Top Voices in Education to Lead Thought-Provoking Sessions on Improving Student Outcomes
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Louisiana Department of Education today announced the lineup of speakers for its "Ed Talks" series at the 2019 Teacher Leader Summit, a three-day professional development conference that will convene roughly 6,500 educators from across the state at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans from Wednesday, June 26, to Friday, June 28.
"Ed Talks" is a series of sessions designed to prompt conversations and idea sharing on the Summit's theme and the state's focus on how schools can ensure meaningful growth for every child, every day. This is the second year the speaker series will be offered at the Summit, and the number of participating speakers has expanded from two to seven.
This year's "Ed Talks" lineup includes:
Dan Goldhaber: The Quality of the Teacher Workforce: The Impact on Students, and How It Can Be Improved
Dr. Goldhaber is the Director of the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research at the American Institutes for Research and the Director of the Center for Education Data & Research at the University of Washington. His work focuses on issues of educational productivity, the impact of human capital policies on teacher development and retention, and the connections between students' K-12 experiences and post-secondary outcomes. His talk will focus on the impact of teacher quality on student outcomes, and how pre-service experiences, mentors in particular, influence teacher development. It will be an ideal session for superintendents, personnel directors, principals and mentor teachers.
Kristie Kauerz: Bridging Early Learning and K-12 Education
Dr. Kauerz is Director of the National P-3 Center and Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Colorado Denver's School of Education and Human Development. She specializes in education reform efforts that address the continuum of learning from birth through third grade, integrating birth-to-five system building and K-12 reforms. Her talk will focus on the organizational strategies necessary to implement P-3 alignment efforts in districts, states, and communities and will be an ideal session for superintendents, lead agencies, early childhood center directors, and early childhood supervisors and teachers.
Mandy Manning: Teaching Fearless
Manning is the 2018 National Teacher of the Year (NTOY), and an English and math teacher in Spokane, Wash. As an 18-year veteran teacher, Manning teaches newly arrived refugee and immigrant students at the Newcomer Center at Joel E. Ferris High School. As a result of these experiences, she spends her tenure as the NTOY encouraging educators to "teach fearlessly" and use their voice and role to positively impact students and education. Her talk will be ideal for all educators interested in learning more about teacher empowerment.
Richard Milner: Five Educational Imperatives for Justice
Dr. Milner is Cornelius Vanderbilt Endowed Chair of Education and Professor of Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. His research, teaching and policy interests concern urban education, teacher education, African American literature, and the social context of education. His talk will focus on the impact of race and poverty in education and is ideal for all educators and education leaders.
Timothy Shanahan: Educational Equity and the Importance of Complex Texts
Dr. Shanahan is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) where he was Founding Director of the UIC Center for Literacy. Previously, he was Director of Reading in the Chicago Public Schools and a first-grade teacher. He is the author and editor of more than 200 publications on literacy education. His research emphasizes the connections between reading and writing, literacy in the disciplines, and improvement of reading achievement. His talk will focus on the connection between educational equity and using complex texts in the classroom, and is ideal for all educators, especially English language arts teachers, content leaders and supervisors.
Natalie Wexler: The Importance of Background Knowledge
Despite massive efforts over the past 30 years, there's been little progress in raising test scores or narrowing the gap between rich and poor students. Wexler, an education journalist and author of "The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America's Broken Education System-And How to Fix It" (Avery, August 2019), uncovers a problem most have overlooked: instead of building the knowledge students need to succeed on tests and in life, elementary schools focus on empty reading comprehension "skills." Wexler's talk will describe her journey toward uncovering this hidden problem and explain how some schools are now beginning to address it.
Teacher Leader Summit Premier School: Creating Collaborative Structures to Support High-Quality Instruction
South Lafourche High School (SLHS), in Cut Off, La., is the 2019 Teacher Leader Summit Premier School. In 2018, the school earned both "Top Gains" and "Equity Honoree" distinctions, and graduated more than 95 percent of its students, 90 percent of whom earned a college or career credential. During a panel discussion, SLHS's leadership team will share their strategic approach to academic planning and professional development that successfully prepares all students for college and a career. This session is ideal for all school system and school leaders.
The "Ed Talks" sessions will be available to the media and to Summit attendees only. Registration is now open to educators interested in attending the Summit.
Learn more about the 2019 "Ed Talks."
Learn more about the 2019 Teacher Leader Summit.
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