National Summit on Improvement in Education 2025: Full Schedule

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9:00am PDT

4D-System Mapping: Making Work Visible Full

Tuesday April 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT

High Tech High International Room 123

Improving outcomes requires changing the systems that produce them, but systems can be hard to see. This session introduces systems mapping as a method to visualize work as interdependent processes, uncovering key connections, dependencies, and leverage points for improvement. Through real-world case examples, we’ll show how system mapping can reveal how work happens and guide more strategic decisions. Participants will practice creating system maps and leave with practical insights for applying this tool to drive school improvements.

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

Speakers

Amanda Meyer

Senior Director of Improvement, CORE Districts

David M. Williams, PhD

Senior Improvement Advisor, DMW / Austin

Senior Improvement Advisor I Author, Quality as an Organizational Strategy I Former Senior Lead of Leadership and Improvement Science and Methods at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement | Former Paramedic and Ambulance System Expert I Creator, Mr. Potato Head and Coin Spin PDSA... Read More →

Tuesday April 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
High Tech High International Room 123

Sessions

Strand Methods of Improvement
Areas of Focus Tools of improvement
Target Audience District leaders, School leaders, Teachers, Higher education faculty or administrators, County or state level leaders, Network leaders, Technical assistance providers

9:00am PDT

4H-Designing for High Engagement: Balancing Structure & Agency in Improvement Networks

Tuesday April 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT

High Tech High International Room 219

Building a meaningful experience for network members is a pressing challenge for leaders who support networked improvement. Whether or not educators are told to participate in an improvement network, they voluntarily engage at variable levels. This session provides an overview of lessons learned from the Network Health Study about strategies leaders used to design participation structures that support member engagement. Leaders will grapple with how to balance structure and agency in their work and learn about a tool to measure how individuals value network participation.

Improvers 💜 data: Complete the Session Survey.

Speakers

Jennifer Sherer

Project Lead, Partners for Network Improvement

Jennifer Russell

Project Lead, Partners for Network Improvement

Angel Li

Associate, Impact Lab, Carnegie Foundation

I am an associate on the Impact Lab team at the Carnegie Foundation, supporting teams and networks in leveraging data and analytics for continuous improvement and system transformation. Prior to joining the Foundation, I worked for Denver Public Schools as an innovation and improvement... Read More →

Tuesday April 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
High Tech High International Room 219

Sessions

Strand Methods of Improvement
Areas of Focus Networks, Routines and structures for social learning
Target Audience District leaders, Network leaders, School leaders, Technical assistance providers

9:00am PDT

4K-Beyond Firefighting: Solving Problems to Root Using Real-Time Problem Solving (RTPS)

Tuesday April 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT

High Tech High International Room 218

Education leaders often find themselves firefighting — addressing immediate issues only to see them resurface. Real-Time Problem Solving (RTPS) offers a method that tackles problems at their root, focusing on individual incidents, rather than problem generalizations, to uncover and address their underlying causes, then sharing these solutions across the system. Guided by the principles “systems, not people” and “solve, don’t fix,” RTPS fosters sustainable solutions that reduce inequitable outcomes. In this session, participants will engage in hands-on RTPS activities, developing practical skills and mindsets to implement meaningful, lasting improvements in their own work.

Improvers 💜 data: Complete the Session Survey.

Speakers

Strand Methods of Improvement
Areas of Focus Tools of improvement, Routines and structures for social learning
Target Audience School leaders, Network leaders, Teachers, District leaders, County or state level leaders, Technical assistance providers

National Summit on Improvement in Education 2025

9:00am PDT

Amanda Meyer

David M. Williams, PhD

9:00am PDT

Jennifer Sherer

Jennifer Russell

Angel Li

9:00am PDT

Tomás Molfino

Jon Dolle

Josh Stern