National Summit on Improvement in Education 2025: Full Schedule

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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

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

11:00am PDT

2A-9th Grade On-Track Improvement Review with CORE Districts

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

High Tech High International Room 120

A powerful routine where improvement teams reflect on their data and learning, share a dilemma, and receive feedback from experts who can provide a fresh perspective and push. Join this fishbowl type session to experience this routine, learn more about a team’s work, and glean insights to inform your own improvement efforts.

CORE's Breakthrough Success Community connects 45 schools across California dedicated to transforming the 9th grade experience so that all students are on track towards the widest array of post-secondary opportunities. Come learn more about this work, grapple with a dilemma together, and glean insights to inform your own improvement efforts.

Improvers 💜 data: Complete the Session Survey.

Speakers

Ryan Gallagher

HTH GSE

Jarrod Bolte

CEO, Improving Education

Brandi Hinnant-Crawford

Dr. Doug Kriedeman

Senior Improvement Coach, Core Districts

Juli Coleman

Chief of Improvement, School Networks, CORE Districts

Juli Coleman is the Chief of Improvement, School Networks, for The CORE Districts. She leads a multi-district network of 45 high schools across eight large urban districts focused on improving 9th grade on-track rates.With over 25 years of experience in education, Juli has served... Read More →

Amanda Meyer

Senior Director of Improvement, CORE Districts

Monday March 31, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
High Tech High International Room 120

Sessions

Strand Improvement Review
Areas of Focus On-track to graduate K-12
Target Audience District leaders, Higher education faculty or administrators, Network leaders, School leaders, Teachers, Community stakeholders, County or state level leaders, Policy makers, Researchers, Technical assistance providers

11:00am PDT

2J-Data that Works: Effective Data Systems for School Improvement

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

High Tech High International Room 219

Are you confident that every improver on your team has access to the data systems they need and uses them as effectively as they can? Neither were we, which is why we’ve spent the past eight years building data tools for school improvement and sharing them with our partners. Come to our session to practice using a Data for Improvement Maturity Framework to assess your own data systems and identify a way to strengthen them. You’ll hear stories directly from our partner districts. You’ll also see our flagship tool, the Data Hub, and hear where we’re taking it next.

Improvers 💜 data: Complete the Session Survey.

Speakers

Blake Garfinkle

Growth Product Manager, CT RISE Network

I'd love to chat about all things data for school improvement.I'm dedicated to bringing powerful, actionable data tools to educators and schools to drive student success. For 7 years I have worked with educators and RISE to hone our data tools and processes. In our session, we will... Read More →

Kristin Schmitz

Director of School Improvement, Norwalk Public Schools

Chris Lewine

Chief of Data Strategy and Product Innovation, CT RISE Network

Alan Thorne

Product Manager, CT RISE Network

Alan is the Product Manager at the RISE Network where he leads the development of the RISE Data Hub, a data platform that helps educators collaborate and support student success. A long-time data and IT leader, Alan has worked in- and with dozens of schools across the Northeast to... Read More →

Monday March 31, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
High Tech High International Room 219

Sessions

Strand Leadership and Field Building
Areas of Focus On-track to graduate K-12, Scale or spread practices, Leadership actions
Target Audience District leaders, Network leaders, School leaders, Teachers, County or state level leaders, Policy makers, Technical assistance providers

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

1:45pm PDT

3C-Data That Moves: Designing Actionable Displays for Improvement Leaders Filling

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

High Tech High International Room 123

Educators are regularly given data that highlight problematic outcomes without providing clues for how to improve. Seeking a different approach, CORE’s 9th grade on-track network has learned to display grade and attendance data in new ways that support improvers to act. We will share emergent insights from our work with urban districts across California and improvement-focused data displays we’ve used with schools, including control charts and pareto charts. Session activities will surface participants’ collective wisdom about how to display familiar data in novel ways that catalyze action. Attendees will leave with insights to apply to data in their own context.

Improvers 💜 data: Complete the Session Survey.

