National Summit on Improvement in Education 2025: Full Schedule

Please share your Spring Summit feedback while your thoughts and experience are fresh. We truly appreciate you taking the time to help us improve.

arrow_back View All Dates

9:00am PDT

1G-All Of Us > Any Of Us: Math Teachers Getting Better Together Filling

Monday March 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT

High Tech High International Room 215

What gets in the way of building a great math classroom? A network of math teachers are defining and improving on common problems of practice. Join us to explore the range of tools & routines we’ve developed to structure collaborative improvement across a state-wide practice-research NIC.

Celebrate and push on the work: Give feedback on this session

Speakers

Joanna Burt-Kinderman

Project Lead, Mountaineer Mathematics Master Teachers (M3T)

Joanna Burt-Kinderman has been a math teacher and teacher of math teachers for the last 25 years. She is a project lead and developer of Mountaineer Mathematics Master Teachers (M3T), a network improvement community of local improvement team led by math teachers across 37 West Virginia... Read More →

Breck Loudermilk

Mountaineer Mathematics Master Teacher, Marion County Schools, WV

Jason Massie

Mountaineer Mathematics Master Teachers, Monroe County Schools WV

Monday March 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
High Tech High International Room 215

Sessions

Strand Improvement for Impact Stories
Areas of Focus Educator development, Mathematics, Leadership actions, Networks
Target Audience Community stakeholders, County or state level leaders, District leaders, Higher education faculty or administrators, Network leaders, Policy makers, Researchers, School leaders, Teachers, Technical assistance providers

9:00am PDT

1H-From Zero to Data Hero: Co-Designing Data Measurement Strategies for Improvement

Monday March 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT

High Tech High International Room 218

“How will we know that a change is an improvement?” An effective answer lies in the collection and analysis of data from measures across all levels of a system; however, schools and districts sometimes begin their improvement journey with limited data systems and strategies, or they experience significant changes along the way. In this session, learn how New Tech Network developed effective practices for co-designing college access data measurement systems and coaching teams to use data for improvement. Reflect on and share your experiences, and engage in a data skill-building activity that you can bring back to your network.

Improvers 💜 data: Complete the Session Survey.

Speakers

Ann Helfman

Senior Director of Continuous Improvement & College Access, New Tech Network

Zoe Fowler

NTN Data Project Lead, New Tech Network

Elda Armendariz

Continuous Improvement & College Access Coach, New Tech Network

Elisa Castillo

Continuous Improvement & College Access Coach, New Tech Network

Monday March 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
High Tech High International Room 218

Sessions

Strand Improvement for Impact Stories
Areas of Focus College access, Scale or spread practices, Leadership actions
Target Audience District leaders, Network leaders, School leaders, County or state level leaders

9:00am PDT

1J-From Spark to Flame: Cultivating Improvement Practices That Ignite a Culture of CI Full

Monday March 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT

High Tech High Room 105

Educators often hear, “Improvement can’t be done in isolation” but what does it truly take to shift from individual improvement efforts to sustainable, collective, and equitable improvement cultures? How do leaders create conditions for improvement to thrive in everyday collaboration? In this workshop, participants will explore innovative strategies for fostering a culture of continuous improvement that extends beyond individual team leads to impact entire educational organizations. Drawing from the impactful Freshman Success Improvement Community (FSIC) model developed by the University of Chicago’s Network for College Success, participants will engage in experiential learning and discussions that demonstrate how to build the necessary conditions, dispositions, and cultures for improvement work to thrive beyond an individual improver.

Celebrate and push on the work: Give feedback on this session.

Speakers

Joyce Randall

NCS

Lauren Perez Pietruszka

Transformation Coach, UChicago Network for College Success

Monday March 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
High Tech High Room 105

Sessions

Strand Improvement for Impact Stories
Areas of Focus Leadership actions, On-track to graduate K-12, Equity Diversity and Belonging
Target Audience Network leaders, School leaders, Teachers

9:00am PDT

1O-Increasing Engagement, Growth, and Achievement through Student-Centered Teaching Practices

Monday March 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT

High Tech High International Room 124

Join us to learn about our network’s six-year journey to put student thinking at the center of instruction and the growth in student literacy achievement that resulted. Our work is grounded in a core set of student-centered instructional practices that are generalizable across content areas and have been central to the improvement. Network leaders will share examples of how educators adapted the practices to their specific contexts, how they tracked student metrics alongside implementation to understand the impact of the practices on student learning, and the surprises they encountered along the way. Experience one of the practices and reflect on opportunities to learn from the process of adaptive integration.

We cannot improve what we can’t measure: Share your feedback on this session.

