On the Ground: Putting higher standards into practice
Grantmakers for Education Member Briefings are place-based programs that offer the opportunity for education grantmakers to come together in-person to explore, in-depth, an area of shared interest.
Join Us for the 2014 Member Briefing:
On the Ground: Putting higher standards into practice
In partnership with the Common Core Funders Working Group
September 17-18 • Kenton County, Kentucky
About the program
This program starts at 12:00pm on September 17 and ends at 3:30pm on September 18 and will take place in Kenton County, Kentucky, just minutes from the Cincinnati, Ohio airport.
The adoption by most states of new, common standards focused on ensuring students have the skills and knowledge to succeed in college and careers after high school represents a special opportunity for education in the U.S.—and for funders seeking to influence the quality of schools at scale. Achieving the promise of the standards to improve teaching and increase student learning in thousands of classroom across the country will require renewed and careful attention to build the capacity of our school systems. Grantmakers can make important contributions—including resources, leadership, nimbleness and independence—to support states and schools districts as they make this transition.
This Member Briefing will take place in Kenton County, Kentucky—an early adopter of the new standards—where there are lessons to be learned about what to expect, what supports for educators are most successful, and how to place leaders, educators and students at the center of the implementation. As most other school districts gear up to implement the standards this coming school year, the program will help funders smartly identify gaps, compare strategies and insights, and assess what more can be done by philanthropy to support the shift to Common Core. The primary focus of the program will be on arming grantmakers with insights, tools and networks that can help ensure their efforts to support the new standards are strategic and high-value.
Member Briefing Topics
- Identify the best opportunities for influencing successful implementation and broad understanding of Common Core State Standard
- Strengthen understanding of teaching to the Common Core standards and the challenges to anticipate through a site visit to Kenton County School District, an early implementer of Common Core standards
- Gain insights from colleague grantmakers and learn about existing resources and tools that can strengthen each funder’s approach to supporting the new standards
Watch Videos from the Event
See brief video clips posted from the sessions below.
| Watch Now |
On the Ground: Putting higher standards into practice Presented by Dr. Terri Cox-Cruey, Superintendent, KCSD, Jess Dykes, Director of Communications, KCSD; Amy Slamp, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Missy Hicks, Literary Consultant, KCSD This Member Briefing took place in Kenton County, Kentucky, where participants heard from Kenton County School District Superintendent Dr. Terri Cox-Cruey, how students can learn at higher levels, and shared how to make that happen. She, other leaders, educators and students at the center of the implementation shared detailed lessons learned from early adoption of the standards in KCSD. This program will help funders smartly identify gaps, compare strategies and insights, and assess what more can be done by philanthropy to support the shift to the Common Core. The primary focus of the program was on arming grantmakers with insights, tools and networks to help ensure their efforts are strategic and high-value. |
| Watch Now |
Experience literacy “shifts” to the Common Core In this session, participants were able to experience the shifts to Common Core standards through the Literary Design Collaborative. The teacher-designed modules demonstrated standard-based tasks that integrate content and literacy standards in English Language Arts, Social Studies and Science classes. These shifts require students to work in clusters to respond to instructional tasks. Participants went back to school, literally, and were immersed in a literary exercise similar to those performed by KCSD students. |
| Watch Now |
Experience math “shifts”to the Common Core The Common Core State Standards represent a new blueprint for what students in virtually every corner of the country will learn in mathematics. The shift to new standards means students now are expected to learn and master concepts earlier in schooling than before. To make this happen, teachers must focus longer and more deeply on fewer concepts in each grade, and emphasize more conceptual understanding and practical applications of ideas. This is causing principals and teachers to dramatically rethink their approach to classroom instruction. In this session participants had the opportunity to experience the “shifts” in instructional practice through video and guided instruction by instructional leaders and experts. KCSD shares what it has learned, which shifts have been hard for teachers to make and what’s been surprising about implementing changes in instruction, in its transition to the Common Core. Participants did some common core math. |
| Watch Now |
Student/Teacher Reaction to Common Core Standards Presented by KCSD teachers and students (Sarah Davidson, Melissa Henderson, 7th-grade teacher) In this session, participants were able to experience the shifts to Common Core standards through the eyes of teachers and students. The session kicked off with students who, through a dialog about what they learn and are required to demonstrate in school, will set the stage for how instruction in Kenton County is different from the instruction that participants experienced as students themselves or may have seen in classrooms around the country. Participants will also meet, in small groups, with teachers to better understand the process of developing and delivering lessons and evaluating student work, rotating between groups focused on literacy and math instruction to get the full context of the shift to the common core standards and what is needed to support it. |