Speakers

Juli Coleman

Chief of Improvement, School Networks, CORE Districts

Amanda Meyer

Senior Director of Improvement, CORE Districts

Monday March 31, 2025 1:45pm - 3:15pm PDT
High Tech High International Room 123

Sessions

Strand Methods of Improvement
Areas of Focus On-track to graduate K-12, Routines and structures for social learning
Target Audience District leaders, Higher education faculty or administrators, Network leaders, Researchers, County or state level leaders, Technical assistance providers

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

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

9:00am PDT

4E-Transforming a Large Urban High School to a Culture of Improvement: Lincoln High School

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

High Tech High Room 109

Discover how Lincoln High School transformed its culture and dramatically improved student success through evidence-based changes and the power of continuous improvement. Once facing a reality where 60% of 9th graders were off-track and credit recovery was commonplace, Lincoln embarked on a bold journey to reimagine its approach. By shifting from a culture of blame to one of collective ownership, the school empowered teachers to unleash their problem-solving potential and tackle systemic challenges.

Through the use of data-driven strategies and PDSA cycles, Lincoln reduced its off-track rate by over 20 percentage points, with even greater gains among Black students. This session will provide a deep dive into their inspiring story—how they moved from a narrative of underperformance to one of collaboration and sustained improvement. Join us to explore actionable insights and tools you can use to create meaningful change in your own context.

Improvers 💜 data: Complete the Session Survey.

Speakers

Stephanie Brown

Principal, Lincoln High School

I am deeply passionate about creating educational environments where all students, especially those from historically marginalized communities, can thrive. With over 20 years of experience in high-needs public schools, I’ve dedicated my career to leading transformative school initiatives... Read More →

Juli Coleman

Chief of Improvement, School Networks, CORE Districts

Tuesday April 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
High Tech High Room 109

Sessions

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

9:00am PDT

4F-Beyond Change Packages: Strategies for Creating Dynamic, Silo-busting Resource Hubs Full

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

High Tech High Room 105

Join HTH GSE’s CARE Network team and their design partner, Friday, as they challenge us to acknowledge the drawbacks of PDF change packages and the benefits of a digital approach. Together, you’ll dive into the principles of atomic design, explore the benefits of consistent messaging structures, and consider how filtering and tagging strategies can break down silos between district, school, and classroom teams. Lessons will be grounded in their own work to build a more dynamic resource hub, efforts you’ll be invited to join as we work together to spread and scale improvement routines and change ideas.

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

Speakers

Daisy Sharrock

Director, CARE Network, HTH GSE

Elizabeth Cameron

Co-founder & Partner, Friday

Elizabeth has over 10 years of experience partnering with mission-driven organizations to develop brands and communications that match the magic of what they do. She excels at seeing the big picture, defining the steps and strategy needed to get there, and bringing others along to... Read More →

Tuesday April 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
High Tech High Room 105

Sessions

Strand Leadership and Field Building
Areas of Focus On-track to graduate K-12, Scale or spread practices
Target Audience County or state level leaders, District leaders, Network leaders, Technical assistance providers

9:00am PDT

4I-Hidden in Plain Sight: Illuminating a Pernicious Equity Issue in a Large Urban District

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

High Tech High International Room 222

In this session, participants will hear the story of the College Ready on Track (CRoT) hub team’s effort to set up and run a networked improvement community dedicated to providing Long Term Multilingual Learner students in Denver Public Schools high schools with the conditions to be successfully prepared for college, career, and life. Presenters will share learnings about the power of data in helping the CRoT team go from identifying an equity problem to improve, fostering collaboration across central office teams to successfully launching a network in two month’s time.

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

Speakers

Caitlin Osugi

Teacher, Senior Team Lead, Denver Public Schools

A public school math educator passionate about cultivating positive math identities and supporting strong conceptual understanding and language skills in math classrooms.

Jeremy Cooper

Program Manager, Improvement Networks, Denver Public Schools

Jeremy has more than 20 years of experience in the field of education. A lifelong learner, Jeremy brings systems thinking, curiosity, and creativity to his work with educators. In his many years with Denver Public Schools, Jeremy has taught High School Language Arts, supported teachers... Read More →

Marc Stein

Executive Director, Improvement Colaboratory, Improving Education

Tuesday April 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
High Tech High International Room 222

Sessions

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