Speakers

Anthony Petrosky

Director, Institute for Learning

Glenn Nolly

Monday March 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
High Tech High International Room 124

Sessions

Strand Improvement for Impact Stories
Areas of Focus Educator development, Student engagement
Target Audience District leaders, Network leaders, Researchers, School leaders, Teachers

9:00am PDT

1P-How 12 Systems of Public Higher Education Improved their way to Transfer Student Success

Monday March 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT

High Tech High International Room 222

80% of community college students enroll intending to transfer and earn a bachelor’s degree–unfortunately, only 33% of these students will enroll in a 4–year institution, and only 16% will attain a bachelor’s degree within six years. The National Association of Higher Education Systems brought together 12 public higher education systems into a structured improvement community and has seen breakthrough results at campuses all across the country–84% of participating institutions saw year-over-year improvement in transfer student enrollment. By using rigorous improvement methods, networked learning, and building local improvement capacity, this collaborative has moved the dial for this often-overlooked population of students.

Celebrate and push on the work: Give feedback on this session.

Speakers

Juliette Price

Senior Improvement Coach, National Association of Higher Education Systems (NASH)

Tracy Schoolcraft

Associate Provost and Interim Dean of Exploratory Studies

Monday March 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
High Tech High International Room 222

Sessions

Strand Improvement for Impact Stories
Areas of Focus Networks, Postsecondary innovation
Target Audience District leaders, Network leaders, Researchers, School leaders, Teachers, County or state level leaders, Community stakeholders, Policy makers, Higher education faculty or administrators, Technical assistance providers

11:00am PDT

2C-Navigating Uncertainty: Learning and Leading Through Mistakes in Networked Improvement Filling

Monday March 31, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT

High Tech High Room 108

In this session, we invite you to explore the story of an innovative improvement network that embraced the motto “Fail Forward” to make substantial strides in educational outcomes. This session will explore how network teams—from diverse contexts—collaborated to measure outcomes, scale effective practices, and create structures for sustained growth. We’ll discuss lessons learned from early missteps, like overlooking user perspectives, and how these experiences shaped our approach. Discover the struggle of refining change ideas, the challenges of sustaining efforts at scale, and strategies for keeping teams energized. Engage with examples, key learnings, and practical applications to inspire your own improvement journey.

Celebrate and push on the work: Give feedback on this session.

Speakers

Beverley Jenkins

Coordinator, System Improvement Leads (SIL) Project

Teresa Patel

Improvement Facilitator, System Improvement Leads Project

Brandon Bennett

Improvement Advisor, Teacher and Author

Brandon Bennett is an advisor, teacher and author who helps organizations in health care, education and social welfare improve outcomes for the communities and individuals they serve. As the founder of ISC LLC, Brandon Bennett teaches advanced improvement methods and partners on a... Read More →

Monday March 31, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
High Tech High Room 108

Sessions

Strand Improvement for Impact Stories
Areas of Focus Leadership actions
Target Audience County or state level leaders, District leaders, School leaders, Teachers, Network leaders

11:00am PDT

2N-The Core 4 (and Beyond): Monitoring Progress to Graduation in a Post COVID World

Monday March 31, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT

High Tech High International Room 205

In a post-COVID world, there are a new set of challenges facing educators and students, all while pre-COVID expectations and policies are shifting back into place. In this session, we will share how continuous improvement has helped us evolve our strategy over the last 10 years to be responsive to the ever changing environment to ensure all NYC students succeed academically, mentally, socially, and professionally. Join us for a hands-on session of diving into multi-agency data around the “core 4” obstacles to graduation, and walk away with new ideas for using data to define holistic supports for students.

We cannot improve what we can’t measure: Share your feedback on this session.

Speakers

Nikki Giunta

Chief of Staff / Project Manager, New Visions for Public Schools (Cohort 1)

Mark Dunetz

President, New Visions for Public Schools (Cohort 1)

Monday March 31, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
High Tech High International Room 205

Sessions

Strand Improvement for Impact Stories
Areas of Focus On-track to graduate K-12
Target Audience District leaders, Network leaders, Researchers, School leaders, County or state level leaders, Policy makers, Technical assistance providers

11:00am PDT

2O-Elevating Student Voice: Co-Designing for Well-Being, Engagement, and Belonging Filling

Monday March 31, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT

High Tech High International Room 127

This session explores the transformative power of student voice and co-design in creating more inclusive and equitable learning environments. We will begin by exploring a case study from a California district that successfully used student-centered, community-driven improvement efforts to enhance well-being and belonging. Participants will then dive into national data from the Challenge Success survey and consider trends with their school or community in mind. Participants will leave with practical strategies for engaging students as active participants in the improvement process, empowering them to co-create solutions that drive meaningful and lasting school improvements.

Celebrate and push on the work: Give feedback on this session.

