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.

9:00am PDT

1D-Supporting Network Leaders: Unpacking the Work and Challenges of Hub Leadership Filling

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

High Tech High Room 146

Improvement networks seek to solve complex problems in education, but little is known about how hub leaders build and manage these temporary learning organizations. In this workshop, hub leaders will use The Network Health Study’s Hub Leadership Framework to reflect on their own leadership practice, engage in collaborative problem solving around hub team design and common challenges leaders face, and engage in a reflective routine to strengthen hub leadership practice. We explicate the complexities of hub leadership practice while supporting leaders’ professional learning, providing tools, routines, and collaborative space to learn from each other.

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

Speakers

Kelly McMahon

Director, Center for Public Research and Leadership

Jennifer Sherer

Project Lead, Partners for Network Improvement

Donald Peurach

Monday March 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
High Tech High Room 146

Sessions

Strand Methods of Improvement
Areas of Focus Leadership actions, Networks
Target Audience District leaders, Network leaders, Technical assistance providers

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

1N-Values, Data and Relationships: Insights on Scaling CI Practices in Chicago

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

High Tech High Room 108

Scaling continuous improvement work is not easy. Doing this work well requires clarity on your non-negotiables in alignment with your values, scalable data tools, and strategic relationship management. In this session, the UChicago To&Through Middle Grades Network (MGN) will share insights about their efforts, as a small organization, to scale their continuous improvement model for middle grades success in partnership with Chicago Public Schools.

Improvers 💜 data: Complete the Session Survey.

Speakers

Ashley N. Leonard

Director, To & Through Middle Grades Network, University of Chicago

Ashley N. Leonard is the Founding Director of the UChicago To&Through Middle Grades Network (MGN), an initiative focused on helping Chicago Public Schools educators create equitable and supportive learning environments for middle school students. Through her leadership, MGN has worked... Read More →

Naomi Wilfred

Jen Ciok

Manager of Coaching and Improvement, To&Through Middle Grades Network

Monday March 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
High Tech High Room 108

Sessions

Strand Leadership and Field Building
Areas of Focus Networks, On-track to graduate K-12, Scale or spread practices
Target Audience District leaders, Network leaders, 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

2E-Cooking Up a Measurement System for a School Network

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

High Tech High International Room 218

How do you build a shared set of measures that truly supports learning and improvement across a network? In this interactive session, participants will explore key principles for selecting meaningful measures and apply them to a real-world challenge from a math improvement network. Through discussion and insights from improvement advisors, attendees will leave with practical strategies to design a measurement system that drives continuous learning and impact.

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

Speakers

Kiran Purohit

VP of Curriculum & Instruction, New Visions for Public Schools, New Visions for Public Schools

Project-Based LearningScience curriculum designUrban high schools

Jennifer Kim

Lead Instructional Continuous Improvement Coach, New Visions for Public Schools (Cohort 3)

Russell West

Director of Curriculum & Instruction and Counsel, New Visions for Public Schools (Cohort 3)

Alicia Grunow

Co-Founder; Improvement Specialist, Improvement Collective

Alicia Grunow is an educational improvement expert, specializing in how to apply the science of improvement to help teams, organizations and networks reach their improvement goals. Alicia started her career as a bilingual teacher in Denver Public School and then in New York City... Read More →

Marc Stein

Executive Director, Improvement Colaboratory, Improving Education

Danielle Hayden

Lloyd Provost

Monday March 31, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
High Tech High International Room 218

Sessions

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

11:00am PDT

2G-Going Far by Going Together: Collective Efficacy in Improvement Systems Full

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

High Tech High Room 137

Continuous improvement can produce more equitable student outcomes across a school and across multiple schools within a system. Tension can exist, however, between the convergence towards shared practice and consistent implementation, and the divergence of educators taking ownership and innovating in ways that lead to variation. Through building the collective efficacy of teams, leaders can balance convergence and divergence to increase impact. This session uses texts, cases, participant reflection, and discussion to investigate the balance of convergence and divergence in building teams that believe in the power of their collaboration to achieve more within and across schools.

