Leadership Symposium

November 11-13, 2007
Washington, DC
This year’s PEN Leadership Symposium, Local Education Funds: Leading at Every Level, which was held between November 11 and 13 in Washington, was marked by several outstanding speakers and presentations. Below are summaries of speaker presentations:

Jennifer James, an urban cultural anthropologist and nationally syndicated columnist, began the symposium on November 11 by exploring cultural myths and adaptive strategies in a compelling storytelling format. James believes leadership is intrinsically tied to the ability to influence and convey deeply held values.

Gary Gordon, Ed.D., vice president and practice leader of the Gallup Organization’s education division, presented a case for recognizing and valuing the importance of people in the learning process and stressed the importance of recognizing strengths and talents as the starting point for action. He then guided attendees through the use of the Gallup StrengthsFinder measurement system and talked about how StrengthsFinder can be used by individuals and organizations to build capacity in schools and education organizations.

Robert Hughes, president and CEO of New Visions for Public Schools, opened the meeting on November 12 by presenting his team’s model for transforming low-performing New York City high schools. The successful model they employed involved extensive data collection and interpretation. In addition, the New Visions’ management structure was explained to obtain a better feel for how the organization is run. The explanation highlighted their process for building capacity for research, communications and aligning instruction with student achievement expectations. Their presentation is available by clicking http://www.publiceducation.org.

During the November 12 luncheon plenary, Dr. Warren Simmons, executive director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, outlined his understanding of the U.S. education system. Simmons said the system is at a cultural crossroads and spent much of his time discussing the major approaches used across the country to re-invent school districts. He also focused on the current challenges facing LEFs in their roles as intermediaries in partnering with schools and districts to prepare students for the creative economy of the 21st century. His presentation is available at http://www.publiceducation.org.

Michelle Rhee, chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public schools, opened the Local Governance in a Culture of Innovation session by presenting participants with a current overview of her work to reform the District of Columbia’s public schools. Rhee, appointed by Mayor Adrian Fenty, has been given “full authority” to make decisions about the city's public schools. Through a series of stories, she outlined her belief system and questioned the existing rules of operation that are not serving schools and students.

PEN members Jeff Smith of DC VOICE and Donna Power Stowe of DC Education Compact followed Rhee by outlining their organizations' vision and role in supporting and monitoring change in the District of Columbia. Smith shared results from the Ready Schools Project, which provided data on the readiness of all city schools to receive students in August 2007, while Stowe reported on her current mapping project which aims to identify all of the existing partner organizations that work with city schools.

On November 13, the federal briefing session focused on the present struggles in the re-authorization of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. In a facilitated discussion led by Ellen Guiney of the Boston Plan for Excellence, Mike Petrilli of the Fordham Foundation and Monty Neill of Fairtest detailed their perspectives and core beliefs concerning the feeder government’s role in education – there was both agreements and disagreements as to whether there can be common ground in NCLB’s re-authorization process. Arnie Fege, Public Education Network’s public engagement and advocacy director, talked about the work PEN has done over the years, including the extensive NCLB hearings led by LEF members. The final analysis is that NCLB is likely to continue to exist unchanged for a few more years due to opposing political viewpoints, but also that it will not be re-authorized in its current form. To view PEN’s report on No Child Left Behind, click here.

Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., the Jesse Climenko Professor of Law and vice dean for the clinical programs at Harvard University School of Law, closed the meeting by giving a powerful overview of the U.S. Supreme Court historical and current impact on race and education. In his session, Race Matters-from the Warren to the Roberts Court, Ogletree urged the audience to remember to "connect the dots" from past to present. He emphasized that education is the foundation for citizenship and that everyone must continue to seek equitable strategies to help ensure a quality public education for every child in this country. His presentation is available at http://www.publiceducation.org