Speakers

John Nickerson

Superintendent, Acalanes UHSD

Megan Pacheco

Executive Director, Challenge Success

Megan Pacheco, M.A., is the Executive Director for Challenge Success. She has more than 20 years of experience helping to transform schools. She has served in a variety of roles, including teacher, school coach, and organizational leader. Prior to joining Challenge Success, she was... Read More →

Matthew Swenson

Director of Educational Partnerships, Challenge Success

Matthew Swenson is the Director of Educational Partnerships at Challenge Success, where he leads national outreach to help K-12 schools foster student well-being, engagement, and belonging. With experience as an English teacher, assistant principal, and principal, he has a background... Read More →

Monday March 31, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
High Tech High International Room 127

Sessions

Strand Improvement for Impact Stories
Areas of Focus Student engagement, System transformation
Target Audience District leaders, School leaders, Teachers, Network leaders, Policy makers, Researchers, Community stakeholders, County or state level leaders

1:45pm PDT

3G-Driving Impact Through Collaborative Practices Filling

Monday March 31, 2025 1:45pm - 3:15pm PDT

High Tech High Room 137

In this interactive session, participants will learn about our story of impact, including the improvement challenges we faced and the practices we refined to drive shifts in student outcomes. Central to our success were the internal processes of democratizing decision-making and, at the school level, the use of collaborative tools like our new classroom-level measurement tracker. Participants will engage with real data and our tools through simulations and case studies. Then reflect on how to customize tools for their own contexts, and explore actionable steps to implement.

We cannot improve what we can’t measure: Share your feedback on this session.

Speakers

Jacobē Bell

NSI Director, Teaching Matters

Reshma Ramkellawan

Ariel Ortiz

Monday March 31, 2025 1:45pm - 3:15pm PDT
High Tech High Room 137

Sessions

Strand Improvement for Impact Stories
Areas of Focus Routines and structures for social learning, Leadership actions
Target Audience District leaders, Higher education faculty or administrators, Network leaders, Researchers, School leaders

1:45pm PDT

3M-Raising the Bar: Improving Graduation Rates for Students with Disabilities

Monday March 31, 2025 1:45pm - 3:15pm PDT

High Tech High International Room 222

In 2023, seven California school districts joined forces to address a shared challenge: improve graduation rates for students with disabilities by at least 10%. The System Improvement Leads project brought these districts together to leverage shared learning to reach this goal. Join us to hear directly from one of the districts, Anaheim Union High School District, about how they tested new strategies to achieve meaningful system improvements.

We cannot improve what we can’t measure: Share your feedback on this session.

Speakers

Teresa Patel

Improvement Facilitator, System Improvement Leads Project

Lauren Klatzker

Ashley MacGavin

Grant Coordinator, SELPA System Improvement Leads Project

Ashley MacGavin has worked in the field of special education for over 10 years and currently serves in the role of Grant Coordinator at Riverside County SELPA in Perris, CA. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education and an Administrative Services Credential, Education Specialist... Read More →

Monday March 31, 2025 1:45pm - 3:15pm PDT
High Tech High International Room 222

Sessions

Strand Improvement for Impact Stories
Areas of Focus On-track to graduate K-12
Target Audience County or state level leaders, District leaders, Network leaders, School leaders, Teachers

1:45pm PDT

3O-Coordinating Cross-sector Work Through a NIC to Meet the Needs of Underserved Students

Monday March 31, 2025 1:45pm - 3:15pm PDT

High Tech High Room 108

Discover how a Networked Improvement Community (NIC) is driving transformational change across four Fresno County school districts. In partnership with local organizations, these districts are achieving significant gains in attendance and literacy for underserved students and influencing countywide policy. Learn about essential practices, including engaging the right stakeholders, implementing clear processes, building routines with feedback loops, and using "Learn by Doing" cycles. See how tracking key data supports sustainable improvement. Join us to explore the Improvement Science framework and tools, and consider how these strategies might apply in your own work through table discussions and Q&A.

Improvers 💜 data: Complete the Session Survey.

Speakers

Abby Petropulos

Executive Leadership Coach, Office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools

An Executive Leadership Coach with Fresno County Superintendent of Schools. She has been a teacher, principal, and district-level administrator. Abby leads the accountability team in the FCSS model.

Justin Paredes

Executive Leadership Coach, Office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools

Alyson Rocco

Executive Leadership Coach, Fresno County Superintendent of Schools (FCSS)

Julie Shafer

Monday March 31, 2025 1:45pm - 3:15pm PDT
High Tech High Room 108

Sessions

Strand Improvement for Impact Stories
Areas of Focus Networks, System transformation
Target Audience District leaders, Network leaders, School leaders, Researchers, Community stakeholders, County or state level leaders, Policy makers

1:45pm PDT

3P-Equity in Action: Improving Relational Trust for Instructional Alignment and Coherence

Monday March 31, 2025 1:45pm - 3:15pm PDT

High Tech High International Room 127

This session emphasizes both practical math instruction improvement and building conditions for improving relational trust. Participants will reflect on ways in which they can create conditions for supporting data driven instruction, and instructional alignment and coherence that promotes equity driven results. Participants will explore ways to foster relational trust among students and staff, as well as strategies for instructional planning and authentic collaboration. The goal is to cultivate a culture of courageous conversations about equity and constructively engage in ways to develop alignment and coherence across change ideas within schools and teams.

We cannot improve what we can’t measure: Share your feedback on this session.

Speakers

Sessions

Strand Improvement for Impact Stories
Areas of Focus Curriculum and instruction, Mathematics
Target Audience District leaders, Network leaders, School leaders, Teachers