Improvers 💜 data: Complete the Session Survey.

Speakers

Aurora Kushner

VP, School Programming and Impact, NYC Outward Bound Schools

Always looking for the joyful convergence between equity-centered deeper learning and improvement.

Tom Rochowicz

NYC Public Schools

Monday March 31, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
High Tech High Room 137

Sessions

Strand Leadership and Field Building
Areas of Focus Leadership actions, Networks
Target Audience Researchers, School leaders, Teachers, Network leaders

11:00am PDT

2M-Embedding CI Practices: Lessons Learned & Sustainability Wins Filling

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

High Tech High Room 146

Bank Street Education Center (Bank Street) will highlight how to embed sustainability practices into CI work. Bank Street will share examples from their 5 + year partnership with Yonkers Public Schools (YPS). This session will share examples of how Bank Street navigated the local context and leadership transitions, cultivated a coalition of the willing among a network of schools, and supported district leaders in embedding CI practices into district-wide structures including their five-year strategic plan, math vision, PLCs, job descriptions, and data collection systems. Participants will hear examples from the field including course corrections in implementation, lessons learned, and sustainability wins.

Improvers 💜 data: Complete the Session Survey.

Speakers

Tracy Fray-Oliver

Vice President of Bank Street Education Center, Bank Street (Cohort 3 - Brooklyn)

Tarima Levine

Managing Director of Content & Design, Bank Street (Cohort 3 - Brooklyn)

Michael McDonald

Executive Director of Math, Yonkers Public Schools

Shannon Craig

Math & Continuous Improvement Coach, Bank Street Education Center

Monday March 31, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
High Tech High Room 146

Sessions

Strand Leadership and Field Building
Areas of Focus Routines and structures for social learning, System transformation, Networks
Target Audience District leaders, School leaders, Network leaders, Technical assistance providers

1:45pm PDT

3N-Using Intermediaries to Increase Access to Student Support Systems in Rural Schools

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

High Tech High International Room 205

Join us to explore how the GRAD Partnership leverages intermediaries—ranging from district offices to higher education regional networks—to address unique educational and community contexts to support implementation of student success systems. This session will focus on building the network and leadership of improvers specifically in rural schools. Participants will: (1) Gain insight into intermediary role and its impact; (2) Engage in an interactive activity to identify their connection to intermediary supports; and (3) Hear real-world success stories from two rural intermediary partners (North State Together in Northern California and district level attendance team leadership in New Mexico).

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

Speakers

Elisa Cumplido

Jenny Scala

Sonia Urban

Susan Schroth

Program Director of The GRAD Partnership, North State Together/Rural Schools Collaborative

Monday March 31, 2025 1:45pm - 3:15pm PDT
High Tech High International Room 205

Sessions

Strand Leadership and Field Building
Areas of Focus On-track to graduate K-12, Routines and structures for social learning, Networks
Target Audience District leaders, School leaders, Technical assistance providers

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

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

4N-From Innovation to Impact: Designing for Sustainable Scaling in a Networked Community

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

High Tech High International Room 215

Our session shares the journey of evolving from an innovation-focused network to a scaling initiative, driven by a commitment to expand effective practices reliably across diverse schools and regions. We’ll discuss how we built and refined infrastructure to support routines for data collection, fostered cross-regional collaboration, and developed onboarding systems to welcome new teams while honoring the work of founding partners. Join us to explore strategies and tools that not only spread proven methods but also create a pipeline of skilled practitioners to sustain field growth and impact.

Improvers 💜 data: Complete the Session Survey.

Speakers

Stephanie Lassalle

Director of Improvement Programs, Marshall Street

Kim Burdi

Director of Continuous Improvement, Marshall Street

Tuesday April 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
High Tech High International Room 215

Sessions

Strand Leadership and Field Building
Areas of Focus Scale or spread practices, Networks
Target Audience County or state level leaders, District leaders, Network leaders, School leaders, Technical assistance providers