ballroom.)
- 1:30-3:30 p.m. -- Workshops on various topics: "The Teacher Makes the Difference," in Sunset Village 218AB; "Closing the Achievement Gap: Making Low-Performing Schools a Priority," Sunset Village West Coast; "It's Not the People, It's the System: Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Excellence in Education," Northwest Campus Auditorium; "Reach Out and Touch Somebody: Developing School, Family, and Community Partnerships for Academic Success," Grand Horizons Ballroom B.
Wednesday, August 7
- 9 a.m.-noon -- Keynote speaker Robert Evans , who specializes on studying change and resistance to it in schools and organizations. He is a clinical and organizational psychologist who did his undergraduate work at Princeton and received his doctorate from Harvard. (Sunset Village Grand Horizons Ballroom.)
- 1-3 p.m. -- Workshops on various topics: "A Systems Approach to Supporting Reading Literacy," in Sunset Village South Bay; "Backward Mapping from Standards to Instruction: Increasing Student Achievement in Schools of Greatest Need," Grand Horizons Ballroom B; "Evaluating English Language Learner Services for Accountability and Improvement," Sunset Village 218AB; "Comprehensive School Reform," Sunset Village 210AB.
Thursday, August 8
- 8-9 a.m. -- Keynote speaker Belinda Williams , a psychologist who studies disadvantaged students, will lecture on "Connecting the Dots: From Theory to Practice." (Sunset Village Grand Horizons Ballroom. )
- 9:45-11 a.m.-- Keynote speaker Katherine McKnight. (Sunset Village Grand Horizons Ballroom.)
- 11 a.m.-noon -- Panel discussion on AB 961 , with moderator Beverly Tucker, chief counsel for CTA. (Sunset Village Grand Horizons Ballroom.)